Shropshire food producers pitch their products to supermarket giant
Food and drink producers had the chance to pitch their products to one of Britain's biggest supermarkets at an event in Shropshire.
More than 60 suppliers from around the region had applied to be part of Morrisons' search for new British suppliers, and 18 from the West Midlands – including five from Shropshire – were invited to the event at Edgmond Village Hall near Newport.
There, they were invited to pitch their products to Morrisons buyers, customers, and local store staff, as well as members of the local Women's Institute.
Local foodmakers who attended the event included Great Ness Oil, a family business based near Shrewsbury which produces rapeseed oil, and Coopers Gourmet Foods which makes gourmet sausage rolls from local ingredients.
Hobsons Brewery from Cleobury Mortimer, which makes beers including Old Prickly pale ale, and the Shropshire Cheese Co from near Oswestry, which produces a variety of cheeses using milk from its own farm, were also invited to pitch their products, as was Heather's Harvest, a chutneys and marmalades company in Shrewsbury.
Richard Jones, Morrisons' food quality expert and development chef, said: "The West Midlands has a long history of great, local food and the producers we’ve seen today have been no exception.
"After seeing the quality of the food here in Newport, we’re keen to put even more food made locally on our customers’ plates.”
The search for more British food producers came on the back of an announcement by Britain's fourth-largest grocer to increase the number of domestically-grown and made products on its stores.
In February the store chain announced that it planned to increase the number of British suppliers on its books, with producers effectively auditioning to win a place on supermarket shelves.
Each of the suppliers involved met one of Morrisons' buyers at the event, and the supermarket will now be collating feedback from its own team as well as customers who attended the tasting event.
Some of the suppliers – although there is no limit to the number of businesses which could be successful – will then be invited to pitch at the company's head office in Bradford.
The local businesses are aiming to gain a listing alongside regional products already stocked in Morrisons like Shropshire Blue Cheese.
