Hawkshead breaks into Asia and Africa

Hawkshead breaks into Asia and Africa
AN ARTISAN jam and chutney company based in Cumbria has seen its overseas sales increase by 56%.

AN ARTISAN jam and chutney company based in Cumbria has seen its overseas sales increase by 56%.

The Hawkshead Relish Company has seen its sales in this sector rise from £20,655 to £32,260 over the past two financial years.

It attributes this success to a strong on-going relationship with UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) and the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA).

Kate Nicholson, sales and marketing manager, said that the company is now poised to break into the Chinese and African markets.

She said: “The business was growing well in the UK but we felt we needed to look at the speciality food markets overseas. We had gained a couple of export deals by accident – one to Sweden and one to New York, both were sellers who had visited the area and liked our products.

“But we have just secured a £11,000 order for a delicatessen in Egypt that came out of our attendance at the NWDA-supported Gulf Food Exhibition in Dubai.

“It would not have happened without UKTI and NWDA assistance and Egypt is not a market I would have thought to target specifically.”

The same food fair even secured the Hawkshead Relish Company a deal with 3663, the UK’s largest food distributor.

Hawkshead is now also selling in the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, Bahrain and the UAE.

Ian Readman, international trade adviser for UKTI North West, said: “The Hawkshead team has targeted the right international markets, and UKTI supported also by NWDA has been able to help them get to trade shows and food fairs in those regions – fairs they would not otherwise have attended. That is clearly raising the company’s profile and getting deals done.”

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