e Road to Success

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When it comes to its food and drink industry, Wales continues to punch far above its own weight when compared with bigger nations. Jonno Mack spoke to Rhiain Williams (Marketing Officer) and Manon Llwyd Rowlands (Director) at Cywain to find out how they are coaching Wales’ food and drink producers to success.

For both businesses and consumers alike, much of their success comes down to being able to sample the best of Welsh produce as easily as possible. Think marketing and business strategy advice, from branding and social media to supply chain management and business plans - all are necessary, and all are provided by Cywain. This team of Welsh experts work with industry and consumers in mind.

When did Cywain start trading and in what ways do you help Welsh industry and consumers?

RW: Cywain is a Menter a Busnes project dedicated to supporting new and existing food and drink producers in Wales. Often, we come across individuals who are passionate about an idea they have and need help to steer that idea in the right direction in order to develop it further. There are so many things to think about when setting up a business and over the years, Cywain have been led by these businesses and have delivered the support they need to get their products to the consumer.

Cywain have provided business support in areas such as marketing strategy, branding and social media as well as business planning and finance via group webinars and one to one sessions - all with the aim of reaching new markets and helping food and drink businesses in Wales to grow.

We recently launched the Cywain Producer Map on our website (cywain.cymru) with the main aim of gathering all our producer clients in one online directory. This formed part of our #SupportLocalSupportWales campaign, encouraging consumers to discover the array of quality food and drink available on their doorstep. Needless to say, the past couple of years have been challenging for us all, but we pride ourselves on the fact that we were able to adapt our services rapidly in order to support our resilient producers throughout this pandemic. We are now at the point of returning to live events again and are so excited to be able to do so. This gives us the chance to showcase the incredible talent of Wales’ food and drink producers both in Wales and further afield at destinations such as the Farm Shop and Deli Show in Birmingham and the Northern Restaurant & Bar Show in Manchester. These are just a few of the exciting opportunities coming up this year for producers to meet new buyers and showcase some of the best produce Wales has to offer.

What do you think makes the Welsh food and drink industry so unique?

RW: Wales and Wales’ brand is recognised globally and is gaining momentum on an international stage for its green pastures, castles, songs, sportsmen and food and drink. Welsh producers battle with the elements to bring fresh ingredients to their produce. Our winters are long and our summers short and yet the quality of the food and drink producer never wavers. Our passion defines us in Wales and that translates into our produce.

How has Cywain evolved over the years and what range of producer clients are you now working with?

RW: The Cywain project has grown considerably over the years and has evolved in response to the needs of the food and drink producers here in Wales.

Since 2018 Cywain have supported over 1000 food and drink businesses in Wales to grow. We have supported 432 business start-ups and specialise in helping clients to maximise their potential, enabling them to bring their world class products to market both here in the UK and internationally.

Collaboration is key in driving growth and Cywain leads on the Food and Drink Wales’ Fine Food, Seafood and Honey Clusters here in Wales. They play a

Rhiain Williams

Manon Llwyd Rowlands

key role in bringing like-minded businesses together to share knowledge, increase productivity and stimulate new business.

With restrictions easing, does that make your mission statement easier to achieve?

RW: It certainly does. Cywain has a fantastic working relationship with our clients based on years of productive and invaluable face to face interactions. We’ve been to their premises, met their staff, sometimes even met their families. We passionately support their businesses and products and it is a huge bonus for us, now that restrictions are easing, that we can continue with the one-to-one mentoring that Cywain prides itself on. Being able to attend Food and Drink festivals, shows and exhibitions again is another bonus. It’s been a long two years for many Welsh producers and these events are a fantastic opportunity for them to reach new audiences and showcase their product.

What are the long-term benefits of Welsh businesses working with Cywain?

RW: Cywain has a team of dedicated staff who work directly with food and drink producers here in Wales. This gives our staff an opportunity to really get to know the people behind the products and support them on their journeys. Having this close relationship, we see how extremely passionate the producers are and how dedicated and hard-working they are.

Through our Development Managers and Cluster Managers, the food and drink producers we work with gain consistent support and a direct, personal service - something that we feel has been hugely appreciated within the industry in particular throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Their progress is monitored and we endeavour to fill any gaps in knowledge or expertise that the client may experience, with our bespoke one to one sessions with industry experts as well as a schedule of group workshops and webinars.

