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Returning to kick o the trade show calendar on 23-25th January at Glasgow’s SEC, Scotland’s only food & drink trade event is back for 2022.
Six reasons to visit… Scotland’s Speciality Food Show
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Meet the trade
With around 120 exhibitors in the food & drink sector set to attend, 2022’s show has attracted many new producers, as well as longstanding attendees (like Sarah Gray Preserves, Summerhouse Drinks and Summer Harvest Oils) and various regional food groups.
scotlandstradefairs.com
Find the newest producers
In the centre of the show will be the Launch Gallery, for new young companies. This includes Nuisance Drinks, Ellon Spirit Company, Woodmill Game and Isle of Mull Seaweed. In the main show area, the new exhibitors to check out include Beet This Food Sauce, Yaldi Sweets and Dark Sky Spirits
Discover the regions
A particular feature for this event is the regional stands. Tastes of Orkney, a show stalwart, has taken more space than ever before, housing seven small companies, while there is also a Lanarkshire Larder stand and some 12 di erent suppliers from Fife showcasing the area’s rich agricultural pedigree.
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Time to be topical
The Show’s Talking Shop zone will provide visitors with insight into current topics such as targeting in uencers, how to do your own PR, retail trends, gaining a retail listing, customer buying habits, and attracting tourists back. There will be a range of informal talks, panel discussions and workshops.
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Tried and tested producers
Nessie’s Den is returning, with producers presenting their wares to the ‘Nessies’ – James Lamont (Tesco), Andrew Firth (Herbies Deli) and Catriona Farquharson (Finzean Farm Shop) – in the style of a famous TV format. There is also a Best Product Awards, which will be judged on the opening day, with the winners’ products put on display a erwards.
Let’s go Eco
EcoBags is the o cial supplier of carrier bags to Scotland’s Trade Fair and will be providing bags made from recycled plastic bottles, which are themselves recyclable. To discover more of the EcoBags range, visit stand M33 at the show.
Start-up rescues co ee from waste with ‘wonky veg’ style model
By Tom Dale
A new start-up business is bringing the ‘wonky veg’ concept to the world of speciality co ee with a mission to “reduce waste, create positive change and provide premium co ee across the UK”.
Launched by childhood friends Laurence Stevens and Harrison Dark, The Odd Co ee Company rescues imperfect co ee pods, surplus freshly roasted beans and ground co ee, then repackages it in its own recyclable packaging.
Thousands of tonnes of co ee is discarded each year due to minor aesthetic imperfections that do not a ect quality or taste, o en due to strict cosmetic and quantity requirements set by supermarkets.
Co-founder Laurence Stevens said: “We realised there was a stark need to address the waste issue in the co ee industry, then we uncovered this opportunity in the market during the rst COVID lockdown.
“We’ve already reached our target by rescuing over one million co ee pods and we’re aiming to rescue 50 times this amount by 2025.
The Odd Co ee Company sources all its beans from companies that are certi ed by Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, Soil Association Organic or EU Organic. Harrison Dark said: “Our co ee is sustainably sourced and we only partner with co ee companies that share the same ethics as ours and that meet our strict sustainability criteria.
“Our motto is ‘let’s save the planet, one co ee at a time’ and we’re feeling con dent that our business will make a positive impact to the environment, whilst o ering customers a more economically viable way of purchasing great tasting, premium co ee.”
Currently the brand only sells direct to consumer from their website (100 co ee pods have an RRP of £24.99, a 1kg bag of whole-bean or ground co ee RRP at £13.99) however it is seeking to expand into retail. “We’d love to emulate the success we’ve seen with online consumers in independent food & drink retailers, as we know their customers would appreciate the premium quality of our co ee but are also increasingly conscious of the environment,” said Stevens. Retail enquiries should be directed to hello@oddco eeco. com.
oddcoffeeco.com
WHAT’S NEW
Newport’s Spirit of Wales Distillery has launched of a second Welsh gin and its first pink gin. The South Wales distillery’s Steeltown Welsh Blueberry Gin is a contemporary-styled premium pink gin, made with wild blueberries and heather tips for natural sweetness. Each 50cl bottle has an RRP of £32.
spiritofwales.com
Premium snack brand Olly’s has a new addition for its range of chocolatefor its range of chocolatecovered pretzels, White covered pretzels, White Chocolate. Made with Chocolate. Made with 100% Belgian white chocolate, the new line chocolate, the new line joins Milk, and Vegan Dark Chocolate Pretzel Dark Chocolate Pretzel Thins, all with an RRP of Thins, all with an RRP of £2.50 per 90g bag.
ollys-ollys.com
Aimed at drinkers looking for a lighter spirit – in both ABV and calorific value – Cut Classics is launching its debut range of three half-strength spirits. ‘Light’ Gin, ‘Light’ Rum and ‘Light’ Vodka weigh in at 20% ABV and just 28 calories per serving. Each 70cl bottle has an RRP of £30.
cut-classics.com
Delicario has launched a range of premium artisan food hampers presented in circular luxury edition gift boxes, handcrafted in Perugia, Umbria, with bespoke fabric designs created exclusively for the brand. “Selected with the conscious shopper in mind from sustainable small and family artisan producers,” three Luxury Edition Gift Boxes are available, including Viscount – priced at £250, Marquess – priced at £280, and Monarch, the royal edition – priced at £360. delicario.com
Paley Photography
Alice Wiegand
Counter points Spreadable salami
Food writer and former deli owner Glynn Christian offers up some category-specific conversation starters to sharpen your sales technique.
