Nine Isle of Man food and drink businesses have successfully completed a series of marketing masterclasses designed to boost their brand and find new audiences for their products.
The weekly Fast Track Your Food & Drink workshops were delivered by food business specialist Fiona Fitzpatrick and social media whizz Kirsty Lawrence in Castletown last month.
The four-part series was developed in association with the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture’s (DEFA) Food Matters strategy, which aims to grow the Island’s food and drink sector.
Topics included brand building, understanding product opportunities, email marketing and the importance of creating engaging content for social media.
Local food and drink businesses Angelica Belle, Just Pizza and Pasta, Kella Distillers, The Market Stall, Foraging Vintners, Rogue Brewing, Ballakarran Farm, IOM Meats and IOM Salt Co all completed the course held at the Engine Room.
Nick Scarffe from Rogue Brewing, said:
‘It was great to meet so many passionate and talented people working in our sector. Fiona and Kirsty created a highly engaging environment for us to share ideas, troubleshoot and consolidate our understanding of our brand and market.’
Fiona Fitzpatirick, said:
‘It was wonderful to meet such talented local entrepreneurs who took the chance to connect with a new network. There were plenty of lightbulb moments and I hope they all left with a deeper understanding of how to market their great products.’
Clare Barber MHK, Minister for DEFA, said:
‘Empowering our local producers is an important part of the department’s Food Matters Strategy so I am delighted that so many have engaged with Fiona and Kirsty, who are both experts in their field.’
To register your interest for future food and drink marketing workshops, please contact food@gov.im for more information.
