Scottish producers meet with ‘world’s most influential buyers’ at showcase event
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The two-day event is organised by Scotland Food & Drink on behalf of the Scotland Food & Drink Partnership, with funding support from The Scottish Government.
Iain Baxter, chief executive at Scotland Food & Drink, said: “The sheer number of buyers attending Showcasing Scotland from every corner of the globe demonstrates the power and reputation of Scotland’s food and drink industry.
“What people have been telling us this morning is that it could take up to three years to have the same amount of meetings they are having today, and that’s before you factor in the cost of flying around the world to 20 different countries.”
In 2019, Showcasing Scotland reportedly saw an excess of 2,000 business meetings take place, with £60 million in new deals for the industry.
It is hoped that this value can be exceeded in 2024, providing a ‘welcome boost’ to Scotland’s exports.
First Minister @HumzaYousaf kicked off the Showcasing Scotland event this morning by welcoming international buyers and speaking of Scotland’s ‘truly world class produce’ pic.twitter.com/tNhjhNjZ3l
— Sarah Campbell (@sz_campbell) March 6, 2024
Mr Baxter continued: “Don’t get me wrong, there are still a lot of difficulties to overcome and cash is still thin on the ground with supply chains working hard.
“It’s far from a universal boom time, but we are seeing a lot more emerging and forward-looking businesses and hope that this week will give them a step up.
“I would say during the last six months or so there has been a lot of positivity tempered with a bit of realism.
“Let’s be honest, in the world today we’ve still got Ukraine and all these other things happening which impact the global market but we’re hopefully winning more than we’re losing.”
Ahead of today’s event, potential buyers spent the week taking part in ‘sector tours’ across the country, as they were introduced to the Scotland’s natural larder and the talented producers who work at the heart of its food and drink industry.
Welcoming them to the EICC this morning, not long before a giant 20-minute countdown clock was started for the first of many times, First Minister Humza Yousaf said: “Our food and drink sector is a massive success story for Scotland.
“It adds around £15 billion each year to our economy with more than 17,000 businesses that employ almost 130,000 people.
“I can see that growing in the years to come.”
Following introductions from both Mr Yousaf and Mr Baxter, the latter of whom also took the opportunity to introduce the new ‘Naturally Scottish’ brand from Scotland Food & Drink, a buzz soon filled the hall as more than 100 meetings began to take place at once.
Speaking with The Herald between appointments was Aberdeenshire-based rora dairy founder Jane Mackie.
Eager to create a ‘no-nonsense’ alternative to the mass-produced yogurts using organic, Scottish milk and local fruits, she first established her business in 2017.
Seven years later, rora dairy is stocked in the likes of Sainsburys, the Co-Op and Asda with plans for further expansion on the horizon.
She said: “Events like this are a really good for introducing you to potential buyers and I always say that if you’re brave enough, you can do anything.
“You only learn by talking to others and, whether their business is big or small, people are always looking to help.
“The real challenge we’re facing going forward is keeping our food at the same level of quality that it is now and whether people will be able to pay for that.
“The cost-of-living is such an issue, but so far it’s been so good and people have really kindly been paying a slight premium for our yoghurt.”
Just a few tables down from rora was Erica Moore, the founder and managing director of eteaket ltd who had just returned from setting up a potential collaboration with a fellow Scottish producer.
While pouring out a cup of bright pink Sea Buckthorn tea, she said: “I love events like this.
“They’re amazing for allowing you to connect with loads of different people.
“Our exports are still quite small scale compared to some of the others here, but we do some to Japan and ship across the world from our online shop.
“There are a lot of challenges for food and drink producers at the moment, particularly when you’re looking at the impact of Brexit.
“It’s been a difficult four years since the last event in 2019, but I think any business that has survived has learned an awful lot, and that can only make you stronger.
“It’s not often you get to attend something like this and be surrounded by amazing people with so much wisdom.”
Showcasing Scotland returns for another day of meetings at the EICC tomorrow.
For more information on Scotland Food & Drink click here.
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