Conversations with... The Food Works SW

Food & Drink is an important sector for the sector and the region has a track record for housing a number of the UK’s most innovative and successful brands, hence the opening of The Food Works^SW in April 2020 - an exciting development for the region. Based in the Food Enterprise Zone at Weston-super-Mare just off the M5 at Junction 21, The Food Works^SW is a Food and Drink Innovation Centre with food grade business units, product development facilities and wrap around dedicated business/technical support.

Angela Appiah Shippey from our Food and Drink team popped down the M5 and went to meet NPD Innovation Manager Zoe Plant and Commercial Manager Simon Gregory to get a tour of the facilities and hear of how the area ended up with this Centre of Excellence for the Food and Drink Industry.

The idea for the Centre goes as far back as 2014 when it was decided that although North Somerset has a strong general business base, predominantly SMEs, it didn’t have a clear sector specialism nor did it have a centre of excellence or innovation focus in any particular industry or sector which would help identity, raise profile and encourage investment. A sector review of the region at the time identified a particular strength in food and drink manufacturing in terms of jobs, businesses, exports, and growth potential when compared with other sectors. And just like that the idea for The Food Works^SW was born.

During 2015 a business needs and demand survey was undertaken to understand the sector issues which were seen as barriers to growth particularly for SMEs. These three elements were:

A) Business Engagement

B) Product Development and

C) Small food grade workspace

The proposed Food and Drink Centre had to address each of these elements. Having had a tour of the facility, The Food Works^SW most definitely does!

On the Business Engagement side, The Food Works^SW allows for specialist sector support to be delivered under one roof and the support offered is easily accessible, affordable, and tailored to the needs of those using the Centre.

There are also a number of training and meeting rooms, exhibition and conferencing facilities which the Centre will use to run events and training sessions which will serve to upskill, address business development needs and also help to raise the profile of the sector. 

With regards to Product Development there are facilities, including commercial food-grade specialist equipment, to enable all size of businesses, but particularly SMEs, to innovate and test new and existing products as well as scale up their production. For many businesses, the cost and availability of such facilities has reduced accessibility and has been a considerable barrier to small business growth.

In addition to the state-of-the-art facilities, Zoe, as the New Product and Innovation Manager, is on site to answer all manner of technical questions.
Finally with regard to workspaces, The Food Works^SW has a number of ‘incubator units’ which will provide small food and drink manufacturers with modern and affordable food-grade premises that conform to the highest food standards and meet the latest environmental health legislation. 

So, this all looks and sounds amazing but as is the case with all such Innovation Centres the proof is genuinely in the pudding!! Luckily whilst on my tour I met the guys from Soul Foods Salad, a start-up food business making use of the facilities and so I took the opportunity to ask them what they thought of The Food Works^SW. 

Having found The Food Works^SW via Google when looking for food premises, they said they were blown away with the well-equipped facilities – “It was literally like we found an oasis in the desert.  For a food start-up like us it’s added a huge amount of value not just in terms of access to the kitchen but more how the team at the centre have responded to our situation giving us great value in terms of their knowledge of the food business”. 

And that is what I loved so much about The Food Works^SW.

Soul Food Salads is a brand new company (incorporated in October 2020). Currently they are primarily focusing on their vision to be completely different to the conventional takeaway “making not only good tasting food but food that makes you feel good”. Whilst they focus on their vision and getting their product perfect, they know they are surrounded by the technical support to ensure they get all the other parts of food manufacturing right. They are also aware that The Food Works^SW can cater for them as they scale up moving from the Trial Kitchen, which is where I saw them, through to the Development Kitchens before hopefully being big enough to lease one of the “Incubator” Units. And all this is at an affordable price without the huge barriers to entry which often exist in the Food and Drink Sector. How amazing is that!

Further information on The Food Works can be found here 

Soul Food Salads can be found on Instagram