Food & Drink

From dairy produce to seafood to organics – and of course, our famous pasties – Cornwall is home to a thriving food and drink industry, which offers a wealth of opportunities in production, processing, distribution and hospitality. The integrity of Cornwall’s brand holds a distinct market advantage for food manufacturing businesses.

Latest estimates put the annual turnover of Cornwall's food & drink industry at £1.5 billion. There are plenty of reasons why it's thriving:

Cornwall's farmers are ideally placed to meet surging demand for food produced to the highest environmental and animal welfare standards. Over 130 organic farmers now operate here, offering dairy produce, meat and a range of fruit and vegetables.
The county is home to one of Europe's biggest and most modern cheese creameries, and Cornish Clotted Cream has EU Protected Designation of Origin.
New chilling, packing and distribution facilities are making a wider range of fresh local products available to national and international markets.
The county's mild climate enables its farmers to meet growing demand for out-of-season vegetables, building on effective partnerships between growers, processors, marketing companies and the supermarket majors.
Demand for seafood has never been higher, and Cornwall's fishing industry has moved to meet it through innovative initiatives such as the National Lobster Hatchery at Padstow.
The annual Cornwall Food and Drink festival showcases the strength of the sector and attracts national visitors and coverage.
Established network of food processing plants, specialising in different areas, including one of the UK's premier independent food testing laboratories at its Callington site.

There are also a number of Cornish producers who lead the way in terms of innovation within the food and drink sector. These include The Cornish Cheese Company which is the UK's only producer of soft blue cheese; Cornish Sea Salt Co - the UK's first sea salt producer to harvest direct from the ocean and Deli Farm Charcuterie - one of only two UK companies specialising in air dried meat products.

The quality of the food and drink industry in Cornwall has also drawn in national names such as restaurateurs Rick Stein and Jamie Oliver. As well as helping build a new industry in gastro-tourism, they also have made a clear commitment to using Cornish ingredients – as has the local authority and local NHS.

Food and Drink Networks

The Cornwall Agri-food Council (CAC) - responsible for the continued strategic and proactive delivery of support to the agricultural, horticultural, food and land based industries. Through a range of funding streams the CAC assists businesses in accessing funds for capital investments, workforce development and marketing.

Food Innovation Service - team of dedicated food industry experienced professionals who support clients in all aspects of food and drink production and distribution.

Cornwall Foodfinder- Cornwall’s most comprehensive guide for food and drink trade buyers, no matter how big or small.

Cornwall Food & Drink – Hub for sourcing Cornish ingredients, selling food related products and services, as well as support to help build your Cornish food or drink business.

Combined Universities in Cornwall (University of Plymouth)– Agrifood Centre provides support capabilities in terms of R&D, consultancy and problem solving in:

Food structure
Automation and food robotics
Process control technologies
Flavour research
Microbiology
Prebiotics
Tea expertise
Food marketing and consumer studies