Announced at the recent pladis Global Supplier Conference, Frontier was celebrated for being a key architect in the expansion of pladis’ Back to Farm programme in the UK last year, which supports wheat growers to adopt more regenerative and sustainable farming practices.

The award reflects Frontier’s commitment to long-term partnerships, shared values and continued dedication to building resilient supply chains which support the future of food production and farming.

Influencing change through collaboration

Head of customer proposition for Frontier, Jim Knightbraid, was at the conference to accept the award and participate in the ‘Voices of Partnership’ panel, where he shared more about how Frontier is working with pladis and reflected on the programme’s first-year success.

“It’s an honour to receive this award from pladis. It recognises the value, hard work and expertise of Frontier’s sustainability and technical crop production specialists and their contribution to evolving the Back to Farm programme. It’s a brilliant example of an integrated supply chain delivering meaningful results.”

During the panel Q&A, Jim also touched on the programme’s co-creation and importance of open discussions.

“It was immediately clear that pladis was approaching this as a true partnership. The team had a genuine desire to connect with us and growers, to move beyond the transactional nature that is typical of most commodity supply chains in the UK.

“They truly value the role farmers play in our collective sustainability journey and have given our team space to shape the programme, making sure it’s progressive while recognising the real practicalities that growers contend with on farm.”

Jim noted that Back to Farm is encouraging growers to try new approaches with the reassurance that they’ll be supported in the process, which is important in today’s operating environment.

“The investment from pladis into the programme – both financial and emotional – is meaningful. Our industry is experiencing some of the toughest conditions we’ve seen in the last fifty years, so the Back to Farm programme is offering significant support when farmers desperately need it.

“We’ve seen in the first year that farmers will repay that investment with commitment and ultimately investments of their own, all to deliver the shared aims. It’s in all our interests to build supply chains that are fit for the future.”

Head of packaging UK&I at pladis and one of the leaders for the business’ UK sustainability strategy in wheat, Magda Camacho, also shared this sentiment at the conference.

“By engaging with growers through Frontier, we can create value across the whole supply chain. In our early alignment sessions, we opened up the discussion and invited growers’ perspectives on what would work on farm.

“Frontier played a crucial role in this, translating agricultural science and on-farm practicality into a set of indicators that growers could trust. Through open discussion, we landed on a framework that was both scientifically credible and realistically achievable for farms of different sizes and maturity.”

Jim adds that the partnership involved some constructive challenges too, with Frontier’s team pushing pladis to ensure the programme acknowledged real on-farm constraints. He explains: “This led to more flexible pathways, and recognition that progress looks different on different farms. The result meant a more robust, relatable and credible framework that works for all parties.”

Positive outcomes in the first year

The Back to Farm programme was initially launched in the UK and Ireland in 2013, with Frontier working with pladis to expand the scheme in 2025 to support the UK production of wheat for McVitie’s Original Digestives. 

In its first year, participating growers achieved a 4% higher-than-average yield and have seen notable carbon reductions and removals through the adoption of more sustainable practices. 

Frontier and pladis have found that the cultural value has also been immense, with all parties sharing a greater appreciation of partnership and the creation of long-term value.   

The programme has already expanded to target more than 60,000 tonnes of wheat production from harvest 2026, engaging with more farmers and broadening the environmental impact.

Jim adds: “Having a clear understanding of our shared goals and purpose has been key to the success of the programme in this first year. With the scale and range of ingredients that pladis requires across its portfolio of products, it’s exciting to think about how we might broaden Back to Farm to include more UK-grown commodities in the future.

“This has the potential to open up more rewarding opportunities for growers – and crucially with support along the way. Our industry really needs this kind of collaboration and transparency, so we’re looking forward to helping more of that happen.”