The Food and Drink iNet (Innovation Network) is flying the flag
for East Midlands produce this week at London's famous Borough
Market.
The organisation is showcasing food and drink produced by 15
firms from across the region in the capital on Thursday, Friday and
Saturday July 21st, 22nd and 23rd.
The move is part of a pilot project designed to look at how
firms can collaborate by working together to achieve goals that
wouldn't be possible on their own. If successful, it could
lead to a more regular presence for East Midlands products at the
market in south east London, which specialises in quality food with
provenance.
"Borough Market is a world-famous market, renowned for its food
and drink stalls, but it's out of reach for many of the small,
artisan producers of the East Midlands for a variety of reasons,
such as cost and logistics," said Food and Drink iNet director,
Richard Worrall.
"The Food and Drink iNet is bringing 15 of the region's
producers together to showcase their products on an East Midlands
stall to see how a collaborative project can help overcome
distribution problems and other challenges that they would face if
doing something like this on their own.
"It will give us the chance to look at how they can tap into new
markets and hopefully grow their businesses. For the vast majority
of the firms, it's their first taste of selling at Borough
Market."
The team also wants to highlight the unique cultural diversity
of food and drink in the East Midlands, and has a selection of
producers selling a range of items including ethnic foods,
chocolate and smoked products.
The iNet, which is funded by East Midlands Development Agency
(emda) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), is
working with Nottingham-based logistics firm 5PL Limited to look
into how a collaborative distribution service could work in the
future for small firms wishing to sell at London markets.
Firms taking part in the iNet's Borough Market project are:
From Leicestershire, beef and lamb producer Blackbrook
Traditional Meats, from Coalville, cheese producer Sparkenhoe Red
Leicester, from Upton, Indian flat breads firm Apni Roti, from
Leicester, and fresh curry sauces firm the Tiffin Food Company,
from Leicester .
From Lincolnshire, smoked products company Smith's Smokery, from
Boston, cured meat producer Rectory Reserve, from Horncastle, The
Chocolate Pizza Company, from Crowland, cold-pressed rapeseed oil
producer Mimosa Market, from Grantham, and Lincolnshire plum bread
producer Moden's, from Spilsby.
From Nottinghamshire, curry sauce and accompaniments producer
Ghar Ka Khana, from Nottingham, and Mexican food producer Rico
Mexican Kitchen, from Southglade Food Park.
From Derbyshire, smoked products company Redwood Smokery, from
Bolsover, and truffles producer Bittersweet Chocolates, from
Melbourne.
From Rutland, authentic Thai sauce firm Tuk Tuk, from
Stamford.
From Northamptonshire, quirky accompaniments producer The
Pickled Village, from Bulwick.
The stall at Borough Market will be manned by an independent
individual, with support from Food and Drink iNet advisors and
staff from East Midlands business support organisation The Food and
Drink Forum.
The Food and Drink iNet is one of four regional iNets developed
to link academic and private sector expertise and knowledge with
local food and drink business innovation needs.
The Food and Drink iNet aims to build on the tradition of
innovation in the food and drink industry in the region by helping
to create opportunities to develop knowledge and skills, and to
help research, develop and implement new products, markets,
services and processes. It is managed by a consortium, led by the
Food and Drink Forum and including Food Processing Faraday,
Nottingham Trent University, the University of Lincoln, and the
University of Nottingham.