Eight things we learned at the FEA Conference 2025

This year’s Foodservice Equipment Association Conference on 12-13 November at the De Vere Cotswold Water Park hotel near Cirencester, Gloucestershire covered topics ranging from technological advances in fast food to the right way to use artificial intelligence.

Here are eight takeaways from the debates.

Positive predictions for the Budget

Business journalist and broadcaster Declan Curry kicked off the conference by telling delegates he doesn’t expect many new taxes directly on businesses in this week’s Budget. “The chancellor seems to have learned the lesson that last year’s hike in National Insurance Contributions for employers was damaging to the economy. It created a lot of pain for not much gain,” he said.

He predicted there may even be some additional help for industries in the leisure sector, including hospitality.

Get used to uncertainty

However, Curry also advised that nobody really knows what’s going to happen with the economy. “Everyone needs to be on constant alert for unexpected threats,” he said. “Business leaders have become better at reacting to them, but it’s not reasonable to expect them to be able to predict them because the world now is so crazy.”

Although Brexit and Donald Trump’s tariff trade wars are still casting “long shadows” over the trading environment, and economic growth was at a weak 0.1% over the last few months, Curry predicted we may see some revival in the next quarter, with the Bank of England forecasting 1.5% growth by the end of the year. He summed up: “The economy is struggling to maintain momentum in the face of higher taxes and slower demand.”