Profile
Graham Collier BSc PhD FIHort, Director & Principal Specialist
Graham Collier has worked in the Food Chain within horticulture for more than thirty years. For 10 years at Warwick H R I (Wellesbourne) he planned, conducted and evaluated research programmes on physiological problems that affect the marketable yields of field grown vegetable and salad products. During 16 years in the industry, he held senior management positions in technical, procurement, operational and general management in companies supplying fruit, salads and vegetables to Marks and Spencer, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and other UK retailers. His achievements include:
- Exploiting technology commercially to develop the programmed supply of novel and existing products and to enhance post harvest practices to minimise waste and improve eating quality.
- Strategic development and management of a procurement base in the UK and overseas (including Israel, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Zimbabwe, Spain, Italy and France) and the improvement of source performance at harvest and post-harvest, to optimise product quality.
- Improving operating efficiencies within packing operations through improved planning and cost-awareness of operatives to increase productivity.
- Managing profit and loss and business restructuring to optimise operational and direct costs and maximise profit.
- Negotiating selling prices with customers to maintain grower returns at sustainable values.
- Developing and implementing Product Management systems compliant with the demands of the major retailers and BRC standards.
Since 1998, Graham has adapted his skills and experience to establish an outsourcing and interim management facility together with training services for producers and suppliers of fruit, vegetables, salads and heat stable foods. He and his Associates, all of whom have senior management experience and are drawn on a project-by-project basis from various sectors of the Agri-Food industry, work in the organic and non-organic arenas in the UK and overseas with those who seek to develop their business by diversification, collaboration, technical excellence and innovation in the Supply Chain.
He is past Chairman of the West Midlands Fresh Produce Forum, a past member of the now dissolved ACOS Organic Certification Committee and an associate of both Abacus, the country’s leading organic consultancy, and the Vegetable Consultants Association. He is the architect of a producer-led business model for supplying local and regional foods to the public sector. Graham is jointly a manufacturer of ‘added value’ tomato products and represents Food on the Steering Group of The Warwickshire Rural Hub.
Graham is trained in Appraisal and Coaching Skills (through Northern Foods), Pesticide Controls, the BRC Standard (through CCFRA), the SALSA standard, Basic Health and Safety, Interactive Training Techniques (through Agenda) and Group Facilitation. He is a Professional Food Mentor (Institute of Food Science and Technology), is qualified in Applied HACCP Principles (RIPH Intermediate Certificate) and has a working knowledge of French and basic Spanish.
Qualifications
- BSc - Applied Chemistry
- PhD – Botany
- Fellow of the Institute of Horticulture
- Member of the Institute of Food Science and Technology
- Professional Food Mentor – Institute of Food Science and Technology
Trained in:
- Business Finance (Northern Foods)
- Appraisal and Coaching Skills (Northern Foods)
- Applied HACCP Principles – Royal Institute of Public Health (Intermediate Certificate)
- Interactive Training Techniques (Agenda)
- Group Facilitation (Tom Philipps, Pasture to Profit)