COVID-19 Resilience Group launches hotlines and self-assessment for Welsh food and drink manufacturers

A Welsh Government backed group of specialist support organisations has launched a range of resources to help Welsh food and drink manufacturers recover from the impact of COVID-19.

The resources have been produced by the COVID-19 Resilience Group, which was set up to support the delivery of the COVID-19 Recovery Plan that was created in collaboration between the Food & Drink Wales Industry Board and Welsh Government.

The COVID-19 Resilience Group has established hotlines which enable manufacturers from across Wales to quickly and easily obtain targeted support with business planning and finance, export, technical aspects of food production, new product development, and trade development.

The Resilience Group has also produced a downloadable resilience self-assessment which supports companies to determine their preparedness to deal with current and future economic challenges. Depending on the strengths and weaknesses identified, companies are directed towards the relevant external support.

The Welsh Government backed COVID-19 Resilience Group brings together a range of specialist support organisations from across Wales with the aim of supporting food and drink manufacturers through the current challenges of COVID-19 and with the future recovery of the sector.

Professor David Lloyd, Co-Chair COVID-19 Resilience Group and Director of ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre at Cardiff Met University, said:

“In this volatile and changing environment, these resources give Welsh Food and Drink manufacturers the opportunity to access a range of targeted support. The COVID-19 Resilience Group is made up of a number of organisations with a breadth of specialist expertise and depth of industry experience; whether your company requires commercial or technical support and whether you’re a micro-business or large manufacturer, we encourage you to get in touch.”

Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths said:

“During these challenging times we want to offer the best support for the food and drink sector in Wales. The COVID-19 Resilience Group has developed a number of initiatives to support the food and drink sector in Wales and the hotlines and company self-assessment are just the start.”

Chair of the Food & Drink Wales Industry Board, Andy Richardson, added:

“The business resilience support announced today plays a vital role in delivering the COVID-19 Recovery Plan which was recently created in partnership between the Food & Drink Industry Board Wales and Welsh Government. I would encourage businesses of all sizes to engage with the support available in our quest to develop the resilience of Welsh food and drink businesses at this critical time in our history.”

The COVID-19 Resilience Group comprises of the following members:

Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre
BIC Innovation
Cywain – Menter a Busnes
Food & Drink Wales Trade Programme
Food Innovation Wales (Food Centre Wales, Food Technology Centre and ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre)
Lantra Wales / Food Skills Cymru

For further information about the COVID-19 Resilience Group hotlines and company self-assessment, visit: https://businesswales.gov.wales/foodanddrink/how-we-can-help/innovation-centres