Innovation Centres
Centres of excellence linked to Welsh universities have a strategic role, providing technical support for start-ups, SMEs and existing food manufacturers. Whether you're a first-time business, need help to trial a new product, or looking for specialist training and advice, knowledgeable teams provide the answers.
20Twenty Leading Business Growth Programme for the Food Sector
The 20Twenty Business Growth Programme has developed a new unique, exciting and engaging programme for aspiring managers and team leaders which offers a dual award from Cardiff Met University and the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).
Are you listed in the Welsh Food and Drink Directory?
The Welsh Food and Drink Directory contains entries from over 600 companies and exists to raise awareness and drive sales of Welsh products in the UK and across the world.
It’s free to be included, with both small and large companies featured in the directory. If you’re already listed then you can update your entry here.
Users can search for producers, co-packers, ingredient suppliers and packaging manufacturers based on location, BRCGS product category, supply channel, export capacity and certification.
In an effort to promote sustainable food production and waste efficiency, companies can advertise any outputs from their production process such as by-products or waste that may be of value to another business.
Create your free listing now
https://foodinnovation.wales/create-account/
Food and Drink Wales Support Hotlines for Manufacturers
In response to the current challenges, Food and Drink Wales have established support hotlines for food and drink manufacturers. The hotlines bring together organisations from across Wales to provide easily accessible support.
The types of support and the contact details are below. Please don’t hesitate to contact these organisations if your business could benefit from their support.
| Support for… | Organisation | Contact details | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Planning and Finance | BIC Innovation | Alun Lewis: 07790 345509 Linda Grant: 07757 134344 |
|
| People and Skills | Food Skills Cymru/LANTRA | Sarah Lewis: 07827 956765 - sarah.lewis@lantra.co.uk Mia Peace: 07990 014079 - mia.peace@lantra.co.uk Kathryn Mills: 07562 205172 - kathryn.mills@lantra.co.uk |
|
| People and Skills | The National Skills Academy for Food & Drink (Wales) | James Hicks: 07852278533 - j.hicks@nsafd.co.uk | |
| Food innovation Wales | |||
| Food technology and new product development | South Wales - ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre, Cardiff Metropolitan University | Rhiannon Richards: 07468 752237 - RBfacey-richards@cardiffmet.ac.uk – (Technical Support) David Lloyd: 07770 825069 – dclloyd@cardiffmet.ac.uk Martin Sutherland: 07770 701660 – msutherland@cardiffmet.ac.uk |
|
| North Wales - Food Technology Centre, Grŵp Llandrillo Menai | Paul Roberts: 07810 647432 – robert5p@gllm.ac.uk Anne-Marie Flinn: 07519 363187 – a.flinn@gllm.ac.uk |
||
| Mid Wales - Food Centre Wales, Ceredigion County Council | Arwyn Davies: 07970 304701 – arwyn.davies@ceredigion.gov.uk Angela Sawyer: 07855 253296 – angela.sawyer@ceredigion.gov.uk |
||
| Production and automation | Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre | Jason Murphy: 07940488689 | |
| Export | BIC Innovation | Linda Grant: 07757 134344 | |
| Start-up company support and business development including areas such as branding, strategic planning, market development and test trading | Cywain - Menter a Busnes | Elen Llwyd Williams: 07843 023732 - elen.williams@menterabusnes.co.uk Dewi Siôn Evans: 07964 354674 - dewi.evans@menterabusnes.co.uk |
|
| Trade Development | Food & Drink Wales Trade Programme | Neil Burchell: 07811 146633 - neil.burchell@totalfoodmarketing.co.uk Bethan Jones: 07815 150376 - bethan@totalfoodmarketing.co.uk |
|
Business Wales provides free independent advice to people starting, running and growing a business in Wales.
Call the Business Wales Helpline on 03000 6 03000
Rydym yn croesawu galwadau yn Gymraeg / We welcome calls in Welsh.
For further information go to our website: https://www.businesswales.gov.wales/foodanddrink/
Keep up to date and subscribe to the Food and Drink Wales Newsletter and the Food and Drink Wales Industry Board Newsletter
Food and Drink Manufacturers Self-Assessment
Lessons learned in food and drink manufacturing during Covid-19
This Food Innovation Wales webinar includes a series of presentations from business and technical leaders in Welsh food and drink companies who have faced the challenge of Covid-19 first hand, describing what they have learnt, how they linked with the Hearth & Safety Executive (HSE) and Public Health Wales (PHW), what was implemented, what was successful and what could have been improved.
Food Innovation Wales helpline
In this time of increased volume and stress on the food supply chain, Food Innovation Wales has opened a helpline in each of its geographical areas. For food safety, technical or supply chain continuity (e.g. raw material suppliers), please contact the following numbers in the link above.
Centres of excellence with a strategic role
Internationally-recognised academics are working with the food industry in Wales, providing a range of technical expertise which can benefit start-up businesses, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and existing manufacturers. These centres of excellence include Zero2Five Food Industry Centre at Cardiff Metropolitan University, the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences at Aberystwyth, and the Centre for Sustainable Aquaculture Research at Swansea University. Technologists with expertise spanning all food sectors can advise on, for example, design and layout of premises, product flows and process equipment, food safety, food processing, nutrition and impacts of food on health.
Wales Food and Drink Directory 2019-20
Developing ideas and new products
Our pioneering centres of excellence also act as 'launch pads' for innovative new ideas, an ideal place to develop and test new products, or improve existing ones. Expert teams of technologists provide ready advice on nutrition, packaging, processing and manufacture. This may involve taste panels or assessing your product relative to competitors. Ensuring a product will keep for the required shelf life is vital, and this can form part of the development programme. We can even advise on labelling and cooking instructions.