RD, Specialist Dietitian for Highland Council

Diverse Nutrition Association

The Food Marketing Experts

I am a lifelong foodie, who loves working in the food industry, Founder of the Food Marketing Experts (a full-service agency), and founder of Grub Club Events (a b2b food networking group) and charity Creating Natures Corridors.

I am passionate about helping producers get their products on retailers’ shelves and getting their products the sales, profile, and coverage they deserve.

Food Entrepreneur & Cooking with Kids founder

Nessie Welschinger, a Singaporean-Egyptian entrepreneur, is the founder of the award-winning Chelsea Cake Company, one of London’s leading bespoke cake designers. 

Her career began in investment banking, where she honed her strategic and analytical skills over a decade. These abilities later became the foundation for her success in transforming a passion for food into an internationally recognised brand.

Nessie’s creations have become synonymous with excellence, serving a global clientele that includes celebrities, royalty, and five-star hotels such as Claridge’s and The Ritz. Among her career highlights is being entrusted to create the 90th birthday cake for the late Queen Elizabeth II, an honour that underscores her unparalleled expertise and attention to detail.

In addition to her business acumen, Nessie is a passionate advocate for family nutrition and food education. Her appearance on Bake Off: The Professionals showcased her talent to millions and solidified her influence within the food industry. She has since expanded her reach, conducting school workshops and community events to emphasise the importance of balanced diets and engaging children in the kitchen.

Through her platform, Cooking With Kids, Nessie empowers families to reconnect over meals, providing practical tools and inspiration to make cooking accessible and enjoyable for all. Her vision aligns with modern health priorities, focusing on how family mealtimes can drive better nutrition, stronger relationships, and healthier futures.

Health and Sustainable Diets Associate at IGD

Elisha works in IGD’s Social Impact (Health) team, where she collaborates closely with industry partners and contributes to the Behaviour Change Trial Programme. Her focus is on making healthy, sustainable diets accessible to all. With a Master’s degree in Obesity and Clinical Nutrition from University College London, she brings a deep understanding of the complex relationship between nutrition and health, with particular expertise in addressing obesity.

Managing Editor, Netmums

Louise is the Editorial Director of the UK’s influential online parenting community Netmums which has supported millions of families every day since 2000.

Also a mum of three young children, Louise is well versed in the highs and lows of parenting – including family health and feeding children. The Netmums parent community often voice the challenges when it comes to accessing and affording healthy meals for their family. As well as listening to our audience, we work with food experts, retailers and organisations to understand the support and advice modern families need to make better choices for a healthy future and to enjoy parenthood.

Background – two decades experience as a journalist and editor on UK nationals and women’s lifestyle consumer media.

Behaviour and Market Research Expert

Helen is a behaviour and market researcher with over 30 years experience spanning client-side roles, advertising agencies, and leading market research firms. She specialises in providing behavioural, brand and communications insight to help guide decision-making and maximise the effectiveness of behavioural interventions and communications.

Baby & Child Nutrition Expert, Author and Influencer

Charlotte Stirling-Reed is the UK’s leading baby and child nutritionist, a multi-Sunday Times best-selling author, and founder of SR Nutrition. With a first-class honours degree in Nutrition and Human Biology and a postgraduate degree in Nutrition and Public Health, she began her career in the NHS before specialising in maternal, baby, and child nutrition.

Charlotte’s bestselling books, including How to Wean Your Baby, How to Feed Your Family, and How to Feed Your Toddler, have become trusted resources for families navigating the challenges of feeding children. Her evidence-based, practical approach has earned widespread praise, with her books celebrated for being accessible, informative, and rooted in the latest research.

In addition to her publishing success, Charlotte collaborates with leading brands such as Pampers, Little Dish, Tommee Tippee, Bugaboo, Stokke, Whole Earth, and Arla. Her expertise is frequently sought by top media outlets, including The Telegraph, The Guardian, Women’s Health, Hello Magazine and BabyCentre. Charlotte has appeared on major UK television programmes, including BBC’s Food: Truth or Scare and Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast. She also partnered with Joe Wicks on his Wean in 15 campaign and consulted on his bestselling book.

Charlotte supports thousands of families through her books, social media platforms, and consultancy, solidifying her reputation as one of the most trusted voices in child nutrition today.

Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Loughborough University

Dr Hannah White is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Loughborough University. Hannah’s research area focuses on disordered eating and mental health among young people. Most of Hannah’s research is family-based, focusing on interactions and family contexts, with particular expertise in family mealtimes. Her PhD explored aspects of family mealtimes in relation to adolescent and maternal psychopathology. She is a mixed-methods researcher with 15 years’ experience of conducting eating-focused research with adolescents, young adults and parents within both community and clinical groups. Her research helps to promote understanding of the different emotions and experiences related to mealtimes, and the different ways families interact in relation to eating, body shape and weight and physical activity.

Lecturer, Centre for Behaviour Change, University College London 

Dr Lucy Porter’s expertise lies in developing and evaluating behaviour change interventions for public health, with a primary interest in eating behaviours. Her PhD (University of Exeter) focused on developing and refining an intervention to reduce children’s intake of high fat/salt/sugar foods, while her postdoctoral research (University of Loughborough) focused on understanding and addressing the barriers to caregivers offering vegetables to their children. She is currently a Lecturer at the UCL Centre for Behaviour Change (CBC), where she also leads on the CBC’s bespoke training and consultancy activities. She also holds a Senior Research Fellow with Behavioural Research UK (BR-UK). She previously worked as a Principal Behavioural & Social Scientist at Public Health England and the Office for Health Improvement & Disparities where she worked on topics including diet and obesity, sexual and reproductive health, and alcohol harms reduction.