The first meeting of Shetland's new 'Food and Drink Group' is being held next Tuesday (21st June) at 7.30pm in the North Atlantic Fisheries College in Scalloway.

This inaugural meeting is open to anyone interested in joining the group or with an interest in Shetland's food and drink sector. 

At the meeting the food and drink steering group, which was set up earlier this year, will present their constitution for adoption and an executive committee will be nominated.

The food and drink group was established to raise the profile of Shetland's food and drink products by improving credibility and buyer confidence both within and out with Shetland and to actively promote the use and consumption of local produce to Shetlanders.

It also provides networking opportunities to all members, and encourages cooperative working to provide group purchasing discounts, preferential shipping rates and knowledge transfer in areas such as marketing, packaging and distribution.
 
Members of the steering group include Charlie Hodge - owner of Walls Bakery; Pete Glanville - secretary of Shetland Organic Producer's Group; Steven Mitchell - manager of Shetland Farm Dairies; Rhona Anderson - partner in JK Anderson butchers; Gillian Ramsay - owner of Shetland Fudge and Alexis Odie - Marketing manager of COPE.

Speaking on behalf of the group Charlie Hodge said: "The best way we as Shetland producers can prosper is to focus on our unique assets and this is one of the main objectives of the group.  We want to improve relationships with tourist industry operators and make it easier for them to buy and serve local produce to tourists.

"Another important aspect of the group is to put quality control and best practice higher up the agenda of food and drink businesses to ensure there is pride in what Shetland produces and to encourage members to always remember to focus on the customer.

"If we can achieve our aim we are certain we can help the industry raise its game and take advantage of new opportunities in the high quality food and drink sector in Shetland."

Gillian Ramsay from Shetland Fudge added: "I was recently involved in a 'Meet the Buyer' event with Harrods in Edinburgh and the response to all the Shetland products on offer was extremely positive.  It was great to see the range of quality products that Shetland has to offer and through the food and drink group we can only enhance that by working together."  

The establishment of the 'Shetland Food and Drink Group' is supported by Shetland Enterprise and Shetland Islands Council (SIC).

Mark Georgeson, food and drink development manager with Shetland Enterprise, said: "The food and drink sector will have an important role in the future of Shetland's economy.  It is vital that we and our public sector partners work together and support the private sector through this group to make the most of the excellent range of food and drink products we have here in Shetland.

"It has been really encouraging during these discussions to see the enthusiasm that has been shown to work together and learn from the challenges that other businesses have faced.  There is also a great deal of pride in the products that are being produced in Shetland.  With the experience we have in food and drink in Shetland and a coordinated approach to the development of the sector, the supply of high quality food and drink will only grow both to local customers and the export market."

Principal marketing officer for SIC, Neil Henderson, said: "The group's purpose is to take Shetland food and drink to the next level and to do this it needs to embrace representatives from the private sector who are really passionate in this area.  This is a great opportunity for producers, processors, hoteliers, restaurateurs and caterers to come together to work more effectively in order to develop external business and put more of our first-class range of produce on the table for tourists."