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. 

The Food Works SW Announces New Discovery Day for Businesses

Leading food and drink innovation centre The Food WorksSW will be throwing open its doors and holding a Discovery Day on 22nd February to show food and drink brands all that it has to offer businesses, whether they're looking to test and develop a product, need technical advice or want to take the next steps in growing their business. 

The free event at the North Somerset centre will showcase each of its specialist bakery, dairy and drinks kitchens with talks from invited guest speakers, including Butcombe Brewery's Development Chef Jasper Prickett and Ellie Brown, Founder of Kinda Co., who will highlight how their business has benefited from time spent at The Food WorksSW and also industry experts Greg Parsons, owner of Sharpham Dairy and Chair of Food Drink Devon and Gabriel David, Managing Director of Royal Warrant holder Luscombe Drinks.

 Since its opening in October 2021, it has helped over 150 businesses. New products such as gelato, water kefir, vegan cheese, chilli sauces, high protein cookies and frozen ready meals have all been developed in their kitchens.

In addition, Discovery Day attendees will also hear from representatives from brands aligned with each speciality kitchen who will offer industry insight, and their in-house technical experts, Zoe Plant and Rachel Goff, will be demonstrating each of the kitchen's state-of-the-art equipment and advising on a range of topics, from product labelling to SALSA, during each session.

Specialist sessions will run throughout the day with an optional tour of Food Works' meeting rooms, conference facilities and commercial and trial kitchens. The centre's coffee shop and business lounge will also be open on the day for people to use.

Greg Parsons, Owner of Sharpham Dairy said, "I'm delighted to be part of The Discovery Day and I'm looking forward to meeting other food businesses and sharing my own business journey with them.  The event is also a great opportunity to see and hear first hand how Food Works can help food and drink products take crucial next steps in their development".

Becky Hale, who is the Marketing Manager at The Food WorksSW said, “We've designed the Discovery Day around our three main specialist kitchens so people can see just how fantastic each of them are for product testing, refining or development, and hear from a range of people from the food and drink industries who have either used our facilities first hand or who can offer invaluable advice”.

Zoe Plant, Food Works' New Product Development and Innovation Manager, added, "We're looking forward to welcoming people to The Food Works and opening up our kitchens. We'll be showcasing some of our specialist equipment too, like our chocolate tempering machine and drinks carbonator. The Discovery Day is exactly that - a great opportunity for people to see for themselves all that we have to offer food and drink businesses.”

The only centre of its kind in the south west, The Food WorksSW is based in the heart of the Weston-super-Mare Enterprise Area, under 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 £96.90 per day (inc VAT).

Technical support packages are also available. A team of food industry experts offer technical support to businesses navigating their way through a range of food disciplines – from new product development, and quality assurance hygiene, to food safety and efficiency. 

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

The Food WorksSW Helps Drinks Brand Well Fruited Develop Production

With their expert support and industry advice, North Somerset-based food and drink innovation centre The Food WorksSW is helping Well Fruited, the winners of their 2023 new business competition, get one step nearer to realising their ambitions and dreams of seeing their new fruit SuperBlend™ drink on the shelves of independent farm shops, delis and major supermarkets.

As part of their competition prize Alex Williams and Ben Kaye, the duo behind the drinks brand, have recently spent time in the centre's state-of-the-art drinks development kitchen with Zoe Plant, the centre's New Product Development and Innovation Manager. 

Together they explored options for scaling up their business including faster production processes and gained invaluable insights into factory layouts and specialist equipment such as the centre's blending machinery and high sheer pump. With The Food WorksSW's nutritional expertise Alex and Ben were also able to perfect their existing recipes, develop new flavour combinations and test new pasteurisation methods which resulted in them extending the shelf life of their SuperBlend™ drink.

Alongside their development days in the specialist drinks kitchen, the pair also benefited from expert technical advice and support from Rachel Goff, Senior Technical and Site Manager, who helped and advised them on labelling information.

Well Fruited's 100% liquid fruit drinks use the whole fruit which means they contain nutrients within the fruit that aren't possible to extract through juicing or cold pressed drinks. The nutrients inside each bottle have a great many health benefits, from sugar-regulating fibre to mood boosting antioxidants.

Alex Williams co-founder of Well Fruited said, “Our time at Food WorksSW working in the drinks kitchen and with Zoe and Rachel has been so very helpful and inspiring. It really is an amazing facility and I'd recommend it to anyone who is developing or planning on taking their food or drink product to the next business level. We've been able to look at ways to develop our business and gained so many valuable insights into the drinks industry which we simply wouldn't have been able to do without their expert knowledge and advice.”

Zoe Plant added, “For anyone like Well Fruited who are in that in between stage with their food or drink business where they are looking to increase production before moving to a permanent base, The Food WorksSW really is where they need to be. We can offer so much support and the very best development kitchens. It's been fantastic to support Well Fruited as they take the next steps in growing their business.”

The Food WorksSW 2023 Competition saw 13 entries from businesses and individuals from across the UK and was judged by an esteemed panel of experts including Orlando Murrin, President of the Guild of Food Writers. 

Runners-up included Jaz Skye of Weston-super-Mare based Jivee, who uses sea moss as a main ingredient to make jellies, fruit cider vinegar and sports drinks, and Gregory Davies, co-founder of Auntie's, an Indian-inspired condiments company from Coventry. 

The only centre of its kind in the south west, The Food WorksSW is based in the heart of the Weston-super-Mare Enterprise Area, less than 30 minutes from Bristol, and is in close proximity to Junction 21 of the M5 motorway. 

It has five product development kitchens each with its own specialist equipment for dairy, bakery, drinks, commercial and trial usage 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 a very reasonable £96.90 per day, and that includes VAT.

For more information on how The Food WorksSW can help you and your business, visit foodworks-sw.co.uk, or to stay up-to-date follow @foodworks_sw on Instagram, Facebook and X (formerly Twitter). For more information about Well Fruited visit wellfruited.co.uk or for updates follow wellfruited on Instagram.