Invest in Angus

THRIVE+ : Food & Drink Manufacturing for SMEs
2025-11-04 10:30 - 12:00 UTC
Session 1: Tuesday 4 November

Session 2: Tuesday 11 November
This event is part of a series of THRIVE+ skills development events delivered by experienced industry trainers.
This 2-session training package will cover the following key topics:
SELF-MANUFACTURING

Areas to think about when setting up food and drink manufacturing
Environmental Health Officer (EHOs) will provide an overview of what EHOs require
Advantages and challenges of manufacturing yourself

CO-MANUFACTURING

Considers before approaching a co-manufacturer
What securities to have in place with a co-manufacturer
Checklist of what to ask a co-manufacturer
How to find co-manufacturers
Hear from a guest speaker who has used a co-manufacturer

This package is aimed at food and drink entrepreneurs and professionals looking to set up manufacturing facilities or build a co-manufacturing relationship. These webinars will also compare the two options and highlight advantages and challenges.
There will be a Q&A section at the end of each session.

Reaching the Right People: Understanding your Target Market
2025-11-06 10:00 - 16:00 | Westerton Farmers, Laurencekirk, AB30 1RT
The meeting will take place at Westerton Farm with Monitor Farmers, Fiona Smith and Ross Adamson.
The focus will be on understanding markets and how to reach them along with hearing about progress on the development of a cookery school/demonstration concept at Westerton.

THRIVE+ : Crafting Your Compelling Pitch
2025-11-06 10:30 - 11:30
This event is part of a series of THRIVE+ skills development events delivered by experienced industry trainers.
This session is focused on creating a creating a compelling pitch specifically for the food and drink industry. To create a concise, impactful story about your product that will attract investors, buyers, and customers.
This package is aimed at food and drink entrepreneurs in any product category looking to perfect their pitch.
There will be a Q&A section at the end of the session.
Following this event, separate sessions will be organised to provide attendees with the opportunity to practice their 5-minute pitch. These will be individual timeslots with the trainer to enable 121 feedback. These practice pitching sessions will be held w/c 24th November; timeslots will be provided closer to the event.

THRIVE+ : Food & Drink Packaging for SMEs
2025-11-18 10:00 - 12:00
This event is part of a series of THRIVE+ skills development events delivered by experienced industry trainers.
Key Topics:

What you consider when choosing product packaging
Information about different packaging options

This package is aimed at food and drink entrepreneurs in any product category and food industry professionals looking to expand their food packaging expertise (Technical, NPD, sales, marketing, food production).
There will be a Q&A section at the session.

Discover SALSA Go!
2025-11-25 13:30 - 14:30
SALSA is the UK’s leading food safety certification scheme for smaller producers. More than just a standard, it’s a membership-based network offering expert guidance, training, and resources to help businesses build robust food safety systems and gain buyer confidence.
Join us for an insightful session on SALSA Go!, a tailored support programme designed to help small and medium-sized UK food and drink businesses achieve SALSA (Safe and Local Supplier Approval) certification.
In this webinar, we’ll cover:

The SALSA Standard – developed specifically for smaller producers, with 103 practical requirements across four key areas.

The SALSA Go! Programme – a 12-month journey featuring one-to-one mentoring, gap analysis, and structured support to prepare for certification.

Exclusive Benefits – including access to SALSA’s resource library, discounted training, and technical support.

Success Stories – hear how businesses like Angus & Oink and Baba’s Sauce have grown their reach and credibility through SALSA.

Costs & Funding – learn about discounted rates available to Scotland Food & Drink members.

Whether you’re just starting out or ready to scale, SALSA Go! is here to support your next step.

Christmas 2025 - How did it go for sales?
2026-01-15 09:30 - 16:00 | Blair Drummond Smiddy Farm Shop, Stirling, FK9 4UY
Three key note speakers will share how Christmas 2025 went and how they are already planning for 2026.
Christmas is one of the key opportunities for farm retailers and agritourism enterprises. Many of us are not well enough organised to benefit from this key event.
This meeting will focus on how Christmas went in 2025, when is the right time to plan for Christmas 2026 and what planning should entail.
The day will start with a business talk and tour of the Smiddy Farm Shop, Blair Drummond, by Stirling, with owner Will Muir.
Afterwards travel the short distance to Gargunnock Community Centre to hear from Monitor Farm Programme Expert in Farm Retail, Fiona Pollock, Ardoss Farm Shop and her daughter Nikki Storrar, and Will Docker, Balgove Larder, Fife.
They will provide an evaluation of how Christmas 2025 has gone including some sales analysis and discussions on footfall, sale per basket and marketing. And they will discuss how they have already started planning for Christmas 2026.
Come along and ask these larger established businesses your questions. All are welcome.

How to design products consumers come back for | Lunch and Learn
2026-01-20 12:00 - 12:30
Learn how to create food and drink products that keep customers coming back for more, not just because of your branding, but because they genuinely crave your products.
In this session, Manon Galizzi will show you practical, founder-friendly ways to find your product’s “secret sauce” and test what actually makes people want to buy again and again.
Topics covered in this session:

The most powerful retention tool in food and drink
How to identify and refine your brand’s “signature experience”
Balancing familiarity and novelty to encourage repeat purchases
Small-scale sensory testing methods any founder can use

Scottish Food & Drink Ambassadors – Open Hour Info Session
2026-03-03 12:30 - 13:30
An informal online session for current Ambassadors and anyone curious about getting involved.
Who this session is for

You’re a current Scottish Food & Drink Ambassador and would like a refresher or a chance to reconnect
You’ve recently registered as a Scottish Food & Drink ambassador and are unsure what to do next
If you’re curious about volunteering as a Scottish Food & Drink Ambassador and would like to learn more before deciding

What the session will cover

An introduction to the STEM Ambassador programme and the role of Scottish Food & Drink Ambassadors in inspiring young people
An overview of how the programme works in Scotland and how we support you to get involved
A practical walkthrough of the STEM Learning platform, including how to get started, find opportunities and record your activity

What you will take away

A clear understanding of how the Scottish Food & Drink Ambassadors programme works
Confidence to get started or feel reconnected as an Ambassador
Practical know-how on using the new STEM Learning platform
Clarity on where to find opportunities and how to record your activity
Answers to your questions from the team supporting the programme
