Jane Milton holds an Honorary Doctorate from Glasgow Caledonian University, awarded in 2019 for services to the food industry and entrepreneurship. With 39 years' commercial experience and a strong global network, she helps food and drink businesses identify their assets, connect to the right people and build teams for growth. Jane continues to support and encourage students of all ages at GCU to consider careers in food and drink or follow their entrepreneurial journeys into the food sector.
What do you think are the greatest opportunities for the Scottish tourism, retail and hospitality industries in 2027?
Scotland's greatest asset is its story — the provenance, quality and integrity behind our food and drink are genuinely world-class, and I don't think we always shout loudly enough about it. In 2027 the real opportunity is joining that up: connecting brilliant producers with the hospitality and tourism experiences that let visitors taste Scotland properly, and packaging it in a way that travels internationally. I see huge appetite for authentic, provenance-led products in the export markets I work in, and I think there's an open door for Scottish businesses to walk through — if we invest in the people and partnerships to do it well.
What are you looking most forward to seeing, meeting, or attending at ScotHot?
The people, honestly — connecting people is the part of my job I love most, and ScotHot puts the whole industry in one room. I always come away with introductions I didn't expect. Judging the Awards gives me a chance to dig deeper and hear more about businesses. I'm looking forward to the Scottish Culinary Championships (the talent coming through is a real joy to watch). And, as ever, I'll be hunting out the small producers with something new and clever — they're usually tucked away on the smallest stands.
Why do you think events like ScotHot are important to the industry?
Because our industry runs on relationships, and you can't build those over email. ScotHot brings producers, buyers, operators and decision-makers face to face, which is where the real business — and the real ideas — happen. It gives smaller businesses a platform they'd struggle to find on their own, lets everyone take the temperature of where the market's heading, and reminds a sometimes hard-pressed sector that we're part of something bigger. It's good for business and good for morale, and both matter.
