Cluster Network
The Food & Drink Wales Cluster Network brings together food and drink businesses, suppliers, academia and government with the key objective of helping businesses collaborate to achieve accelerated growth in sales, profit and improved productivity.
The Welsh Government, working with the food and drink sectors have strategically put together a number of Cluster Groups. These clusters have been developed to maximise economic growth within Wales and also to respond to sectors that needed direct Welsh Government support. They bring together like-minded people, with the key objective of helping businesses to collaborate and achieve common business aims.
The Cluster Network in Wales now has a proven track record of success, and will continue to be ambitious to support the industry in achieving real step change as opposed to incremental growth.
The Cluster Network will provide food and drink businesses with support and “know how” and will facilitate the development of opportunities to work with other businesses across the supply chain, offering solutions to help and support each other to overcome the obstacles to growth, and to exploit commercial opportunities, as well as helping to developing capacity and capability.
There are currently 9 clusters funded by the Welsh Government and delivered by specialist external contractors.
Innovation Partnership in Action Programme
The Welsh Government Food and Drink Division is inviting collaborative projects to develop innovative food and drink solutions, which address societal and public sector challenges and common issues, facing small groups of businesses within the food and drink industry.
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Programme Brief (IP_WG_001)
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Guidance Notes (IP_WG_002)
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Application Form (IP_WG_003)
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Application Form Guidance Notes (IP_WG_004)
Food and Drink Wales Cluster Network Booklet
The Sustainable Scale Up Cluster
Helping ambitious Welsh food and drink businesses scale up sustainability, the Sustainable Scale Up Cluster
is supporting businesses to tackle the 4 key challenges to successful scale up:
- CAPACITY to scale up
- Access to CAPITAL to scale up
- Access to the right COMPETENCIES and talent to scale up
- Having the CONFIDENCE to scale up and avoiding the overtrading trap
Visit the website for more information https://www.sustainablescaleupcluster.wales/
This project has received funding through the Wels Government Rural Communities - Rural Development Programme 2014 - 2020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the Welsh Government. Delivered by BIC innovation.
Honey Cluster
The Business development programme aims to enable Welsh Honey businesses to create jobs and sustainable economic growth by supporting the sector to grow through the provision of specific support - the cluster programme is an example of this support.
A map designed to highlight all the beekeepers in Wales registered through Cywain or Honey Cluster who produce honey to sell, so you can find the one nearest to you
Horticulture Wales
Horticulture Wales aims to help growers and producers reduce waste and improve shelf life, sustainability, and profit.
Wrexham Glyndwr University’s Horticulture Wales project commissioned a series of short films to show the diverse ways that businesses - each members of the project - worked to support communities across Wales during the C-19 Pandemic, from the March lockdown and beyond.
Horticulture Cluster
Tyfu Cymru – Horticulture Industry Insights
In this short video, we speak to two Welsh growers about the horticulture industry, and discuss the opportunities and challenges they have faced over the Covid period, as well as their views on the future opportunities for the industry in Wales. Bellis Brothers are an independently run family business, established in 1860 and located less than 9 miles from Wrexham in the beautiful Dee Valley on the outskirts of Holt Village. They offer a unique shopping experience with an extensive Farm Shop, Garden Centre, Gift Department, large Restaurant and seasonal Pick Your Own. Claire Austin Hardy Plants specialise in peonies and irises, they have a wealth of knowledge and experience of selling bare root irises, bare root peonies, daylilies, and potted perennials online. They are a mail order business and operate through e-commerce, delivering to private individuals across the UK from their base in Sarn, Powys.
The Drinks Development Cluster has been launched as part of Welsh Government’s Cluster programme and is aimed at supporting growth through industry collaboration and connectivity.
Growing the Drinks Industry in Wales
Drinks Cluster Newsletter - April 2020
Critical services in Gwynedd are being supplied with hand sanitiser by a local gin distillery
Exporting can transform your business, with potential benefits including growing sales and profits, as well as encouraging creativity and innovation and increasing efficiencies.
Export Cluster and Trade Development Visit Programme - Year Review
Welsh Seafood Cluster
The Business Development Programme aims to enable Welsh fisheries businesses to create jobs and sustainable economic growth by supporting the sector to grow through the provision of specific support.
Welsh Seafood Suppliers and Wholesalers Directory
Map of Welsh Seafood Suppliers and Wholesalers
The Business Development Programme aims to enable Welsh businesses to create jobs and sustainable economic growth by supporting Welsh food and drink producers to grow through the provision of specific support - the Cluster programme is an example of this support.
The key objectives of the CEO cluster are to help business achieve accelerated growth in sales, profit and staff numbers. This cluster will appeal to companies that have ambitious growth targets. This growth could be driven by a combination of factors including innovation, new sales channels and new product development, all of which may be supported by our work.
NutriWales Cluster Development
The Cluster will simulate joint research, product development, access to new markets and benefit the Welsh economy as well as the nutritional health of Wales.