New £7m food business centre to be officially opened
A NEW £7m centre for the food and drinks industry will be officially opened by Coffee Republic founder Sahar Hashemi later this month.
The Shropshire Food Enterprise Centre, in Shrewsbury, is claimed to be the first of its kind in the West Midlands.
It houses 12 purpose built units for use by start-up and growing food and drink businesses alongside meeting, training and event facilities.
There is also a ‘taste kitchen’ which will be used to showcase food and drink products to potential buyers, run consumer focus groups and undertake product development.
It is also available for hire by food entrepreneurs who would like to test out their recipes before launching a product onto the market.
The centre is managed by West Midlands food group Heart of England Fine Foods on behalf of owners Shropshire Council, with funding from Advantage West Midlands.
HEFF chief executive Karen Davies said: “We are delighted to be at the heart of this major new food and drink venture and are looking forward to creating a business hub and centre of excellence for the food and drink industry across the West Midlands.
“Our aim is to make this the leading centre of its kind in the country and I would urge food and drink producers to get in touch to learn how we can support them in growing and developing their business to compete in the regional, national and global marketplace.”
Sahar Hashemi famously gave up her career as a London lawyer to launch Coffee Republic, the UK’s first US-style coffee bar chain.
In 2005, she started a brand of guilt-free sweets called Skinny Candy and she is also a published author.
Guest speakers at the event include Sheila Dillon, presenter of the BBC Radio 4 food and farming programme, Dennis Reid, chairman of retail performance specialists RPS Global and David Jago, director of custom solutions at market researchers Mintel.
The opening will form part of HEFF’s annual food and drink conference F.I.N.D (Food, Information, Networking, Drink) on June 30.
