A new Scottish Wholesale Local Food and Drink Growth Fund has been launched by the Scottish Wholesale Association (SWA) to help wholesalers and food producers increase the volume of local Scottish produce sold through wholesale channels.
SWA has secured £195,000 from the Scottish Government to deliver the initiative and will provide match funding of up to £10,000 per business for wholesalers whose applications to the new fund are successful.
The Scottish Wholesale Local Food and Drink Growth Fund sets out to increase the turnover of Scottish produce sold through Scottish wholesalers to 35% of baseline sales and it represents the third phase of the Delivering Growth Through Wholesale (DGTW) local sourcing programme launched by SWA in 2021.
DGTW, which aims to educate and engage with producers on the opportunities provided by the wholesale sector, was designed in collaboration with SAOS and Scotland Food & Drink, and is supported by the Scottish Government.
To date, the programme has delivered over 230 new Scottish product listings via new wholesale partnerships, leading to a substantial increase in new sales through wholesale.
The Scottish Wholesale Local Food and Drink Growth Fund is open to food and drink wholesalers who sell into the Scottish retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, licensed on-trade and the public sector, and who have premises and employees based in Scotland.
If a producer has completed the Delivering Growth Through Wholesale training programme, this will be taken into consideration when awarding funds. Similarly, if the wholesaler has trained Wholesale Local Food Champions in their business, this will be taken into account.
Financial support from the Scottish Wholesale Local Food and Drink Growth Fund can be used for a range of purposes, from helping businesses resource their capability to become a “local sourcing” wholesaler to creating a local sourcing strategy and monitoring processes. Successful applicants might also consider training and/or financing a local/regional sourcing buyer and putting funding towards creating joint business plans with producers.
The fund is now open for applications and closes on 6 September.
