Welsh food and drink companies are hoping for a boost in sales following their attendance at one of the UK’s largest trade fairs in London. 24 companies attended this year’s Speciality and Fine Food Fair, the UK’s largest trade event for the sector, under the Welsh Government’s Food and Drink Wales banner. Many returned having secured long term orders and valuable contacts, building on last year’s success where Welsh companies secured additional sales and contracts with buyers worth nearly £900,000.
The Welsh presence at the Speciality Food Fair was supported by the Welsh Government and Rebecca Evans, Deputy Minister for Farming and Food, emphasised its importance,
“Welsh food and drink play a significant role in boosting our economy, and our long term aim of growing annual sales up to £7billion by the year 2020 reflects our ambition for the sector. Welsh Government support to help producers attend events such as the Speciality Food Fair provides our producers with an excellent platform to showcase the very best of Welsh produce. It is an opportunity for the companies to promote their products, and interact directly with buyers.”
One household Welsh brand exhibiting this year was Radnor Hills, whose water is filtered naturally through layers of mid Wales rock. As well as securing new sales the Speciality Fair is also an opportunity to highlight new products as Penny Butler explains,
“With over 12,000 people representing buyers and retailers in attendance at the Speciality and Fine Food Fair it’s a great opportunity to promote Welsh produce and for us it’s a chance to showcase new products. We recently launched our new ginger beer on our Heartsease Farm label so it was good to get feedback on that and I’m glad to say it was very positive. While we have a strong Welsh heritage, our market is a global one, so ensuring a presence at such an event as this is vital to sustain and grow the business further in future.”Another company already preparing for a busy period ahead following the 2014 Speciality Fair is Builth Wells based Gluten Free baking company, Love at First Bake, as Teri-Ann Winslow explains,
“The three day fair has been very beneficial for us, in not only developing important contacts, but in securing specific orders. As a relatively small company, it would have been very difficult for us to attend such an event without Welsh Government financial and practical support and we hope to build on that support in the coming months and years. We’re excited about getting stuck into baking more than 500 cakes and muffins to meet the new demand and following up on the great enquiries we’ve had!”
One company who attended the Food Fair for the first time was VDeli of Carmarthenshire and Lisa Rees thought it was very beneficial for her,
“I have only recently taken the plunge and started out with my own business so I am still on quite a steep learning curve. The event in London helped me to understand better what buyers are looking for, and just as important, was the opportunity to discuss with other Welsh producers about their experiences. I can take on board those lessons and apply to my business going forward.”
The Speciality Fine Food Fair was held in London Olympia on 7-9 September with 24 Welsh businesses being showcased on the Food and Drink Wales stand.