A selection of Welsh food and drink companies will travel to New York to attend the Speciality Food Association’s 2023 ‘Summer Fancy Food Show’ later this month.
The event, which is the largest speciality food trade event in the US, will take place from June 25-27, 2023.
The event is set to feature more than 180,000 products, 25,000 buyers and 2,500 exhibitors, organisers have said.
The Welsh companies that will be in attendance at this year’s event are:
- The Billington Group;
- Tŷ Nant;
- Welsh Lady Preserves;
- Morning Foods;
- Hilltop Honey.
This will be the second year running that the Welsh government has taken a delegation to the event that aims to bring speciality food manufacturers, buyers and industry professionals together under one roof.
Minister for rural affairs, Lesley Griffiths, said the attendance of Welsh food and drink companies is important to ensure its quality is “rightly recognised”.
“We are proud to support our food and drink producers at this important global event, reaffirming our commitment to raising our international profile and supporting our businesses,” she said.
“We see the US as one of our key export markets and are working hard to raise the profile of our producers and grow the industry.”
Wales and the US market
The Welsh food and drink companies will travel to New York with the intention of developing and strengthening existing trade links with the US market.
Welsh Lady Preserves plans to showcase a new product line at the event, with the aim of displaying “what we have to offer”.
Founder of the company, Carol Jones, said: “I have recently received several inquiries from the US so this is a good opportunity to present our products, and to try to establish relationships with new customers, but mainly to make contact with a distributor.
“We will be showcasing our range of products in bottles – mainly the red sauce and brown sauce, our lemon curd of course, which is always popular, and also a new product which is our ‘pumpkin pie curd’.
“Attending a show like this is challenging, with a lot of preparation. We are very lucky here in Wales to have the support of the Welsh government, I am very grateful that is available.”
Also attending the Summer Fancy Food Show is Hilltop Honey. The company will showcase its full manuka range at the event.
Hilltop Honey export manager, Jack Davies, said the company is excited to attend the event to “grow our presence in the US market”.
“We’re well aware of the potential the US market has to offer and are looking forward to engaging with potential customers, distributors and agents to get the wheels in motion on Hilltop’s move into this new market,” he said.
“We’re keen to work with potential new partners in the market and through attending Summer Fancy Food Show 2023, we’re able to meet these new customers face to face and make lasting relationships thereafter.”
