Welsh food producers are hoping to reach a new UK-wide customer base with online sales through a website launched this week.
DiscoverDelicious.Wales is selling produce from around 50 Welsh makers of ‘artisan, adventurous and alternative food and drink’, with plans to expand.
Only Welsh food businesses making products grown, reared or made in Wales are allowed to feature.
The site was launched with funding from the Welsh Government Rural Communities - Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which in turn is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government.
It comes after a study from Food Innovation Wales found that 78% of local Welsh producers felt they were not operating at full capacity.
The site allows producers to sell directly to customers, taking ‘only a very small commission,’ a spokesman said.
“The only marketplace of its kind in Wales, it is designed to bring the best Wales has to offer to the whole of the UK.
“The marketplace celebrates Wales’ amazing producers, their products and the incredible Welsh landscape that shapes them all.”
Participants would benefit from a marketing campaign including TV advertising, the spokesman added.
Companies on the site include Anglesey sea salt producer Halen Môn, Caerphilly-based Hallets Cider and seafood firm the Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company.
“We’re proud of the fantastic food and drink in Wales and excited to be promoting such incredible products to a wider market,” said site founder Laura Pickup. “Our Discover Delicious team collectively bring over 20 years of experience in marketing Welsh produce.
“Our mission is to bring Welsh flavours to consumers’ tables nationwide and put Welsh food on the map. We’re here to support producers from all corners of the country in that mission, amplifying their profile and products as part of a connected network that promotes the rich gastronomy of Wales.”
“Wales’s reputation for producing innovative food and drink of the highest quality is now becoming well established, at home, throughout the UK and abroad,” said Lesley Griffiths, Welsh cabinet secretary for energy, planning and rural affairs. “I am delighted to be supporting such a fantastic initiative that collectively showcases the rich diversity of Wales-based food and drink producers and look forward to seeing it develop and evolve.”
“Deciding to work with Discover Delicious was simple,” said Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company founder Jonathan Williams. “We were always confident that the look of the website would be executed to the highest standard and that the marketing campaign would be strong. The team behind Discover Delicious are superb, it’s great because you get the feeling you are part of the wonderful Welsh food and drink community more than ever.”
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