Fife food & drink businesses were again at the forefront at the recent Royal Highland Show, one of Scotland’s most important dates, showcasing rural and agricultural products and produce.
Fife Council’s Economic Development Team was pleased to support six Fife businesses to exhibit at this year’s Royal Highland Show. Profiling under a “Tastes of Fife” stand the businesses included The Roasting Project, East Neuk Spirit Company, Mack Chilli Ltd, Modern Standard Coffee, Heavenly Goodies and Wemyss Family Spirits.
One of the fantastic things about the Royal Highland Show is discovering food and drink products you may never have heard of before. This year the flagship event attracted a record-breaking 217,000 visitors through its gates, providing many opportunities for businesses to showcase Fife’s finest food and drink products. HRH Anne, the Princess Royal, also visited the Fife stand.
Fife Council’s Economic Development team, helps businesses participate in, or visit trade exhibitions as part of our services. It has proved integral in enabling businesses of all sizes to grow and reach out to new and existing customers over many years.
Commenting on their attendance at the Royal Highland Show, Ewen MacKenzie from Mack Chilli Ltd said: “I was delighted to be able to attend the Show for the very first time, it was an important vehicle for me to boost my products and raise awareness of my business to the public and Farm Shop owners. Through networking, I was able to establish connections to help optimise the manufacturing process of my sauces.”
Lee Hall from Modern Standard Coffee also wished to raise awareness of his brand, ‘across a broad cross-section of consumer and trade contacts.’ “Along with sampling on the stand, for which we received strong engagement, we incorporated a unique coupon code to monitor uptake on our web shop sales post event,” he said. “Overall, it was a fantastic opportunity to exhibit at the Royal Highland Show.”
Rory Hunter from the East Neuk Spirit Company said: “We felt that attending the Royal Highland Show was a highly successful exercise for us. We are very grateful to have been part of the “Tastes of Fife” stand and to be able to work alongside other local businesses. It was a great way to introduce our brand to potential leads and to get our name out there.”
Pamela Stevenson, Service Manager, Economic Development, at Fife Council, said: “We were delighted to see a very strong representation from Fife food & drink businesses at this keynote event once again. This sector is critical to the Fife economy The Royal Highland Show is where to make headlines, network, influence, and most importantly, to do business. Helping that process along is what we strive to achieve.”
The six supported businesses were joined by a strong contingent of other Fife food and drink businesses in attendance, including The Wee Tea Company, Tayport Distillery, Wicked Cheesecake, Reapers Rum, Feragaia, and Growers Garden.
Fife businesses are well known for their award winning products at the Royal Highland Show and this year was no different. The Perfect Scoop was recognised in the Flavoured Ice Cream category, whilst Graham's The Family Dairy won in the butter/yoghurt category, with St Andrews Farmhouse Cheese and The Buffalo Farm winning for the cheese category, the latter for its Buffalo Mozzarella.
