Spreading the word
Producers from Scotland and the rest of the UK were well represented at the Expo
Despite a broken arm – from a slip in her hotel room – Natalie Bell was upbeat when she spoke to Fish Farmer at the Expo. As Head of Trade Marketing at Seafood Scotland, she is a key part of the team championing Scotland’s quality products, and she is very happy, not only with the strength of the Scottish presence but also with the reception they have received.
She said: “We’ve been in Brussels for the last five years up to 2019. It’s great to see the volume of exhibitors here. There are 18 companies on our stand and more with their own stand. It wasn’t hard to recruit! The stands filled very quickly.”
The Scottish Pavilion – which served as a showcase for the companies exhibiting, a kitchen for cookery demonstrations and a meeting point – took a week to put together ahead of the show.
Bell said: “We’re showing that we are here, and ready for business!”
As in previous years, DFDS arranged a dedicated truck to deliver its customers’ product to the Expo.
David Cranston, Export Operations Manager with DFDS said: “After a few weeks of preparation giving clear guidance to customers on the necessary post Brexit customs and sanitary control documentation, our truck departed our depot in Larkhall, Scotland on Thursday 21 April.
“Following a smooth sanitary control and customs clearance in Boulogne sur Mer on Friday, we worked with our transport partners for Spain, OLANO, for the final leg of the transport from Boulogne sur
Mer to Barcelona. Using our contacts with
LOWE refrigeration, who our customers book storage space with, we had already investigated the procedures to ensure our truck would be unloaded on arrival to the exhibition centre on the Monday morning of 25 April. We also had key staff from DFDS waiting at the show to ensure the processes were being followed.
“Our customers were delighted with this service given the successful delivery of the product to the show. DFDS had also moved product which was used for reception dinners for industry representatives so, needless to say, the safe arrival of the product was greatly appreciated.”
At the Scottish Pavilion John Kelly, Operations Director with Sutherlands of Portsoy, was particularly promoting Portsoy’s smoked salmon and steelhead trout. This was his company’s first time at the Expo.
He said: “I’ve been very impressed with the scale of the show and the level of interest that we’ve seen. We are definitely looking to grow our exports – in terms of exporting to the Continent it’s mainly seasonal at present, and we’d like it to be all year round.”
Natalie Woolnough, Head Buyer with the St James Smokehouse, said: “We’re doing a roaring trade with buyers coming in. I’ve been very happy with the level of interest so far.”
More than half of St James’ business is export. The company is looking to expand its production facilities to meet demand.
Loch Duart was one of the salmon producers represented at the Seafood Scotland pavilion. Adam Gray, Marketing and Communications Manager, Loch Duart: “We’ve been very busy with enquiries and some potentially big deals!”
Since acquiring its new processing facility, Loch Duart is able to sell fillets, as well as chilled whole salmon.
Su Cox, Communications and New
Business Development Director with the Scottish Salmon Company, said: “What the buyers are asking us is: ‘Where can we get more salmon? How much can you supply, and when?’”
Gilpin Bradley, Managing Director, Wester Ross Fisheries, is an Expo veteran. He believes that perceptions have changed over the years as buyers and consumers have become more aware of the identity and provenance of specific products.
He commented: “Branding has become more important over the past 10 years. It’s not just ‘Scottish salmon’ now.”
The Seafood Scotland stand also hosted demonstrations of recipes for salmon, scallops, crab and other produce at the show, with a team of chefs and food technologist Catriona Frankitti.
Meanwhile, Seafish, the public body supporting the UK seafood sector as a whole, co-hosted the first ever UK seafood pavilion at the Expo.
Seafish partnered with Defra’s GREAT Food and Drink campaign and the Government’s Seafood Trade team, as well as the Department for International Trade (DIT) to fund and subsidise some of the associated space, design, and build costs of the pavilion. Five UK seafood companies shared the UK seafood pavilion stand, and the UK Minister for Exports Mike Freer also hosted a reception at the Expo.
In addition to the booths for seafood companies, the pavilion had a lounge and reception area for any businesses attending the Expo to visit and use for meetings. Seafish and DIT hosted events including opportunities to meet with key international buyers and DIT Trade Specialists, and seafood demonstrations were also held at the onstand demo kitchen.
Marcus Coleman, CEO with Seafish, told Fish Farmer: “There is a lot of enthusiasm to get together again and meet old friends.”
“It’s the first time there has been a UK-wide presence at the Expo. Seafish and DIT have also produced a marketing toolkit for DIT’s 100-plus staff in markets globally who are dedicated to helping British businesses.
“It will equip those supporting the agriculture, food and drink sector with the information they need to promote UK seafood in international markets.”
Wales also hosted its own pavilion with a range of great Welsh seafood represented. Nia Griffiths, North Wales Seafood Cluster Manager commented: “The Expo is a fantastic place to present Welsh products on a global stage. Part of the challenge has been to get the message across that we have our own unique offering. We would not get this opportunity anywhere else.”
After a difficult period for the industry, she said, it had been very busy on the Welsh stand.
Visitors had the chance to sample a range of produce including laverbread (a traditional offering based on seaweed) with scrambled eggs, Welsh spider crab and lobsters in garlic butter.
I’ve been very impressed with the scale of the show