A project which provides technical and commercial support to the Welsh food and drink industry has reported that it has delivered over £355 million impact to the sector since it launched in 2016. As a result of its success, the Welsh Government have announced Project HELIX will continue to assist the sector until March 2025.
Project HELIX is a pan-Wales strategic initiative delivered by Food Innovation Wales, a partnership of three food centres based in north, mid/west and south Wales. Eligible companies have access to a range of specialist assistance which helps them to be more innovative, efficient and strategic, including support with new product development, waste reduction, and food safety certification such as SALSA and BRCGS.
Thanks to the news, Project HELIX will be able to support larger manufacturers in Wales alongside the small and medium-sized enterprises and microbusinesses who have already been able to benefit from assistance.
Project HELIX’s latest outputs demonstrate that it has delivered clear benefits to the Welsh food and drink industry, including:
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£355,425,585 million impact
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683 jobs created and a further 3647 safeguarded
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703 businesses supported
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1391 training days delivered for 1184 participants
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452 new business assisted
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1110 new markets accessed, and
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2082 new food and drink products developed
Commenting on the success, Professor David Lloyd, on behalf of Food Innovation Wales said, “Since it launched in 2016, Project HELIX has had a very positive effect on Wales’s food and drink industry by helping companies to adopt a more innovative, efficient and strategic approach. This can be seen in its £355 million impact as well as the number of new jobs it has helped to create and safeguard, the skills boost it has provided to Wales’s workforce, and the number of new products developed with its assistance.
Businesses which have benefited from the support of Project HELIX include the Just Love Food Company in Caerphilly County Borough who manufacture allergy friendly celebration cakes. Through Project HELIX, a part-funded New Product Development affiliate was embedded in the company who provided support with risk assessing ingredients for the presence of allergens.
Bluestone Brewing Co in Pembrokeshire received support through Project HELIX to secure SALSA food safety certification, enabling the business to secure a wider range of customers.
Simon Turner, Founder of Bluestone Brewing said, “The support we’ve received from Food Innovation Wales has been invaluable, it was great to have somebody on hand to answer our questions and point us in the right direction. The knowledge and experience of Food Innovation Wales’s team has been key in guiding us through the process.”
Dylan’s Restaurants in North Wales received new product development support through Project HELIX to help them venture into new markets by developing ambient versions of their restaurant quality sauces.
David Evans, Director of Dylan’s Restaurants commented, “We have received fantastic support from Food Innovation Wales from the start. The knowledge and experience of their team has been key in guiding our chefs to ensure accurate testing and evaluation of the safety of the products, not only from a food safety aspect but also in ensuring the integrity of the brand.”
Professor David Lloyd added, “None of the achievements of Project HELIX would have been possible without the support and collaboration of the hundreds of food and drink businesses that Food Innovation Wales is privileged to work with. With this additional funding, we look forward to providing continued assistance to the sector. If your company is yet to receive support through Project HELIX then I would encourage you to get in touch to discuss the different types of assistance we can provide.”
