Kitchen Table Projects and M&S target food start ups

 

Around 80 food and drink start ups attended the last in a series of three events designed by Kitchen Table Projects and held at M&S’ HQ in Paddington, London.

The Artisans After Hours event brought together budding food and drink entrepreneurs to network, experience and learn from some of the food and drink industry’s most knowledgeable experts.

The first of the three events saw 36 start ups face established food entrepreneurs and experts in a Speed Mentoring Session. It offered the opportunity to ask the burning questions in areas such as investment, branding, PR, presenting pitches and getting their proposition right.

At the second event, 60 small food and drink producers took part in a one-day Food Business Bootcamp. This featured a schedule of workshops led by industry experts including Alison Battisby from Avocado Social, Clare Downes from Monkhouse Food & Drink and John Farrand from The Guild of Fine Food. Attendees were given key advice, feedback and information to help them take the next steps in growing their food businesses.

Five producers were also given the opportunity to pitch their products direct to M&S buyers in the Small Producer’s Spotlight. Tickleberries, which produces a 100% aronia berry juice, was victorious and secured five days of mentoring from M&S experts. Since the event, M&S has visited founder Andrew Tickle’s farm to organise buying his berry crop to further develop products to sell under the M&S brand.

Every new type of food and drink product that might one day sell on retailers’ shelves across the UK has been sampled, sipped and scooped at the sessions. Products like aronia berries, crunchy crickets, and coconut milk are just a smattering of the unusual, on trend and interesting foodie items that producers have brought to be appraised.

Head of deli products at M&S, Kirsty Grieve, comments, “It’s been such a great collaboration over the last few months and really insightful. These food and drink producers are the people that will be selling their products across retailers in the next few years, so to be part of the development process has been fantastic.

“As experts in our field, we are happy to be able to show start ups the best approaches to take, and I feel that everyone really benefitted from the sessions.”

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