New plan unveiled to boost Welsh food and drink sales

Posted: 22 July 2021 | New Food Magazine | No comments yet

The Food and Drink Wales Retail Plan has been developed with the aim to see the turnover value for the food and drink industry in Wales grow proportionally more than the UK as a whole.

It includes eight objectives, including the creation of a stream of new entrepreneurial food and drink businesses, and an acceleration in the growth of companies with a turnover of more than £10m in the retail sector.

Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd, Lesley Griffiths will launch the Retail Plan during a visit to Samosaco in Pontyclun this morning.

Samosaco, which recently relaunched its brand and packaging, currently lists its products in Morrisons stores in Wales and Costco stores across the whole of the UK.

The plan aims to support Welsh companies to reach a UK level of distribution in an attempt to build closer working relationships across supply-chains and retailers – as well as nurturing the next generation of companies to access new market routes and consumer demands.

“We have fantastic food and drink producers here in Wales and I am committed to helping them see their products enjoyed by more people, not only here in Wales, but across the UK,” said Lesley Griffiths, Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd.

“The new retail plan will be key to this by helping develop greater strength and resilience within the industry and put in place the building blocks to support companies in their next phase of growth and development.

“I would like to thank the Retail Expert Group for their work in helping create this plan. The group has been specifically established to assess Wales’ position within the UK retail sector and respond to the demands of evolving food markets.

“We have a real opportunity, through this new plan, to help Welsh food and drink businesses reach new and potentially game changing markets.”

She argues that the new plan will help develop building blocks and lead to further distribution to support Welsh companies’ growth.

Samosaco are developing their product range to suit current markets, with Tee Sandhu, co-founder saying that the brand has had “excellent support from the Government’s Trade Development Programme and the Fine Food Cluster.”