Food and Wine Value Chains: The Fearne Residency in the Adelaide Thinkers in Residence Program

Andrew Fearne, Professor of Food Marketing and Supply Chain Management and a Director of the dunnhumby Academy of Consumer Research at Kent University, UK, is a current Thinker in the Adelaide Thinkers in Residence (ATIR) program. Professor Fearne is the 14th person to undertake a Thinkers appointment. The residency theme, Food and Wine Value Chains: Prosperity through Collaboration, has provided a timely opportunity for partners, including wine companies, government agencies, universities, an industry association and a regional development board to review micro and macro strategies and policies from a value chain perspective. The residency was initiated to improve sustainable competitive advantage within South Australian food and wine value chains. Its timing has coincided with, and aligns with, community concern and national policy issues in grocery pricing, water policy, drought/climate change, health-wellbeing agendas, waste and food security; all converging and impacting on food and wine supply chains. The paper provides background about the Adelaide Thinkers in Residence program and partner objectives for the residency: it refers to other chain research involving Professor Fearne at dunnhumby and in Tasmania, where better insight to consumer behaviour is the basis for product and process adjustment, with the possibility of better outcomes for consumers and stakeholders; it outlines a major wine value chain analysis project in SA and identifies some main themes to emerge from this Thinker’s program. Professor Fearne will be reporting to the South Australian Government during 2009.