Food and Drink Wales

What Food and Drink Wales does

Food & Drink Wales is a division of the Welsh Government, headquartered in Cardiff, that operates a bilingual (English/Welsh) public-facing portal at food-drink.wales to promote Welsh food and drink products and sustainable consumption. The organization serves two distinct audiences. For consumers, it delivers educational content including waste-reduction recipes developed with eco-chef Tom Hunt, a downloadable seasonality calendar, factsheets on local sourcing and food waste, and pledges routed through Climate Action Wales. For Welsh food and drink manufacturers, it runs the free Sustainability Cluster membership program, a Carbon Reduction Planning Service aligned with GHG Protocol and Public Procurement Notice 06/21, the Climate Adaptation & Resilience Training Programme, a Climate Adaptation Readiness Assessment tool, B Corp certification support, and the 'Surplus with Purpose Cymru' food redistribution initiative with FareShare Cymru. The technology underpinning the platform is a WordPress-based content portal; no proprietary AI/ML systems, patents, or SDKs are disclosed, and digital innovation for manufacturers is channeled through external partners such as AMRC Cymru.

The business model is explicitly non-commercial. Food & Drink Wales is funded through Welsh Government public spending under the Government of Wales Act 2006 and does not generate revenue, charge fees, or accept external investment. All services are provided free of charge to eligible Welsh businesses and consumers. Delivery is executed through a broad partner ecosystem rather than internal headcount expansion: BIC Innovation (with Greener Edge and Ecostudio) acts as the lead implementation partner for sustainability and climate resilience services; Food Innovation Wales (Food Technology Centre, Food Centre Wales, ZERO2FIVE) runs Project HELIX for product and process innovation; AMRC Cymru supports manufacturing technology adoption; WRAP Cymru runs the Wales Food Waste Roadmap; FDF Cymru produces industry policy output; the Development Bank of Wales operates a Green Business Loan Scheme; and Food Sense Wales coordinates Local Food Partnerships across every Welsh local authority.

Strategic positioning targets a Welsh food and drink industry that recorded £7.5bn in sales in 2019 (exceeding the prior 30% growth target a year early) with a new £8.5bn target by 2025. Supporting brand assets include 20 GI-protected products (e.g., Welsh Leeks PGI, Gower Salt Marsh Lamb PDO, Single Malt Welsh Whisky PGI), 195 Great Taste awards in 2023, and consumer perception metrics of 85% rating Welsh produce as 'Great Quality' and 80% as 'Great Tasting.' Geographic scope is restricted to Wales, United Kingdom, with no global footprint claim.

Name

Food and Drink Wales

Legal name

Food & Drink Wales (Welsh Government Division)

Website

https://food-drink.wales

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Food & Drink Wales is a Welsh Government division that promotes Welsh food and drink through a free consumer-education portal and sustainability support services for Welsh food and drink manufacturers, funded by public spending and delivered through partner organizations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Food Industry Support Services

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (Fair Trade, Food Access, Regenerative) (BPAGALAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Food Assistance & Food Banks (BPAGAEAA)

Keywords

• Sustainability support services
• Carbon reduction planning
• Climate adaptation training
• Food industry promotion
• Sustainable eating education

Headquarters

HQ city

Cardiff

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Initiative (Non-Commercial): Food & Drink Wales is a division of the Welsh Government operating as a public service initiative. It does not generate commercial revenue. Services including carbon reduction planning, sustainability training, and B Corp certification support are provided free of charge to eligible businesses. The initiative is funded through Welsh Government public spending.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Food and Drink Wales is a Welsh Government division that delivers free sustainability support programs, carbon reduction planning, climate adaptation training, and B Corp certification assistance to Welsh food and drink manufacturers, alongside consumer-facing educational content promoting local Welsh produce and sustainable eating. All services are government-funded and provided at no cost to eligible businesses and consumers in Wales.

