We don't have the budget. We don't have the time. Not yet validated. We're waiting for feedback. How about a meeting? You hear these phrases every week. You may even be the one who says them. And yet, all the while, competitors are making progress, markets are changing, trends are being confirmed, and your projects are at a standstill.
In the food ingredients sector, where innovation, regulation and time-to-market impose a sustained tempo, inertia is expensive. Very expensive. Behind every meeting without a clear objective or every decision put off, opportunities are lost. What if we changed our approach? What if, instead of accumulating milestones, we reinvested this time - and therefore this money - in concrete, useful and measurable actions?
The real hidden cost of meetings
According to a study by Harvard Business Review, an executive spends on average 23 hours a week in meetings (yes, you read that right, 23 hours in meetings!), or more than half their working time. And this figure rises even higher in highly hierarchical or multi-site companies. But what's even more striking is that nearly 70 % of these meetings are perceived as useless or not very productive.
What this means in practical terms :
| Resource mobilised | Estimated cost per meeting (1 hour for 5 people) |
| Average salary time | 250 à 400 € |
| Loss of earnings on delayed projects | Incalculable, but real |
| Opportunity cost (failed market, delayed launch) | Several thousand euros depending on the context |
In a medium-sized company, this represents tens of thousands of euros a year, Not to mention decision fatigue and loss of team motivation.
Shopify, in the United States, has calculated the daily cost of what they call the «Meeting Apocalypse» and it's quite staggering:
When meetings replace decisions
La meetings is not a bad thing in itself. Exchanges are necessary, especially in our sector where scientific, regulatory and marketing issues need to be aligned. But when they become a refuge from inaction, They are a hindrance to the collective dynamic.
Here are three tell-tale symptoms:
- Cascade validations Each idea requires three levels of approval.
- Projects “on hold” In the absence of a clear sponsor or a quick decision, we keep putting things off.
- Teams losing their way Too many points, too few deliverables.
The result? Innovative concepts put on the back burner, missed communication opportunities (trade shows, launches, differentiating content), and campaigns that are out of sync due to a lack of arbitration.
A good first step is to think about the relevance of holding a meeting in the first place:
Transforming inertia into a lever for action
The good news? The time saved by not holding meetings can become a tremendous source of efficiency. All you need to do is redirect it methodically. Here are a few practical ideas, designed for people in the B2B nutrition health and functional ingredients :
1. Budget time as a resource
Calculate the average cost of a meeting. A 2-hour scoping meeting with 6 managers? €600 minimum. This simple realisation changes behaviour. And allows you to prioritise meetings required.
2. Introduce an action rule for each meeting
At each meeting, a decision. A deliverable. A dated next step. This creates a dynamic of responsibility. A marketing brief? → A validated draft. An R&D discussion? → An open project sheet. A regulatory update? → A communication plan.
Some go further, like Jef Bezos, by banning power points altogether and starting the meeting by carefully reading a formidably articulate and structured memo... It's up to you to find your own technique, as long as it's geared towards «efficiency».
3. Reallocate this time to operations
Let's take an example: an SME in the ingredients sector which organises an average of 4 meetings a week for 5 people. By halving this number, it frees up the equivalent of 20 hours a week, as we saw above. This represents, give or take a few euros, depending on your strategic choices :
- 2 SEO feature articles/month
- or 1 customer webinar per quarter
- or 1 personalised sales aid
- or 1 targeted B2B email campaign
- or 1 social ads campaign
- or 3 R&D POCs initiated with strategic partners
In a fast-moving world, agile players win the day
The functional ingredients market is undergoing radical change, with the rise of plant proteins, increased demands for transparency, the need for clinical proof and the promotion of health claims. In this context, agility is becoming a decisive competitive advantage.
That doesn't mean going fast for the sake of going fast. But dare to decide. Dare to test. Daring to communicate, Even if everything is not yet perfect.
The companies that come out on top are not those with the biggest budgets. They are the ones that know how to activate their ideas with fluidity. Launching a campaign, running a pilot with a customer, co-developing content with an expert, feeding their digital presence on a regular basis.
Conclusion: fewer rounds, more action
At a time when every euro counts and every quarter reshuffles the deck, it's time to look at meetings for what they are: investments. And as such, they deserve to be managed like any other precious resource.
So, the next time you add a meeting to the agenda, ask yourself: what are we really going to produce? What if the team's energy could be better invested in concrete, engaging and visible action?
Do you feel that your projects are stagnating despite frequent meetings?
Why don't we take a look together at your marketing initiatives and strategic priorities?
Let's talk about it. A real conversation, with decisions to follow.