26.05.05
Beyond the Food and Farming Pavilion

The food and farming pavilion is always one of the most popular displays at the Royal Cornwall Show, with the best of Cornish food, drink and fresh produce for show goers to try and buy. This year the pavilion promises to be as delicious a draw as ever, yet the focus for Cornwall's leading food organisations Cornwall Taste of the West and Cornish Food Ltd, which runs the foodfromcornwall website, will be on what happens after the show.

On a joint stand featuring a large plasma screen, the two food organisations will be showcasing how easy it is to purchase Cornish food and drink over the internet. "The food and farming pavilion always has a guaranteed wow factor for visitors," says Angie Coombs of Cornwall Taste of the West. "But what happens once the show is over and the food purchased there is eaten? Buying it over the internet is becoming increasingly easy and means you can continue to enjoy Cornish food no matter where you're based. It's a logical next step which we want to encourage show goers to take."

The plasma screen will be used to showcase www.foodfromcornwall.co.uk, which has comprehensive listings of Cornish produce, online ordering and links to individual producers. Cornwall Taste of the West's own site, www.cornwalltasteofthewest.co.uk will also be featured, along with www.cornwallfoodfinder.co.uk, the trade website that has revolutionised local food sourcing for businesses in recent years.

"Internet marketing is becoming increasingly important to Cornish food businesses," continues Angie Coombs. "It's a highly effective way to grow your business without putting too much pressure on your infrastructure. By highlighting the potential for e-business we hope to inspire food exhibitors in the marquee to take another look at their own websites and if necessary, consider developing them further to make more of this very rich marketing opportunity."

Angie Coombs cites Boddington's Berries as an excellent example of a Cornish food business that has invested in its website and is reaping broad benefits as a result. Their current website, www.boddingtonsberries.co.uk established three years ago is being developed and expanded year on year. Phil Boddington says: "The website provides an essential window on our business for a whole range of customers and partners. The image and tone of the website have been developed to reflect who we are and how we work, so it's efficient, modern, professional and helpful. We're keen to grow the private web-purchase side, but see the website as being much more than an online brochure for our products. It will continue to grow and develop, hopefully this year incorporating a new 'year of the strawberry' feature. Watch this space."

Royal Cornwall Show visitors will be encouraged to use the internet to buy Cornish food and drink after the show, such as strawberry products from Boddington’s Berries website which according to Phil Boddington (pictured) provides an essential window on to his business (photography by www.davidskehan.co.uk)

While at the Royal Cornwall Show, Cornwall Taste of the West will be talking to visitors about their shopping habits. This exercise will be continued at the Royal Show in July and is intended to capture an up to date picture of how shopping habits are changing and how the Cornish food industry can adjust to win more local and national custom in the future. Cornwall Taste of the West and Foodfromcornwall can be found in the Food and Farming Pavilion (stand 401), at the Royal Cornwall Show, 9th-11th June.

For further information contact Veronica Newport at npr on 01363 866927 or email: veronica@n-pr.co.uk.

The Objective One Programme for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly has invested in Cornwall Taste of the West through the European Agricultural Guarantee and Guidance Fund.

Editor's notes:

More press information from Veronica Newport at npr on 01363 866927 veronica@n-pr.co.uk.

AT THE SHOW: contact Angie Coombs on mobile 07812 561157, Grace Lobb on mobile 07813 930013 or Ashley Wood on mobile 07742 657578.

Cornwall Taste of the West is a £3 million Objective One umbrella project, funded by the European Agricultural Guarantee and Guidance Fund (EAGGF), the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) and private matched funding. It is part of the Taste of the West speciality food group. Cornwall Taste of the West's four year project includes a trade development programme, a marketing grant scheme and a capital grants scheme, available to small and medium sized food businesses that produce, sell or process foods in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. For more information log on to www.cornwalltasteofthewest.co.uk.

Foodfromcornwall.co.uk was set up by Cornish Food Ltd to promote Cornish food on the internet. It provides ecommerce facilities for a range of ambient products and links to other producers to enable consumers to purchase directly from them. For producers who do not have their own website, it offers 'gateways', mini sites under the foodfromcornwall domain name. Also producers who have begun to develop their own sites can make use of the foodfromcornwall credit card facility, enabling them to trial ecommerce without the additional financial commitment. For more information contact Ashley Wood, tel 01209 860239 or via www.foodfromcornwall.co.uk.

Veronica Newport
Tel: 01363 866927
Mob: 07808 063053

Clare Morgan
Media Relations Manager
Objective One Partnership Office
Castle House
Pydar Street
Truro TR1 2UD
Mobile: 07973 813647
Telephone: 01872 223439

cmorgan@cornwall.gov.uk

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