Belvoir Fruit Farms Recommends Working with DIT for Export Success
Added by Love Business East Midlands | 3 March 2020
East Midlands based family business, Belvoir Fruit Farms has enjoyed considerable export success in recent years, aided in no small way by a close relationship with the Department of International Trade, a collaboration they highly recommend to other local SMEs.
Premium adult soft drinks maker, Belvoir Fruit Farms nestles in the beautiful Vale of Belvoir and has been making its range of award winning flower and fruit Cordials and lightly sparkling Pressés since 1984. They are available nationwide in shops, pubs, bars and restaurants, however, recently the business has been enjoying great international success too.
Lee Hemmings Director of International explains:
“As an international business, we are growing at 20% year on year, exporting to a total of 44 countries. Our key markets are Australia, France, Holland the UAE and the USA.
“The Department of International Trade helped us to secure a new distributor in the US, which has resulted in a major increase in sales there and we expect this success to continue; our US sales are now projected to reach £10million by 2022.”
In the early stages of US brand development, the company had targeted northeast USA, in particular New York but the new distributor has helped expand the brand’s reach with Belvoir Cordials now being stocked on US supermarket shelves across the country, including in Wholefoods, Cost Plus and Total Wine.
Belvoir believes that the opportunities for their drinks in the US are huge. The North American market loves the provenance and heritage associated with the brand but also the fact that the company only uses honest, natural ingredients and no artificial sweeteners, colourings, flavourings or preservatives in the making of its drinks.
However, despite the notable success, Belvoir admits to having encountered some challenges.
Lee Hemmings again:
“For SMEs, like ourselves, we are constantly on the backfoot compared to domestic brands in the US because of tariffs. We are less sensitive to these tariffs because of the uniqueness of our products however, they actively deter other small businesses from even attempting to export to the US.”
And it’s a huge market to tap into. The DIT states that in the year to the end of September 2019 total UK trade with the US was worth £220.09 billion while exports to the US in 2018 from the East Midlands alone were worth £2.5bn. And the DIT believes there is much more potential for British food and drink exports in this market.
Belvoir would encourage other SMEs to get in touch with their regional DIT office for help in benefiting from the trade opportunities that the USA has to offer. As the DIT prepares to begin negotiations on a US Free Trade Agreement now that the UK is out of the EU, forging a relationship with the DIT would be especially timely.
Lee Hemmings concludes:
“A US Free Trade Agreement will make trade between the UK and the States even easier for SMEs like Belvoir, by reducing trade barriers and allowing us to be yet more competitive against US domestic brands. Now’s the time for businesses to contact their local DIT representative and get involved.”
To find your local DIT office visit www.great.gov.uk/contact/office-finder
To find out more about Belvoir Fruit Farms and their range of premium Cordials and lightly sparkling Pressés, visit www.belvoirfruitfarms.co.uk
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