Advising Welsh pie makers

The Welsh Government is encouraging food companies to grow, employ more local people and exploit its Welsh branding and promotional activities. According to government data, there is an untapped market for Welsh-produced food in Wales and elsewhere in the UK. Roberts Country Fayre, a successful, award-winning, Wrexham-based savoury pie manufacturer, was planning an expansion and applied to the Welsh Government for a grant to support a new processing area and ovens for a new factory unit. Before securing the match funding, the pie master wanted to be sure that the project was viable and would give a realistic return on investment. Roberts Country Fayre asked RSK company ADAS, which has considerable experience in supporting food companies with grant applications, to help it with the plans.

The Wrexham pie aficionado plans to expand its current range into new and innovative pie recipes, both sweet and savoury. This involves developing an allergen-free range of products and expanding the market from regional shows, festivals and events to more wholesale and retail outlets. The company also plans to showcase its product range on-site to wholesale buyers. By its estimation, business turnover will increase significantly, and up to five new people will be employed in the factory.

ADAS specialists visited Roberts Country Fayre and advised on marketing and branding, business cash-flow and profitability projections, match-funding sources, long-term business sustainability, and projected targets of outputs and margins to meet business reinvestment. “I could not have done this application without ADAS,” offered Kieron Roberts, the managing director of Roberts Country Fayre. “The time required to do this myself, while running a busy factory, was an issue. Having someone independent looking at my figures has given me confidence that my investment is the right way to go.”

We are happy to report that the client’s application for funding was successful.