Member Article

North East food and drink businesses offered masterclasses

The region’s food and drink businesses are being offered a series of workshops to help them increase their market share.

Regional food and drink group Taste North East, together with the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC), are organising a series of courses which address the changing marketplace.

Paul Mayfield, SAC’s Food & Drink rural business consultant, said: “For the first time since World War II, people are spending a bigger percentage of their household budget on food.

“Consumers are shopping differently and buying different products, as they adapt to rising inflation and unemployment.

“Opportunities exist for local food and drink businesses if they are able to recognise these changing conditions and capitalise on prevailing market place trends.”

Courses are aimed at businesses which are still new and will run until March, covering product presentation, customers, market opportunities and waste and efficiency in the industry.

Paul has been working to improve the food supply chain for smaller producers since the foot and mouth crisis in 2001.

He said: “The courses are aimed at food and drink businesses such as farm diversifications and smaller food and drink manufacturers.

“They will be really useful for one man bands selling in farmers markets and smaller outlets as well as businesses which sell local produce like farm shops, and those looking to expand into reasonable sized businesses.

“When you are working close to something every day and are constricted by time, you can become blinkered, so these courses are ideal for businesses to get new ideas.

“They give people a little time away, to see their business from a different point of view.”

Tim Pain, chair of Taste North East, added: “The objective of these workshops is to help producers to up their game and help them add value to their business.

“It is very easy for businesses, be they producers or retailers to reach a plateau. Running these courses will, we hope, help them more forward as a result of specialist information and advice to progress to the next level, whether that is selling to the multiples or maximising their retail space.”

Jackie Maxwell, of Doddington Dairy in Northumberland, recently took part in a products and presentation workshop, which included a visit to Waitrose in Hexham.
She said: “It was a great day. It is always useful to sit back and review what may be up and coming particularly at this time of year when we have been so busy with the cheese in the run up to Christmas and now have a chance to think and plan for the year ahead as ice cream makers.

“It’s good to get together with like-minded companies including new businesses as well as those who have been around for a while.

“Packaging is very complicated, there is a lot of legislation which the workshop helped explain, as well as new developments such as environmentally friendly packaging and QR codes.

“We’ve since been to a trade fair where I have got some QR codes; the workshop really made me go out and do something.

“The workshop included a trip to Waitrose which was particularly informative and one of the reasons why we’ve already booked onto the next Taste North East event.

“It gave us the chance to look and see what they are doing with their displays and packaging.”

Further courses are to be held at Newcastle Falcons, Kingston Park, on February 7 on understanding customers; Blackfriars Restaurant, Newcastle, on different market types; and Cockle Park Farm, Morpeth, on waste and business efficiency.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .