Riverside Inverclyde (ri) is delighted to announce the launch of Taste Inverclyde, a platform built to promote independent restaurants, cafés, bars, food and drink production and food tourism across Inverclyde.

Hosted in collaboration with Scotland Food and Drink, the national membership organisation, the launch will be held at the iconic Custom House in Greenock on Tuesday 28^th November.

Identified by Riverside Inverclyde as a key growth sector, the food and drink sector is currently valued at £14.5bn across Scotland with ambitions to double this to £30bn by 2030.

Inverclyde is an area which has been significantly underrepresented with one of the lowest number of food and drink businesses of any local authority area in Scotland.  Therefore Riverside Inverclyde will unveil its plans for the sector in Inverclyde at the event.

Taste Inverclyde has been designed to deliver a local food and drink website for Inverclyde tourists and residents, aimed at promote the fantastic local eateries and produce that they sell. At the outset, Taste Inverclyde will showcase independent restaurants, cafés and bars with the aim to expand to include street food and hotels.

Taste Inverclyde will also launch a collaborative forum for manufacturers, restaurants, cafes and farms within Inverclyde to come together to discuss, innovate and create local produce that can then be sold across the UK and abroad.

The aim of the forum is to offer business support and an environment that promotes collaborative thinking, with the forum meeting monthly following the launch event.

Riverside Inverclyde will also share its plans at the event for Baker Street, a £1.8m dedicated food and drink enterprise hub in Greenock which is due for completion at the end of 2018.

Caroline Wengel (Business Development Manager) and Fiona Richmond (Project Manager) from Scotland Food and Drink will be speaking and will provide insight into the growth of regional food across Scotland, the importance of provenance, showcase other regional forums and provide an intro to Showcasing Scotland West (SSW).

Andrew Bowman, Head of Business Investment at Riverside Inverclyde said: “The food and drink sector offers Inverclyde a fabulous opportunity over the next decade to increase the manufacturing and production of local produce, offering a critical jobs and skills boost to the area, leading to a valuable contribution to the local economy. We are aiming for Taste Inverclyde to be the vehicle which helps to facilitate and stimulate the sector locally, to deliver collaborative projects and ensure Inverclyde puts its best foot forward in the sector.”

The event will run from 12:30pm to 2.30pm and if free to attend. The event is open to all food and drink companies and individuals. Free parking is available around the building for attendees and Lunch and refreshments will also be provided.

To book your place, please click the below link for more details:

 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/taste-inverclyde-food-and-drink-launch-tickets-39879509687