GRUB’S UP ONTHENET
New online service allows food and drink sellers to enter the world of e-commerce
ANEW online sales platform has been launched to give a helping hand to food and drink retailers in north west Wales.
Siop.io is a bilingual website developed in response to the Covid-19 crisis, which has seen a seismic shift in consumer shopping patterns.
Last May one in five British households bought groceries online, increasing sales for home delivery by 91%, while independent stores rang up 69% more sales in the three months to June 20, according to retail analysts Kantar.
At the same time shoppers have been searching out shorter supply chains to support local businesses.
The hope is that Siop.io – still in its pilot stage – will enable independent retailers across Gwynedd and Anglesey to reach more people in their local communities.
Developing the platform was North Wales software consultancy Kodergarten, with support from enterprise body Menter Môn.
Already signed up is Becws Islyn Bakery, a small bakery in Aberdaron on the Llŷn Peninsula.
Owner Gillian Jones refocused the business she runs with husband Geraint after the first lockdown forced the closure of their bakery and cafe.
Initially they catered for local customers having to shield.
“We were doing all the paperwork from taking orders, processing payments to delivery of the products, whilst still baking,” said Gillian.
“The support from so many of our customers was amazing – we never anticipated we would have 200 customers.
“This new e-commerce website take away a lot of the paperwork and enables us to concentrate on the baking and shop side of the business.
“The bakery is now back open, after having had to adapt the layout and we are seeing increased footfall with our locals again.”
So far 13 businesses in Gwynedd and Anglesey have registered on the website. Restaurants, pubs and takeaways will also shortly be able to sign up too.
By Easter a further 30 businesses are expected to have joined the line-up, including takeaways and ready meal vendors.
Another early adopter was Cigoedd y Llain, a butchery business based at Parc Glafryn, Y Ffôr.
The company had been eager to start selling online, and registering with Siop.io made that next step much easier.
Owner Emlyn Roberts said: “We had been looking at different online selling options for a while, but we’re really pleased when we came across Siop.io.
“Not only is the platform bilingual, it’s also been developed with north west Wales businesses in mind.”
“Since joining Siop.io we’ve seen an increase in our orders. With so many people shopping online these days, this development was very important for our business.”
By entering their home postcode on the site, customers can see a list of local independent retailers. They can then choose with whom they want to shop, add items to their online shopping bag before registering to pay.
They then need to select a delivery or collection option.
Siop.io handles all the hosting, transactions and payments for the registered businesses.
Paul Sandham, of Kodergarten, said there was an obvious gap in the market for a local food retail platform in north west Wales.
“As we all began hunkering down during the first lockdown it was clear to us that independent food retailers didn’t have much to sign up for if they wanted to move their business online,” he said. “There are all sorts of apps and sites that list individual businesses, but nothing that helps independent food businesses and their local customers to actually buy and sell online.
“We knew that we had to make it easy for small independents to sign up to and use and, of course, it needed to be bilingual.”
THE Bangor music festival will be going virtual for the first time this year with a quintet of world premieres. The Festival has been a cultural highlight on the city’s calendar for more than 20 years and it is due to go ahead on March 12-13.
This year the series of concerts under the theme of ‘the environment’ will be streamed online, with organisers committed to ensuring those watching and listening can still enjoy the festival’s repertoire of musical delights, despite the
Covid-19 pandemic.
One of the highlights will be a tribute concert on the first evening to acclaimed Welsh composer John Metcalf, featuring his new string quartet. There will also be new works by festival’s artistic director Guto Pryderi Puw, who hails from Parc, near Bala, and Bangor University graduate Thomas Whitcombe and emerging British-Malaysian composer Jasmin Kent Rodgman.
John Metcalf’s Harp Scrapbook will be performed during the lunchtime concert by the widely-admired Welsh harpist and composer Mared Emlyn from Eglwysbach in the Conwy Valley, who will also be unveiling her latest composition.
The second day of the festival will feature a number of stellar names, with the award-winning soprano Caryl Hughes, baritone Paul Carey Jones and pianist Wyn Davies joining forces to provide an enchanting celebration of John Metcalf’s songs and opera arias.
There will also be a chance for the next generation to showcase their talents, crowned by performances of music by emerging composers by the Bangor New Music Ensemble and friends.
Bringing the curtain down on the festival will be the innovative Electroacoustic Wales, with their concert featuring music by the acclaimed Canadian composer Hildegard Westerkamp and Bangor resident Andrew Lewis.
Guto, who has been involved with the festival since it was launched in 2000, is currently working on his own composition titled String Quartet #1 - Your paths overflow with plenty and putting the final touches to the festival plans.
John Metcalf’s musical endeavours will be celebrated on the opening day of the festival with the two-part Zoomposium - The Music of John Metcalf featuring online talks by renowned and respected academics, critics and performers.
Further information about the festival can be found at www. bangormusicfestival.org.uk.
This year’s concerts can be viewed on the digital platform AM, which can be found at www.amam.cymru.