Exel Wines are very like the vintages they champion: distinctive.
25%
OF LOCAL PRIMARY PRODUCE IS NOW PROCESSED LOCALLY
PERTH OFFERED GREAT CONNECTIVITY AND A LOWER COST BASE, WHICH HAS MADE IT EASIER TO GET OURSELVES ESTABLISHED.”
Iain Burnett, Highland Chocolatier, winner, Best Hot Chocolate, at the International Chocolate Awards 2014.
12
INVEST IN PERTH_SPRING/SUMMER 2015
And there’s no shortage of quality suppliers to select from. A number of award-winning and innovative food and drink companies also have major production and processing facilities here. (The Macauley Institute estimate 25 per cent of local primary produce is now processed locally.) These include Highland Spring, Simon Howie Foods, Taylors Food Group, Stewarts of Tayside and Thomas Thomson’s. Another supplier with a leading reputation, Scotherbs, merged in 2014 with Langmeads, the Sussex-based herb specialist. “The agreement will further build on Scotherbs’ skills, Scottish growing and packing capabilities, distinctive provenance and reputation, but bring additional access to investment funds,” says Ian Summerfield, Langmead’s CEO. Inveralmond Brewery, winners of the Excellence in Food and Drink Award in 2014, are just one of the innovative small to medium enterprises (SMEs), artisan producers and