The Scottish Wholesale Association (SWA) has launched the Scottish Wholesale Local Food and Drink Growth Fund to further support wholesalers and food producers and increase the volume of local Scottish produce being sold through the wholesale channel.
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 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 groundbreaking 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.
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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.
Colin Smith, SWA chief executive commented: “We are delighted to have secured this funding from the Scottish Government – it recognises the role that wholesale must play regarding support for local producers and demonstrates confidences in our DGTW programme which is gaining momentum and striking a chord with both wholesalers and producers.
“Already we are seeing a positive impact across the food and drink sector since its launch in 2021 and we are keen to move forward with this latest third phase of the project which will provide direct financial support for wholesalers as we strive to further strengthen the Scottish food and drink supply chain.”
Mr Smith added that while the aim of the new fund is to help promote a sustainable and prosperous food and drink wholesale industry in Scotland, as well as helping economic recovery for manufacturers and producers post-Covid in line with the aims of Scotland’s Food and Drink Industry Strategy, it also contributes towards the Scottish Government’s vision to become a Good Food Nation and its Local Food Strategy.
