A recent Discovery Day held at North Somerset’s The Food WorksSW proved a big hit with dairy businesses who had come to find out about the innovation centre’s specialist kitchens and state-of-the-art facilities, and hear from guest speakers from the dairy sector.
Over 50 people attended the free event throughout the day which included a session specifically aimed at dairy products. Guest dairy speaker Greg Parsons, owner of Sharpham Dairy and Chair of Food Drink Devon shared industry insights and advice. In addition, Ellie Brown, founder of vegan cheese brand Kinda Co., spoke about how her business had benefited and grown from time spent at The Food WorksSW.
The session included a kitchen demonstration from the centre’s in-house technical experts, Zoe Plant and Rachel Goff, who showcased the dairy kitchen’s specialist equipment and highlighted the technical advice they offer businesses. One-to-one business support with Simon Gregory, Senior Strategy and Commercial Manager at the Food and Drink Forum, was also available to visiting business owners.
Commenting on the Discovery Day, Greg Parsons said, “I’m passionately involved in supporting the food, drink and farming sector, as both the owner of Sharpham Dairy and the Chair of Food Drink Devon, which is why I got involved with this brilliant event. I wanted to share some of the knowledge and experience I’ve gained from more than 35 years in the industry. More importantly, I wanted to help promote what great facilities are available here. The Food WorksSW provides a pathway for people to simply get into the industry, to start up their own business, or grow an existing one.”
Ellie Brown, a vegan cheesemaker who is based in one of Food Works’ food-grade business units commented, “I found out about this incredible centre through a recommendation. My business was growing and I needed more space. We’ve now been here for three years and have a core range of 14 dairy-free cheeses, plus our limited edition products.”
Zoe Plant, Innovation and NPD Manager at The Food WorksSW added, “It’s been fantastic to meet so many new businesses and show them what Food WorksSW can offer them. The response to our Discovery Day has been extremely positive and we’re very grateful to all our guest speakers who have given up their time to inspire and encourage our attendees with their wealth of industry experience.”
Since its opening in October 2021, The Food Works has helped over 200 businesses. New products such as gelato, water kefir, vegan cheese, chilli sauces, high protein cookies and frozen ready meals are just some of the products that have been developed in its kitchens.
The only centre of its kind in the south west, The Food WorksSW is a not-for-profit centre based in the heart of the Weston-super-Mare Enterprise Area, less than 30 minutes from Bristol. It has state-of-the-art facilities including five product development kitchens which are available for flexible short-term contract hire for food and drink businesses of all sizes to test, develop and manufacture their products – prices start from just £100 per day (inc VAT).
For more information on The Food WorksSW, visit foodworks-sw.co.uk, or follow @foodworks_sw on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
