Wellington’s F&B producers take centre stage

The Wellington region’s top flying food and beverage producers and suppliers are queuing up for the chance to tempt the taste-buds of top industry buyers in the capital next week.

The Visa Wellington On a Plate (VWOAP) 2014 Supplier Showcase, styled on a European farmers’ market, will take place on 3 February with spaces being filled before the applications close, says Grow Wellington’s Sector Development Manager for Manufacturing, Grant Lumsden. “Interest has been very high this year which reflects the depth and vitality in this part of the regional economy, where so many businesses are attracting national and global attention around their products,” says Mr Lumsden. The showcase, in its third year, is a forerunner for the Visa Wellington On a Plate (VWOAP) festival in August and puts food and beverage producers, manufacturers and suppliers in the spotlight. Mr Lumsden says regional suppliers play a vital part in the festival which brought in $4.1 million in GDP value to the Wellington regional economy last year. “This year we’ve selected about 40 businesses with a mix of some who are ready to take their products and export them from the region, and boutique operators whose produce embodies all the unique things about Wellington.” Auckland buyers from Farro Fresh and Nosh Foodmarket will be joining local produce champions Moore Wilson and Foodstuffs owners in the search for new and exciting products to capture the attention of the buying public. They will taste products from craft beer to handcrafted cheeses, and talk face-to-face with food service professionals in a front-of-table trade fair style, modelled on the European farmers’ markets. Discussions with local chefs and restaurateurs around all important inclusions into menus for VWOAP DINE Wellington and Burger Wellington entries will also take place. This event is run by Grow Wellington in conjunction with the Wellington Culinary Events Trust.