FoodWorksSW, in conjunction with Shop Cotswolds, is opening its doors for a free business networking event for food and drink producers on Thursday November 13th 2025.
The afternoon event will show food and drink brands all that the North Somerset venue, based near Weston-super-Mare, has to offer businesses, whether it is new product development and testing, technical advice or taking the next step in growing the business.
Running from 3pm to 5pm, the afternoon will include a tour of the development kitchens which are built to food-grade standard and include standard catering equipment as well as specialist items linked to bakery, dairy, ready meal and drinks development. There will also be an opportunity to view the newly opened purpose-built photography studio kitted out with photography and kitchen equipment.
Zoe Plant, the NPD Manager at Food WorksSW will be speaking on new product development, what it means, trends and scaling up, with an opportunity for Q&A. Zoe is an experienced NPD Manager with a proven ability of delivering products from concept to launch in areas such as party food, desserts, soups, sauces, ready meals, drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), dairy and plant based to B2B and D2C.
The on-site café will be open for refreshments, along with ample opportunity for networking with fellow food and drink producers from the region.
The event is co-hosted by Shop Cotswolds, supporting food and drink producers in the Cotswolds and Forest of Dean region. Nicola Hardy, Shop Cotswolds co-founder says: “We are thrilled to be running this event in conjunction with FoodWorksSW. It will be a great opportunity to network with other regional food and drink producers as well as seeing first hand the amazing facilities and resources available at the venue. The event reflects our ongoing commitment to boosting the profile of local food and drink.”
Becky Hale, Marketing Manager at FoodWorksSW adds: “We’re looking forward to hosting the event – it’s so nice to bring together like minded people from the food and drink community.”
For more information on the event or to sign up for free, email Nicola and Caroline on hello@shopcotswolds.uk
