East Lothian Food and Drink Newsletter

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Food and Drink Survey

We are currently running a survey across our social media channels to find out more about East Lothian resident's opinions on local food and drink & food tourism.

The data collected from this survey will be shared freely with businesses to support them moving forward. We hope that it will give an insight into people's thoughts and feelings towards local produce in light of COVID19.

We would like as many people as possible to respond to our survey, and would be very grateful if members could share the survey link on their social channels.

The survey is only 10 questions and should take approximately 3 minutes to complete

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/NWX23KD

NETWORKING MEETING: 4th of August

We will be holding a networking event for members on the 4th of August from 6pm until 7pm. Based on feedback from members, we have decided to host this networking meeting in the evening. We hope that this will allow people to have a catch up with fellow producers and BID staff after work.

Although this is an informal opportunity for members to catch up with one another and BID staff, we thought it would be useful to have some 'topics for discussion'. This months topics for discussion will be:

👍 Ways that we can work together to continue to drive the 'Shop Local' message.
👍 How the re-opening of the hospitality sector has impacted food and drink producers.
👍 Reflecting on COVID19 achievements and challenges.

If you'd like to come along to our online networking meeting on the 4th of August, please register here:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwvdemtpzIjG9aZ5lXqiF7CzeqvRfdt3Cb0

East Lothian Courier Love Local Business Supplement

The East Lothian Courier are creating a Love Local Business supplement in conjunction with Scotland Town Partnership's Shop Local Campaign.

Local businesses can get involved by registering their business here: https://www.eastlothiancourier.com/my/ccn/questionnaire/VBJwTp7n/

Loved By You... Made By Us

We have been working on a campaign that aims to encourage people to continue to shop with East Lothian producers as restrictions begin to be lifted - Loved By You... #MadeByUs

You might have already spotted our ads in the Edinburgh Evening News (see photo) but we will also have an article on the Scotsman Food and Drink website and also the Local Life Magazine!

As always, we will continue to promote our members businesses on our social channels- please tag us in your posts or if you aren't active on social media, just drop us an email with info about what you would like us to promote!

If you need some help getting started with social media, just let us know. There are lots of great resources out there and we are more than happy to help!

CLOSED FACEBOOK PAGE FOR BID MEMBERS

We have a closed Facebook page for BID members! We hope this group will be a good way for members to collaborate with each other but also a new way we can share information with you all, quickly and easily.

We cannot send invites for your businesses pages to join, but you can request to join the page by searching 'East Lothian Food and Drink Members' on Facebook.

Look forward to seeing you all on the page!

Expert Help Programme

East Lothian's Expert Help Programme offers local businesses up to 3 days free specialised advice in the following areas:

SALSA
Product packaging
Waste minimisation and energy efficiency
HR - management of employees
IT Security, cyber crime and GDPR
Branding
Marketing including Social Media
Sales

The product packaging consultant is currently available for online sessions. If you would like to find out more about how to apply for support with product packaging, please email Gemma at gslight@eastlothian.gov.uk.

Sail Scotland Launch Shop to Ship Market Place

Sail Scotland has launched a new web-based platform to better connect local businesses with visiting leisure crafts, yachts and cruising vessels. They are looking for businesses that can supply the following products:

Beer wines and spirits
Dry groceries
Fresh food and meat
Seafood
Bakery
Dairy
Takeaway
Household
Arts and crafts

If you are a supplier of products listed above and can take an order and payment online or over the telephone and can supply to a designated collection point you can register your services on Sail Scotland's website.

You can download a flyer about Shop to Ship here.

Consolidated ordering

After careful consideration, the BID has decided to discontinue its consolidated ordering system.

From the 13th of July, we will redirect any sales from our customers to individual producers. Over the past few weeks we have also provided contact details of our producers to our customers.

A huge thank you to all of our members who participated in our consolidated sales system over the past few years. We hope that you will be able to work on direct promotions with each location and continue to grow your relationship with the buyers.

East Lothian Council's Guidance for Reopening

East Lothian Council have a section of their website with guidance and information for businesses that are re-opening, including donwloadable 'Stay Safe, Support Local, Love East Lothian' posters.

Click here to visit the page.

General Guidance

1) The Scottish Government's advice on business and physical distancing guidance

2) Food Standards Scotland have information and Q&A about Coronavirus and food as well as covid-19 guidance for food business operators and their employees.

3) You can find out information about the support available from Companies House for businesses here.

4) You can download a copy of Scotland's route map through and out of the COVID19 crisis here.

Financial support

Please note that local businesses DO NOT need to hire any agents or third parties to claim the government COVID-19 grants. Economic Development and the Business Rates teams at East Lothian Council can assist you. Contact economicdevelopment@eastlothian.gov.uk if you require any assistance.

findbusinesssupport.gov.scot is an up to date source of information for businesses in relation to Coronavirus.

The Role of Food Tourism in Scotland’s Tourism Recovery, Post Covid-19 - Webinar

Interface Webinar - Tuesday 4 August, 11am – 12.15pm (free of charge)

This Interface webinar will explore how food tourism can contribute to Scotland’s tourism recovery, post Covid-19, and what this means for businesses while being mindful of how to balance the needs of the local economy with those of local communities.

The speakers, across industry and academia, will set the scene and explore what approach businesses can take, look at current trends, business opportunities, challenges and concerns, and share recent survey results from one of Scotland’s regional food groups which has reported a record rise in support for buying local.

For full details and to book your place, please visit here

Support for Employers

Skills Development Scotland have created a portal to advertise immediate job vacancies. You can find out more here.

Advice on redundancy is available here or by calling 0800 917 8000.

The Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal have created a job vacancy site. For more information, click here.

ACAS have published advice for employers and employees on Coronavirus

HR Dept have information on Coronavirus for employers on their website. This includes a useful FAQ and a news section.

Marketing Opportunities

Scotland Food and Drink have launched a Support Local directory.

The Support Local directory allows the public to search by region and by product type and purchase directly from a business via website or telephone. The directory will be supported with a ‘Support Local’ communications campaign led by Scotland Food & Drink and the wider Partnership through various consumer-facing channels.

All listings are free for businesses. You can find out more here.