A TOP North Wales food distribution company is reporting record sales of £600,000 and crowds of more than 2,500 at its biggest food expo event yet.

Harlech Foodservice’s annual two-day trade expo smashed last year’s figures – the first since 2019 because of the pandemic – with the 120 exhibitor stands at the high-profile event at Llandudno’s Venue Cymru another record.

They came to see – and taste – more than 1,000 products by Harlech, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, and to enjoy cookery demonstrations including by Wales’s own BBQ expert, Caernarfon’s S4C star, Flamebaster Chris Roberts.

Exhibitors included names like Kellogg’s, Young’s Seafood, Doritos, Hellman’s and McCains as well as top North Wales’s producers such as Jones Village Bakery, Edwards the Welsh Butcher, Llaeth y Llan Village Dairy and South Caernarfon Creameries.

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Harlech head of purchasing, Matt Flynn, said: “Everyone is saying it’s probably the best show we’ve ever done and the numbers certainly bear that out.

“In the first hour alone we had over 130 people through and they’ve been busy with their order books which have offered them some fantastic offers to book deliveries ahead.

“We’ve gone back to basics this year and provided them with attractive order books with an A to Z list of the products from our suppliers, from Aber Falls Distillery Gin to Zafron Chilled Sandwiches so that they can fill in their orders and leave the delivery to us.

“We’ve also got some real theatre with fantastic exhibitions of cookery from Chris Roberts and our own Steve Griffiths.

“We’ve seen fantastic growth in the education and health sectors and we’re building on that and encouraging customers to increase their spend with us as well as winning new customers.”

Chris Roberts took a break from giving a succulent lamb shoulder the ‘Flamebaster’ treatment to say: “This is my first time here and I’m impressed. It’s very good and very busy.

“I’ve been cooking up some nice rib-eyes from a farm in Meifod in Mid Wales where the cattle are 100 per cent grass fed, all reared on Welsh grass and breathing Welsh air.

“That’s really important to me and it’s what I celebrate – the farmers, butchers and fishmongers of Wales are my rock stars and it’s amazing the way Harlech are promoting them.”

Harlech Foodservice Ltd employs 200 staff at its bases at Criccieth and Chester.

Between the two locations, the company runs a fleet of vehicles to deliver 5,000 product lines to cafés, restaurants, pubs and public sector customers across North and Mid-Wales, Shropshire, the Midlands and the North West.