Orkney showcased at major speciality food and trade fair event

Eleven Orkney businesses are set to showcase their products at a major food and trade fair event, which gets underway in Glasgow this weekend.

Scotland’s Speciality Food Show 2017 brings together 130 exhibitors, Glasgow’s SECC between January 22 and 24, offering the very best of fine food products from Scotland, the UK and overseas.

The show, which regularly attracts over 1,000 buyers from delicatessens, farm shops, speciality food retailers and food halls, will run concurrently with the Scotland’s Trade Fair event at the same venue.

Four Orkney businesses – all members of Orkney Food and Drink – will attend the speciality food show, including first-timers Orkney Distilling, makers of Kirkjuvagr Gin.

Seven Orkney Crafts Association (OCA) businesses will take part in the trade fair element of the SECC event, which attracts around 5,000 buyers.

Amongst the Orkney contingent will be Stromness based jeweller Zoe Davidson, who launched her business last year. This will be Zoe’s first time at the Glasgow event.

Edgar Balfour, development manager for Orkney food, drink and crafts, said: “Given the massive scale of the Speciality Food Show and Scotland’s Trade Fair events, this is potentially a very important weekend for Orkney businesses.

“With thousands of buyers attending, it’s the perfect opportunity for both well-established and new local businesses to present their products, talk directly to trade customers and get the year off to a positive start in terms of fresh orders.

“Orkney companies have also historically done very well in the awards that are staged as part of the event, so we’ll be keeping our fingers crossed for a continuation of that tradition.”

The full list of Orkney companies attending the Speciality Food Show is: Orkney Creamery (Ice Cream), The Orkney Bakery (Argo’s), Jolly’s of Orkney and Orkney Distilling.

Attending the Scotland’s Trade Fair element of the event will be jewellery firms Sheila Fleet, Aurora, Ortak, Celina Rupp and Zoe Davidson, in addition to textile businesses Hume Sweet Hume and Annie Glue Knitwear.

Attendance at the event is being supported by an Orkney Marketing funding package. An initiative between Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and Orkney Islands Council (OIC), Orkney Marketing funding is available to projects that focus on bringing local companies together in joint promotions, ensuring the islands maintain a strong presence in competitive markets such as food and drink, the creative industries and renewable energy.