Last year Scotland had an entire official year of food and drink. 2016 sees the return of Scottish Food and Drink Fortnight. Scotland Food & Drink Project Manager Fiona Richmond explains more.
AFTER a year’s hiatus during the Year of Food and Drink in 2015, Scottish Food & Drink Fortnight is back 3 – 18 September. The celebration of Scotland’s larder is a great opportunity for independent retailers to promote their Scottish suppliers.
The fortnight has been a tremendous success in recent years, raising awareness and appreciation of Scottish produce as well as galvanising retailers, producers, events and communities to celebrate local food.
It provides a great hook to promote your Scottish food and drink in store, and will, in turn, help to boost demand for local produce across your business.
Scottish Food & Drink Fortnight is managed by Scotland Food & Drink, and supported by the Scottish Government. It promotes Scottish produce and producers, encouraging greater consumption of and pride in it – contributing to the ongoing success of the sector, the country’s reputation as a land of food and drink, and its good food nation ambitions.
In particular, this year we are keen to shine a spotlight on the country’s primary food producers – our farmers and fishermen – whose work underpins our land of food and drink.
More than 100 events will take place across Scotland during the fortnight from farmers’ markets to festivals and foraging trips. All are encouraged to take up the Scotland’s Food Charter for Events ensuring the Scottish larder is championed.
The fortnight is just around the corner, however there’s still time for anyone that sells or serves Scottish food and drink to join in and celebrate the country’s produce.
Independent retailers can get involved in many ways – they can run promotions or in-store tastings, organise an event or highlight provenance across food-to-go menus, for example.
VisitScotland research shows visitors to Scotland will spend £1 in every £5 on food and drink.
There is a huge demand for traditional Scottish foods, regional specialities and local produce and real value in highlighting this across the retail offering.
The Scottish Food & Drink Fortnight logo is available for use across your activity to mark the fortnight.
Visit the website www.fooddrinkfort.scot where you can download the logo and twibbon, can register an event and access a free PR toolkit to support your involvement. Join in with social media activity with the #scotfood tweet on the first Monday of September and join the discussion about the fortnight. You can engage with the discussion on social media in the run up to and throughout the celebration using #scotfoodfort.