• ‘Nduja: excoriatingly hot because of the roasted red Calabrian chilli peppers. The meat content includes parts of the head and the high fat content contributes to its longevity, as does a degree of smoking. ‘Nduja’s spreadability lends itself to use as a garnish or coating, even as a pizza topping, but the heat easily blitzes other ingredients.
• Salama da sugo: made with finely chopped pork (including tongue and liver), spices and red wine since the 14th century. It is all put into a skin, and tied with eight lengths of string into a pointy Christmas pudding and then aged for 6-24 months. Once boiled for hours, it is savoury and slightly acidic.
‘Nduja’s spreadability lends itself to use as a garnish or coating
• Sobrasada: a spreadable cured sausage from the Balearics. The texture relies on a high fat content and it is flavoured with paprika. A hot version was developed, identified by red or red & white string. Eat like a pâté or spread on flat breads. It also melts into stews and sauces.
WHAT’S NEW
Launched earlier this year, Jida Kitchen’s debut range of six Mediterranean and Middle Eastern spice blends comprises Smokin’, Sassy, Kickin’, Wild, Breezy and Bold. Each jar – ranging between 55g and 95g – has an RRP of £11.95, and a pack of three costs £29.95.
jidakitchen.com
Premium vegan-friendly chocolate brand Firetree has launched a new limited edition range – the Innovations Collection. Adding to its range of volcanic chocolate are five new bars from Dominican Republic, Indonesia and the Solomon Islands, ranging from 72% to 100% cocoa.
firetreechocolate.com
Carla’s Foods
has recently added Middle Eastern Chicken Shawarma Spice, Turkey Seasoning, S’mores Cookie Mix and Cinnamon Muffin Mix to its range of hand-blended seasonings as well as rebranding its entire range. Each pack (between 17g - 60g) has a £2.99 RRP.
carlasfoods.co.uk
Mymagic ingredient
TRS Whole Jeera Cumin Seeds
TOM HUGHES
Chef & founder of Tubby Tom’s
First things first. Please, don’t buy cumin powder!
I love cumin seeds, they are tiny little flavour bombs. I use them in so many of my dishes at home, as well as the seasonings I make at work with Tubby Tom’s. Toasting them really smacks the flavour out of them and sparks a heady, earthy aroma, and a dark roasted taste.
It’s nice to toast them fresh, but I tend to toast a load at a time, grind them, and store them because I just can’t fathom life without them.
They blast chilli con carne into another dimension, skyrocket your curry into outer space or, if you grind some with a bit of smoked sea salt, they make an epic, simple seasoning for poached eggs on toast.
It’s so much nicer than the pre-ground stuff, so hit up your local Indian supermarket or grab them on the web.
Either way, enjoy! Tom buys TRS Whole Jeera Cumin Seeds
Toasting them really smacks the avour out of them and sparks a heady, earthy aroma
So drinks brand on road to carbon neutrality with new measures
A premium juice and cordial producer is continuing its drive to become carbon neutral by 2030 with the installation of a solar panel roof at its Leicestershire factory and tracking its waste streams.
Belvoir Farm has installed 746 photovoltaic panels on the roof of its bottling plant that will generate a third of the company’s electricity and has joined Certi ed Sustainable to independently audit its waste and recycling activities.
Since joining the scheme this summer, the producer has achieved good results in all areas and the audit has revealed it recycles 100% of its packaging, reuses 20% of its waste and recycles almost 70% of its entire waste. Initiatives such as harvesting rainwater on its farm for irrigation, recycling and repurposing waste drums into furniture, returning the packaging of its glass bottles to the manufacturer to be reused for future deliveries, sending zero waste to land ll and utilizing some waste streams to generate more electricity helped it achieve this status.
The company has also switched to using natural gas for its boilers from oil, and Biogas for its eet of forkli trucks, cutting its carbon emissions by 40%.
Belvoir Farm MD Pev Manners said: “Environmental responsibility, modern farming techniques and good business practice go hand in hand, and we are thrilled to be joining the Certi ed Sustainable initiative.
“This shows that we are serious about recycling and managing our waste streams in the most sustainable way, as part of our overall commitment to our shared natural environment and desire to leave our farm and the world in a better place for our children.”
