Sourcing locally helps to keep money circulating in your local economy, supporting jobs and other independent businesses.

For you as a business, it can mean being able to find produce that is seasonal, fresher and grown or made locally to your specifications. Shorter supply chains give you greater flexibility and options to try new ideas, while also reducing the need for food to be transported as far and stored for as long which saves energy and emissions.

Several of our city centre food producers are also social businesses, meaning that you can also be using your supply chain to support the good work they’re doing out in the community.

It can be tricky to find local suppliers – networking through Food Cardiff can help – so Food Innovation Wales has created a directory of more than 600 food and drink companies in Wales. It’s highly searchable and recently launched new features to enable users to find specific by-products to help reduce waste and support sustainable food production.

If you’re looking for other opportunities to connect with suppliers, Welsh Government’s Food & Drink Wales website information on networking, trade events and support for marketing and innovation.