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The Food Technology Centre And Rural Economy Hub Sponsor Startup Awards

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This year, the prestigious food and drink category at the Wales Startup Awards is being sponsored by the Food Technology Centre and Glynllifon Rural economy hub, both of which are part of the Grŵp Llandrillo Menai Further Education college portfolio in North Wales.

With previous years having seen some incredible new businesses win the food and drink category including two overall winners – Brighter Foods and Aber Falls Whisky Distillery – as well as other brilliant firms such as Ginhaus Deli, Dyfi Distillery, and the Drop Bear Beer Company, this is one of the most competitive categories at the annual event celebrating new Welsh firms.

Since its establishment in 1999, the Food Technology Centre has been at the heart of the impressive growth the food and drink industry has witnessed during this period. The industry is now worth over £7bn to the Welsh economy, having grown by over 30% since 2014, which just goes to show its vital importance. It aims to build on this further in the coming years and help ensure that Wales continues to have a vibrant, innovative and sustainable industry into the future.

According to Director of Agri-Food Martin Jardine, start-ups are the lifeblood of the Welsh economy through acting as a catalyst for new jobs, ideas and opportunities.

“Startups are especially important in Wales which has seen decline in many of its traditional industries and therefore new ideas and innovations are needed to drive economic growth across all parts of the country both rural and urban. At the Food Technology Centre, we work closely with start-ups on a daily basis and witness first-hand the dedication, passion and fresh ideas that are fundamental to them, and how they are so vital to our future economic prosperity”

He also said that helping start-ups thrive is one of the core principles of mission of the Food Technology Centre; aiming to expand as part of a vision to develop the Glynllifon Rural Economy Hub, which will focus on supporting the growth of Welsh food and drink businesses in purpose-built accommodation supported by a high-level knowledge transfer programme.

“We are proud to be able to give small companies access to resources which would normally be out of their reach due high costs such as access to state-of-the-art technical facilities and also the opportunity to work closely with a team of experienced food scientists. On a practical level, this could mean help with new product development, growing manufacturing capacity, providing training courses or helping them access new markets. Ultimately, we understand that making the leap from being a new start-up into a thriving, sustainable business can be one of the most challenging aspects of growing a successful business  and we are on hand to provide solutions and advice to help them gain a competitive advantage in the market and break down the barriers to their future growth.”

The Wales Start-Up Awards are the only awards in the UK that focus on celebrating the success of new businesses. To enter this year’s awards, companies need to have started trading on or after June 1st 2018 and be based in Wales.

For further information, go to www.walesstartupawards.com

Business News Wales