Product overview

Food & Drink Wales is a Welsh Government division operating a consumer and business-facing information portal focused on promoting sustainable food practices and the Welsh food and drink industry. The core portal provides recipes, seasonality calendars, and sustainability toolkits for consumers, while business-facing offerings include the Sustainability Cluster membership program, Carbon Reduction Planning Service, Climate Adaptation & Resilience Training Programme, Climate Adaptation Readiness Assessment tool, Surplus with Purpose Cymru food redistribution initiative, and B Corp certification support. All offerings are free government-supported services aimed at creating one of the world's most environmentally and socially responsible food and drink supply chains.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sustainability Cluster: A membership program for food and drink businesses to join and receive sustainability support, carbon reduction planning, and climate resilience training.
• Climate Adaptation & Resilience Training Programme
• Rooted in Wales

Products and services

• Food & Drink Wales Portal A Welsh Government division portal providing resources for consumers and businesses on sustainable eating, local Welsh produce, and food waste reduction. The portal offers recipes, seasonality calendars, sustainability toolkits, and business support programs.
• Sustainability Cluster A membership program offering Welsh food and drink businesses free carbon reduction planning, sustainability helpdesk, climate resilience training, B Corp certification support, quarterly newsletters, and networking opportunities through special interest groups, reference visits, peer-to-peer knowledge exchange, and thematic webinars.
• Carbon Reduction Planning Service A service providing businesses with personalized carbon emission baselines, recommendations, and carbon reduction plans aligned with GHG Protocol and Public Procurement Notice 06/21, with targets to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
• Climate Adaptation & Resilience Training Programme A series of training modules helping food and drink businesses assess and adapt to climate change impacts through risk-based approaches, covering premises, supply chains, operations, and business continuity.
• Climate Adaptation Readiness Assessment A rapid diagnostic assessment tool to evaluate how prepared food and drink businesses are for climate change impacts, covering operations, supply chains, energy, water, packaging, governance, and customer engagement.
• Surplus with Purpose Cymru A Welsh Government initiative in partnership with FareShare Cymru providing funding to help food and drink companies donate surplus stock to community organizations, covering labour, packaging, freezing, harvesting and transport costs.
• B Corp Certification Support One-to-one support throughout the B Corp application and certification process for Welsh food and drink businesses, helping them achieve the international gold standard for sustainability.

Quantifiable outcome

• 195 Welsh products won Great Taste awards in 2023
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Tom Hunt (Eco-chef)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with eco-chef Tom Hunt to develop sustainable eating content including recipes, cooking tips, and a downloadable sustainability toolkit. Tom Hunt shares ideas on saving money and time while supporting the planet through clever cooking, contributing to the consumer-facing 'Rooted in Wales' and sustainable eating initiatives.
• FareShare CymrucoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership through the 'Surplus with Purpose Cymru' initiative, making funding available to help Welsh food and drink companies donate surplus stock. FareShare Cymru distributes quality surplus food to those in need, working with over 170 organizations that address the underlying causes of hunger.
• BIC Innovation (with Greener Edge and Ecostudio)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAppointed as delivery partner for the Food and Drink Wales Climate Resilient Food Security Service and Sustainability Service. BIC Innovation and technical partners provide carbon reduction planning, sustainability training, and climate resilience support to Welsh food and drink businesses.
• Food Innovation Wales (Food Technology Centre, Food Centre Wales, ZERO2FIVE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThree Food Innovation Centres work with food and drink companies through Project HELIX to help businesses grow, innovate, compete and reach new markets. Services include sustainable manufacturing support, waste minimization, process efficiency, and third-party certification (BRCGS, SALSA).
• Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre Cymru (AMRC Cymru)coreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership with AMRC Cymru to support food and drink businesses with manufacturing ambitions through technology adoption. Projects include smart tagging technology with Polytag for plastic packaging recyclability, and efficiency improvements using AI, digital simulations, cobots, robots, and virtual reality.
• WRAP CymrucoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWRAP Cymru supports Welsh Government's environmental goals, operates the Wales Recycles campaign, and runs the Wales Food Waste Roadmap identifying interventions to deliver food waste reductions across the supply chain.
• AberInnovationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInnovation campus offering world-leading expertise and state-of-the-art facilities in biotechnology, agri-tech, and food and drink sectors. Provides support for new product and process development and R&D activities.
• Food & Drink Federation (FDF Cymru)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNot-for-profit association championing food and drink manufacturers across Wales. Brings together business, government and stakeholders focusing on competitiveness, workforce and skills, sustainability, and industry growth. Produced Net Zero Handbook for sector decarbonisation.
• Toyota Lean Management Centre at DeesideminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerToyota Lean Clusters Programme offers assistance for companies wanting to make sustainable improvements in competitiveness through lean management methodologies.
• Food Sense WalescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFood Sense Wales coordinates Local Food Partnerships across Wales. Every local authority has a Local Food Partnership bringing together people, groups, and businesses through community gardens, food hubs, shared meals, and local food initiatives.
• Food and Drink Skills Wales (Menterabusnes)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProgramme working with businesses of all sizes within Wales to identify skill shortages and opportunities to upskill their workforce in sustainable practices. Delivers webinars designed to drive sustainable growth.
• Climate Action WalesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with Climate Action Wales allowing Food & Drink Wales users to make pledges for eating seasonal food through the Climate Action Wales platform.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA): UK government department overseeing environmental protection, food production and standards. Comparable as a higher-tier government body operating in overlapping policy domains (food standards, rural economy, sustainability regulations) within which Food & Drink Wales executes Welsh-specific policy.
• Food and Drink Federation (FDF): UK-wide food and drink industry trade association and Food & Drink Wales partner (FDF Cymru). Comparable as the broader sector-wide industry body that Food & Drink Wales coordinates with on competitiveness, workforce skills, sustainability, and the Net Zero Handbook for sector decarbonisation.

