Are you looking to secure new listings for your products? Do you want to learn more about the grocery and foodservice channels, including the latest data and consumer trends? Do you want to enter pitch meetings armed with insights that will help you sell?
Don’t miss an exciting opportunity to join Scotland Food & Drink’s new From Insight to Impact Supplier Programme, taking place from June 2026.
Designed to support food and drink businesses to successfully enter and grow within key UK routes to market, the new Supplier Programme offers producers the chance to access tailored support from industry experts, using the knowledge gained to build strong, compelling selling propositions, while empowering sales teams to approach buyers with confidence.
Offering a structured learning journey, the Supplier Programme will take participants from insight analysis right through to direct buyer engagement, with each producer taking part in a channel-specific, intensive workshop, which will include a guided visit to a retail or foodservice environment.
Following the workshops, producers will then receive tailored 1:1 support, led by The Knowledge Bank, and access to commercial insights to help refine their unique selling proposition – preparing each business for an exclusive meet the buyer opportunity at the end of the programme.
What’s Included
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A full-day, channel-specific workshop focused on commercial readiness covering grocery retail, contract and event catering, and travel and leisure
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A guided experiential visit to a retail or foodservice environment (front and back of house where possible)
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Practical tools and exercises to assess your product, packaging and route-to-market fit
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Tailored 1:1 support from The Knowledge Bank, which may include consumer research, category data and insight and proposition refinement support
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A facilitated meet the buyer opportunity with relevant operators from Sainsbury’s, Sodexo, and The Restaurant Group
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Peer learning alongside other food and drink businesses
About the Workshops
The From Insight to Impact Supplier Programme is a hands-on learning experience, designed to reflect real market conditions and prepare participants for buyer engagement.
Three one-day, in-person workshops will take place across June 2026, with limited places available on each channel-specific workshop:
Workshop 1: Grocery Retail: Multiple Retailers, Supported by Sainsbury’s
Date: 3 June 2026
Location: Langlands Depot, East Kilbride
Workshop 2: Foodservice: Contract and Event Catering, Supported by Sodexo
Date: 2 June 2026
Location: Edinburgh Zoo
Workshop 3: Foodservice: Travel and Leisure, Supported by The Restaurant Group
Date: 11 June 2026
Location: Edinburgh Airport and Glasgow Airport (group split between locations)
Applicants will be given the option of selecting a first and second choice channel, with places allocated initially on first-choice preferences. Where additional capacity is available, participants may also be offered a place in their second-choice channel. Fees will apply for each channel attended.
What You Will Learn
Participants will develop a clear understanding of:
- What buyers are looking for and how decisions are made
- When to engage, including category review cycles, NPD timelines and menu planning cycles
- What “good” looks like in terms of product fit, pricing and positioning
- The realities of packaging, logistics and operational requirements
- How to build a credible, insight-led route-to-market approach
Who Should Apply?
This programme is for Scottish food and drink businesses at varying stages of growth, and will be beneficial for producers who:
- Are exploring or actively pursuing entry into UK retail or foodservice channels
- Have a channel-ready product and want to develop a clear, credible route-to-market approach
- Want to better understand what buyers are looking for in practice
- Are open to challenge and feedback
- Want to benefit from a data and insight-led approach to refine their selling proposition
The Supplier Programme goes beyond theory – if you want to access tailored insight, learn from industry experts, and prepare for real buyer conversations, apply today.
Cost
Scotland Food & Drink members: £149
Non-members: £349
Applications close at 5pm, 13 May 2026. Click here to apply.