A00889 SFD Annual Report.indd - Scotland Food and Drink

8call to action“Scotland Food & Drinkneeds you ...”Within the competitive globalmarket place, standing still is notan option. If Scotland is to stayahead of the competition, respondto increasing consumer demands,meet the challenges affecting ourfarming and fishing sectors andcontribute to sustainable economicdevelopment and climate changeissues, as an industry we need towork differently and proactively todevelop new opportunities for thewhole industry to make us moresuccessful.To drive Scotland to a true leadershipposition on the international stage,our industry has recognised thatto make this happen we need towork differently, become smarterand most importantly we mustcollaborate. This is not a dictate –it is a groundswell of realisationfrom within our own companiesand trade organisations that wemust work together to becomemore competitive.Scotland Food & Drink has enabledthe industry to become responsiblefor its own destiny and our work hasnow begun. We must now tell theworld about our fantastic industryand about the work that we are doing.To those that have taken that initialleap of faith, we thank you for yoursupport and for being a part of thisincredible journey on which wefind ourselves. But we need morecompanies to become involved sowe can further develop and widenthe scope of our activities. Everyfood and drink company in Scotlandhas their part to play and we hopethat those who have not yet joinedwill consider what their role is inhelping to develop our industry.The creation of Scotland Food &Drink is a timely and necessarystep to help the whole industrysecure a profitable and sustainablefuture. We need you to get involved.What do you get if you join?Scotland Food & Drink members can nowtake advantage of a range of benefitsdesigned to make their businesses morecompetitive whilst also saving them money.Members can initially benefit from £1,000worth of services comprising free legaladvice, a consultation with a productdevelopment expert and access to anexperienced sales director to help examineopportunities for developing new markets.Additionally, member companies will alsobenefit from further savings on other services.Access to ExpertsIncluding Marketing Support, Legal Advice,Product Development for Hire, SalesManager for Hire and PR Support.Access to InformationIncludes free and reduced rate access toinformation from IGD and other data sources,Market Intelligence and Grant Finder.Growing MarketsIncludes Meet the Buyer activities.Scotland Food & Drink is a not-for-profitorganisation and therefore we aim tore-invest our membership funds intodelivering a comprehensive range ofbenefits for our member companies.To grow the capability of our industry itis essential that we expand our rangeof benefits and services and continue toattract new members.The Scottish Government has identifiedfood and drink as one of its key priorities interms of economic and cultural importance.Our role in delivering the ‘Economic Growth’work stream of the National Food and DrinkPolicy means that our members, throughinvolvement in one of our four workinggroups, can help shape the future of thefood and drink industry in Scotland.The benefits of becoming a member ofScotland Food & Drink stretch beyond theexpert advice on offer. We also host a rangeof networking and trade events which allowproducers and retailers to interact andengage with new customers.Tel: 0131 524 8640www.scotlandfoodanddrink.orgOur new National Food and Drink Policy and the success“of Scotland Food & Drink will be critical to deliveringeconomic prosperity for the food and drink industry andthe wider Scottish economy.Scotland Food & Drink have a key role to play if we are tomake the most of our nation’s outstanding internationalreputation for food and drink produce.I believe it is important that the industry is fully alignedwith Scotland Food & Drink and is supportive of the role ithas to play in building a successful strategy for sustainableeconomic growth.I would strongly encourage the industry to work closelywith Scotland Food & Drink to help achieve the growth ofthis vital sector to reach £10 billion by 2017”Richard Lochhead MSPCabinet SecretaryRURAL AFFAIRS AND ENVIRONMENT