Others

• B Lab: Nonprofit organisation that certifies B Corps and is the certification partner behind Food & Drink Wales' B Corp showcase. Comparable as the standards body whose framework (B Corp assessment) Food & Drink Wales adopts and promotes across Welsh SMEs.
• WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme): UK charity working on sustainability and waste reduction, an active partner of Food & Drink Wales through WRAP Cymru and the Wales Food Waste Roadmap. Comparable as the sustainability organisation that operationalises much of the food waste and recycling agenda underpinning Food & Drink Wales' consumer programmes.
• FareShare: UK charity redistributing surplus food, operational partner in Food & Drink Wales' Surplus with Purpose Cymru initiative. Comparable through the food assistance and food redistribution remit that overlaps with one of Food & Drink Wales' six core programmes.
• BIC Innovation: Welsh innovation consultancy and principal delivery partner for Food & Drink Wales' Climate Resilient Food Security Service and Sustainability Service. Comparable as the operational implementation partner whose technical advisors run the carbon reduction, B Corp support, and climate adaptation programmes.
• Climate Action Wales: Welsh Government platform for public climate pledges, an active marketing partner channelling Food & Drink Wales consumers into seasonal eating pledges. Comparable as a Welsh Government sibling initiative addressing the broader behavioural change agenda that Food & Drink Wales' consumer campaigns feed into.

Direct peers

• Scotland Food & Drink: Scotland's industry leadership body for food and drink, the closest structural peer to Food & Drink Wales as a national/regional government-backed promotion organisation for the food and drink sector. Both bodies coordinate industry growth strategies, sustainability initiatives, and export promotion for their respective national food economies.
• Bord Bia (Irish Food Board): Irish state agency responsible for promoting Irish food, drink and horticulture, directly comparable as a national government-backed food promotion body. Operates a similar mandate of driving industry growth, sustainability positioning (Origin Green), and international market development for its country's producers.

Regional players

• Food Sense Wales: Welsh charity coordinating Local Food Partnerships across all 22 Welsh local authorities. Directly comparable as a Wales-based partner organisation addressing community food initiatives, food hubs, and shared meals that complement Food & Drink Wales' business-facing programmes.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/FoodDrinkWales
• Facebookfacebook.com/FoodDrinkWales

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Food and Drink Wales