About the Service

Connect Local is a free, advisory service for the local Scottish food and drink sector. It is delivered by a team of experts from SAC, SAOS, Scotland Food & Drink and Seafood Scotland, and funded by Scottish Government and European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.

About the Service

We offer advice and guidance on:

Local food and drink businesses and organisations
Regional food groups
Collaborative projects that promote local food and drink
Start-ups and SMEs looking to develop capabilities

Our Aims

Change behaviour in food and drink production, promotion, procurement and ultimately consumer purchasing towards local choices.

Strengthen the local food and drink economy including the seafood supply chain (diversifying and improving access to local markets).

Case Studies

Putting Inverclyde on the Food and Drink Map

Food and drink is a targeted growth sector for Inverclyde given the excellent inter-connectivity, premises, proximity to central belt, ability to import and export from Greenock Ocean Terminal and the 2030 £30bn ambition to grow the food and drink industry in Scotland. Taste Inverclyde was created as a vehicle to support and highlight the food and drink opportunities and successes across the area.

Stirling NeighbourFood, a Fresh Approach to Accessing Local Food

Forth Environment Link (FEL) is a Scottish charity, that aims to change the way we think about the world around us; how we choose to travel, what we throw away and the way we eat. Stirling NeighbourFood is one of the ways we help make it easier to put more sustainable, local and seasonal food on our plates.

Discovering Shetland’s Food and Drink

Renowned Edinburgh restaurateur, Fred Berkmiller, travelled to Shetland in October 2018. Fred talks to Connect Local about his experience and, in so doing, hopes to inspire others about the quality of the island’s larder.

Forth Valley Food Festival & Growing Regional Food

The Forth Valley Food Festival is an on-going series of food events and campaigns with the aim of celebrating and showcasing the local food larder and supporting food producers, processors and providers, under the umbrella of Forth Valley & Lomond Leader and Stirling Council.

Food Tourism in Action: How a Highland Bakery Invests in Staff to Succeed

Developing a skilled a vibrant workforce is one of the key aims of the recently-launched Food Tourism Scotland action plan. A local, independent Highland bakery shows how developing and retaining staff,
often difficult in a remote area, is key to its success.

Testimonials

Edinburgh-based butter producer and dairy processor, The Butter Boys, aim to sell a range of traditional and flavoured butter products. Their mission is to put Scottish butter on the map and on Scottish tables. David from The Butter Boys was introduced to Kerry Allison of Connect Local through Interface and commented:

“Kerry gave us excellent marketing advice and she helped us with both our strategy and our brand. Working with Connect Local has been extremely beneficial to us and Kerry was competent and capable at guiding us. After such a positive experience, we will be calling on Kerry and the Connect Local’s experts again.”