Nine food and drink businesses from across the South East sought out new export customers this week as they attended the Anuga food and drink fair in Cologne, Germany (5- 9th October).
The trade show, which marks its 100th anniversary this year, hosts more than 7,400 exhibitors from more than 100 countries, and welcomes 165,000 trade visitors from around the world.
The businesses have so far been supported on their exporting journey by the Food is GREAT campaign – a cross-departmental initiative between the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Department for International Trade (DIT) – to showcase UK food and drink overseas and help more businesses export.
The producers attending from the region, including Folkington’s Juices and Huffkins, exhibited at the show alongside more than 100 other UK businesses in a dedicated UK pavilion with support from DIT’s International Trade Advisers (ITAs).
Another local business that attended Anuga was Tea People from Reading. The tea producer currently exports to Canada, Germany, Poland and the US, and donates half of its profits to tea-growing communities in India, helping promote education for children.
Tea People was one of 28 businesses to attend the event with the help of a DIT Tradeshow Access Programme (TAP) grant. Attending Anuga, the business was able to meet potential buyers thanks to support from DIT ITAs. It expects these introductions will support the business’ aim of growing exports to 20% of turnover in the next 12 months, up from 10% today.
Neeraj Agarwal, cofounder and CEO at Tea People, said: “We are very grateful for the support DIT has been able to provide us with as it’s really helped boost our business. We’ve had help with market insight, logistics, and funding to attend tradeshows like Anuga.
“Attending tradeshows is a great way to help showcase our products to a large range of potential buyers, and Anuga has given us a great network of new connections to help increase our exports. We would recommend other businesses looking to export to reach out and take advantage of the support DIT can give.”
Away from the show, businesses also attended a special evening reception hosted by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), where more than 300 buyers and key opinion leaders sampled the best in British meat and dairy.
Food Minister Zac Goldsmith said: “It is fantastic to see our food and drink businesses promoting their world-famous produce and forging new links with emerging markets.
“Anuga is an excellent opportunity to showcase the food and drink that the South East is renowned for, and builds on the continued success of British businesses and our Food is GREAT campaign.”
Minister for Investment at the Department for International Trade, Graham Stuart said: “At £22.5 billion, UK food and drink overseas sales are at record levels thanks to the depth, quality, safety and welfare standards of our produce.
“The international appetite for British food and drink quality and brands has never been higher and the potential for growth is enormous. With DIT’s help I hope to see more and more British firms making the leap into new markets.”
The Anuga trade show followed a special pre-event networking opportunity held at The Belfry on the 3rd to 4th of October in Sutton Coldfield, where over 20 food and drink businesses from the South East met with 60 overseas buyers. Producers had the opportunity to pick and choose which buyers they wanted to meet and establish potential partnerships with.
The latest statistics show that food and drink exports for the South East totalled more than £1.25 billion in the year to June 2019.