Discovery Day Gives Food and Drink Businesses a Taste of Food WorksSW

A recent Discovery Day held at North Somerset's The Food WorksSW proved to be a major hit with food and drink businesses who had come to learn about the innovation centre's specialist kitchens and state-of-the-art facilities, and hear from top industry experts.

In excess of 50 people attended the event, which was free, with sessions throughout the day aimed at dairy, drinks and bakery products. 

Guest sector speakers Greg Parsons, owner of Sharpham Dairy and Chair of Food Drink Devon, Rhian Davis, Marketing Manager of Royal Warrant holder Luscombe Drinks and Chris Giddings, Commercial Director of bakery brand Cakesmiths shared industry insights and advice.

In addition, Butcombe Brewery's Development Chef Jasper Prickett, Ellie Brown, founder of vegan cheese brand Kinda Co. and Alli Briaris, founder of the non-alcoholic aperitif brand Drinks Kitchen, all spoke about how their business had benefited and grown from time spent at The Food WorksSW.

The sessions included kitchen demonstrations from the centre's in-house technical experts, Zoe Plant and Rachel Goff, who showcased all of the kitchen's specialist equipment and highlighted the technical advice they offer businesses. 

One-to-one business support with Simon Gregory, Senior Strategy and Commercial Manager at the Food and Drink Forum, was also available to visiting business owners.

Commenting on the Discovery Day, Greg Parsons said, “I'm really passionately involved in supporting the food, drink and farming sector, as both the owner of Sharpham Dairy and the Chair of Food Drink Devon, which is why I got involved with this brilliant event.

"I wanted to share some of the knowledge and experience I've gained from over 35 years in our industry. More importantly, I wanted to help promote what great facilities are available here. The Food WorksSW provides a pathway for people to simply get into the industry, to start up their own business, or grow an existing one.”

Chris Giddings added, “When Cakesmiths was much smaller, we'd have loved a facility like this because we were always short of space. Back then, I'm sure it would have provided the perfect place to develop our cakes, particularly because we didn't have a big new product development team. I've no doubt the support and facilities at The Food WorksSW would have allowed us to test our recipes and create great products.”

Rhian Davis commented, “We have a state-of-the-art development facility at the home of Luscombe, but knowing how much it costs to set one up I would urge any small drinks brand who is finding their feet or looking to grow, to explore the facilities at Food Works. It's fantastic to see such a place in the southwest of England, especially because of all the amazing food and drink brands who now call this region home.” 

Ellie Brown, a vegan cheesemaker who is based in one of Food Works' food-grade business units commented, “I found out about this incredible centre through a recommendation. My business was growing and I needed more space. We've now been here for three years and have a core range of 14 dairy-free cheeses, plus our limited edition products.”

Alli Briaris makes her range of non-alcoholic aperitifs within one of the Food Works' development kitchens. Alli said, “Being a resident of Weston, I attended an open day back in 2020 with only an idea for my drinks brand.  Drawing from years of industry experience, I was eager to transform my know-how into products to sell. Fast forward four years and I am regularly producing up to 500 litres of my product at a time.”

Jasper Prickett is also a regular at The Food WorksSW and brings chefs from Butcombe's collection of pubs and inns to the centre for training sessions and to develop the menus for key periods such as Easter, spring/summer and Christmas. 

Jasper said, “One of the main reasons I hire the facilities here is so I don't get in the way of our chefs in their busy working pub kitchens. Unlike other pub brands, we don't have a dedicated development kitchen, so Food Works solves our problem. It gives us the ability to create our seasonal menus, photograph the dishes and then train our chefs all in one place.”

Zoe Plant, Innovation and New Product Development Manager at The Food WorksSW added, “It's been fantastic to meet so many new businesses and show them what Food Works can offerto  them. The response to our Discovery Day has been extremely positive and we're rally very grateful to all our guest speakers who have given up their time to inspire and encourage our attendees with their wealth of industry experience”.

Since its opening in October 2021, The Food Works has helped over 200 businesses. New products such as gelato, water kefir, vegan cheese, chilli sauces, high protein cookies and frozen ready meals are just some of the products that have been developed in its kitchens.

The only centre of its kind in the south west, The Food WorksSW is a not-for-profit centre based in the heart of the Weston-super-Mare Enterprise Area, less than 30 minutes from Bristol. It has state-of-the-art facilities including five product development kitchens which are available for flexible short-term contract hire for food and drink businesses of all sizes to test, develop and manufacture their products - prices start from just £100 per day (inc VAT).

For more information on The Food WorksSW, visit foodworks-sw.co.uk or follow @foodworks_sw on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.