Food and drink producers from across Wales were recently given the unique opportunity to meet with leading global foodservice providers in a bid to strengthen and expand their business.
Hosted by the Welsh Government Food Division as part of its ongoing commitment to the Welsh food and drink industry, seminars were held in Cardiff and Wrexham. Key speakers at the seminars included Sodexo, Compass and Brakes, with each expressing a strong interest in working with Welsh food and drink producers.
The food and drink industry is a rising star in the Welsh economy with significant potential to grow. The Welsh Government wants to increase sales by 30% to £7 billion and the UK foodservice sector (Retail – food to go, Travel & Leisure and Pubs & Restaurants and Cost Sector) presents a very real and exciting opportunity for small and medium sized producers.
Wrexham based Village Bakery, who in October 2015 announced an exciting new contract to supply Co-op stores across Wales, attended the event on the 12th January at Glyndwr University. Catherine Bletcher, Account Manager at the Bakery commented: "The seminar opened our eyes to the potential opportunities which are out there for Welsh companies in the foodservice sector, and on the back of the insights gained, we will be looking at some NPD projects suitable for this sector."
Also in attendance was Braces Bakery which is keen to expand into the foodservice sector. Nick Ford, New Business Development Director commented: “The seminar in Cardiff was extremely informative and of benefit to our business if we want to continue our expansion. It provided us with an enviable networking opportunity and we are looking forward to developing the contacts we made.”
More than 50 producers from across North and South Wales attended the seminars deeming them a huge success and plans are already underway for a meet the buyer programme in February and March 2016.
Rebecca Evans, Deputy Minister for Farming and Food said: "We are delighted with the turnout by suppliers in both north and south Wales, and are keen to explore all possible avenues of growth with Welsh suppliers. Given the interest shown by our guest speakers in sourcing from Wales, we are very optimistic that new business will result from our Meet the Buyer programme over the coming months."