Cywain works with businesses at all different stages of growth - from start-ups to well-established and profitable brands. Producers may connect with Cywain at any point - no matter how small or developed the business is. The internal Cluster projects are a great example of like-minded businesses and those at a similar, advanced level of operations who are ready and capable of attending networking events with industry buyers and who are effectively collaborating to enter new markets together.

How is Cywain planning for the future of the Welsh food and drink industry?

MLR: With Welsh food and drink continuing to demand a great reputation for being high quality, wholesome and expertly made, Cywain undoubtedly plans for the future with absolute positivity. Despite two extraordinary years for the food and drink industry, the demand for Cywain’s support package has not faltered. We have been astounded with the pure resilience seen from food and drink businesses of all shapes and sizes and their eagerness to tap into the support to ensure both their survival and their business’ sustainable growth.

Cywain has fully demonstrated its ability to adapt and develop innovative initiatives at an unprecedented rate. With this in mind, this is a good time to both take stock and look forward, to plan how we can grow the programme to suit the new working world as well as increase the return on investment from our clients in terms of productivity, growth and sustainability on a national and international stage.

We are looking at how we can strengthen the support package and build on recent initiatives such as our Scale-up, Sustainability and Employment bootcamps as well as further facilitate true clustering and collaboration projects for the benefit of our clients and indeed, the wider society.

For the immediate future, we are in full planning mode for a full calendar of national and international events where the team, as well as the clients, will undoubtedly relish the opportunity to engage face-to-face once more with customers.

Alfie’s Coffee Co. is one of the successful businesses benefiting from working with Cywain. Paul Cammock (founder of Alfie’s) had the following to say in charting where he started from, to how his coffee company has evolved with the help of Cywain:

Alfie’s Coffee Co. began during the start of the pandemic in March 2020. I was roasting coffee for my mobile coffee van, Alfie’s Coffee Bus, but since I was unable to go out in the coffee van due to lockdown restrictions, I started the coffee company and began selling my coffee online. Cywain has always been supportive. I started working with them in 2019 when I built the coffee van, but more so now because I am manufacturing a product myself. Cywain always has the answer. Whatever I ask of them, regardless of the uniqueness of my query they will always be able to find an expert who can help.

They have such an array of high quality tools at their disposal which are freely available to you. If you are a food and drink business in Wales and aren’t working with Cywain, then you’re at a disadvantage straight away!

For those interested in finding out more about Cywain support, please contact cywain@menterabusnes.co.uk Find Cywain News, events, webinars

www.menterabusnes.cymru/cywain/en/home

UNIQULY WELSH. FREE TO GRAZE...

Welsh livestock farmers know that if you look after the environment, the environment will look after you.

For centuries, they have played a pivotal role in creating and maintaining the spectacularly beautiful rural landscapes that we know and love, and their sustainable management has helped create a diverse rural environment that is rich in wildlife and visitor-friendly, thanks to a network of footpaths maintained by farmers. While the impact of agriculture on climate change is currently a very hot topic, it’s important to remember that there are huge variations in the environmental impact of different farming systems across the world, with Wales being especially suited for rearing cattle and sheep. Here are some key differences between the Welsh way of agriculture and that found in other parts of the world…

The vast majority (80%) of Welsh farmland is unsuitable for growing

crops, therefore raising cattle and sheep is the most efficient way to turn marginal land into high quality food.

The Welsh way of farming is largely non-intensive:

unlike other parts of the world, where water resources are depleted or significant land is used to grow feed, Welsh sheep and cattle are overwhelmingly reared on our natural resources – grass and rainwater.

Grassland in the Welsh hills captures carbon from the atmosphere,

and Welsh farmers make a positive contribution to mitigating climate change; managing this grassland by combining traditional practices with new innovation.

The Welsh way of farming has a very different story to tell compared with some of the intensive and industrial systems found in other parts of the world. With high standards of animal husbandry and pasture land management, our family-run farms have helped preserve our unique landscape for generations, and will continue to do so for generations to come.