Chester food distributor reports record figures for annual expo

Harlech Foodservice's annual two-day trade expo saw sales of £600,000 and crowds of over 2,500 people. The figures smashed the previous years records - the first year the event had taken place since before the pandemic - and featured 120 exhibitor stands in place at Llandudno's Venue Cymru.

Visitors to the event on March 1 and 2 could see and taste over 1,000 products being showcased by Harlech, who have bases in Chester and Criccieth and celebrated their 50th anniversary last year, and to enjoy cookery demonstrations including by Wales’s own BBQ expert, Caernarfon’s S4C star, Flamebaster Chris Roberts.

Harlech Foodservice Head of Purchasing Matt Flynn, left, and Managing Director David Cattrall at Harlech Foodservice’s Expo 2023. (Image: Harlech Foodservices)

Exhibitors included internationally known names like Kellogg’s, Young’s Seafood, Doritos, Hellman’s and McCains as well as top North Wales’s producers such as Jones Village Bakery, Edwards the Welsh Butcher, Llaeth y Llan Village Dairy and South Caernarfon Creameries.

Harlech Head of Purchasing Matt Flynn said: "Everyone is saying it’s probably the best show we’ve ever done and the numbers certainly bear that out.

"In the first hour alone we had over 130 people through and they’ve been busy with their order books which have offered them some fantastic offers to book deliveries ahead.

Dennis Gill, left, Katie Samuel and Peter Bayliss of Doritos. (Image: Harlech Foodservices)

"We’ve gone back to basics this year and provided them with attractive order books with an A to Z list of the products from our suppliers, from Aber Falls Distillery Gin to Zafron Chilled Sandwiches so that they can fill in their orders and leave the delivery to us.

"We’ve also got some real theatre with fantastic exhibitions of cookery from Chris Roberts and our own Steve Griffiths.

"We’ve seen fantastic growth in the education and health sectors and we’re building on that and encouraging customers to increase their spend with us as well as winning new customers."

Chris Roberts took a break from giving a lamb shoulder the ‘Flamebaster’ treatment to say: "This is my first time here and I’m impressed. It’s very good and very busy.

"I’ve been cooking up some nice rib-eyes from a farm in Meifod in Mid Wales where the cattle are 100 per cent grass fed, all reared on Welsh grass and breathing Welsh air.

"That’s really important to me and it’s what I celebrate – the farmers, butchers and fishmongers of Wales are my rock stars and it’s amazing the way Harlech are promoting them."

Baker Glen Simpson of Village Bakery. (Image: Harlech Foodservices)

Peter Bayliss, account manager for Doritos, said: "We like to support events like this because it gets us in front of our customers and because our partnership with Harlech is important to us.

"We are working closely with them and with Steve Griffiths, their development chef, on products and recipes for the education sector."

The Expo had a big thumb’s up from customers Dean Bartle, of St Tudwal’s Pub in Abersoch and his head chef, Ben Cunliffe, who said: "It feels very busy with a lot more stalls than last year and plenty of information.

"We get a lot of our produce from Harlech and we know them and have a really good relationship with them.

"Their meat and produce is very good but also their cut-off times for orders are excellent which is really important for us and in high season they deliver seven days a week."

Baker Glen Simpson, of Jones Village Bakery, said: "Our products go into lots of pub chains, cafes and bed and breakfasts through Harlech so it’s an important market for us."

Harlech Foodservice Ltd employs 200 staff at its bases at Criccieth and Chester and between the two locations, the company runs a fleet of vehicles to deliver 5,000 product lines to cafés, restaurants, pubs and public sector customers across North and Mid-Wales, Shropshire, the Midlands and the North West.