Orkney food, craft and jewellery businesses have been given a pre-Christmas sales boost from orders taken via two shows in England.
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) said yesterday pavilions dedicated to Orkney produce attracted huge interest from visitors at both events, London's Country Living Christmas Fair and the BBC Good Food Show in Birmingham. It added: “The creative and culinary companies who took part are reporting excellent sales figures, both from their time at the shows and since their return to Orkney.”
Orkney Marketing, an initiative funded by HIE and Orkney Islands Council, supported the large Orkney presence at both shows.
Exhibitors at the Country Living event included Lizza Hume, of Westray-based business Hume Sweet Hume (HSH), who said: “It was our best ever show.
“The Orkney Village had a great atmosphere and attracted customers in big numbers. We're also getting a lot of online orders from people we met at the event; a nice Christmas boost for us.”
HSH exhibited alongside Tait and Style, Ortak, The Quernstone, and Ola Gorie, in addition to a team from VisitOrkney.
Orkney Fishermen's Society (OFS) used its presence at the BBC Good Food Show to promote its fresh crab and made about £5,000-worth of sales in the process.
OFS general manager Stewart Crichton said: “We gave out a lot of samples, many to people who'd never previously tried this shellfish delicacy. The response was really positive; something we're delighted about as we've invested in new packaging systems that allow us to make fresh white crabmeat readily available to consumers through supermarkets and other food outlets.”
Callum MacInnes, of Stromness-based Island Smokery, said a company providing luxury ski-ing holidays in the French Alps went away with a van-load of Orkney produce from the same show.
“That was a real high point and reflected the huge interest in the food we were offering at the Orkney Village,” he added.
The smokery sold its entire stock of smoked garlic dip, all but one of the smoked cheeses it took to the show and 600 bulbs of smoked garlic. Along with OFS and the Island Smokery, Orkney Herring Company and Stockan and Gardens also exhibited at the BBC Good Food Show.
Orkney Quality Food and Drink, which represents the islands’ leading producers, had its own stand and gave visitors the chance to try food and drink from a further three companies: Orkney Isles Preserves, Orkney Fudge and Highland Park Distillery.