Annual Report
Sustainable Scale Up Cluster Annual Report 2022-23
2022-2023 has been the second year of delivery for the Sustainable Scale Up Cluster.
It was an exceptionally testing year for the food and drink sector as we came out of the Covid-19 pandemic. We saw the start of rising inflation which was exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.
Many food and drink businesses have had to cope with increased and unpredictable input costs, including energy, labour, packaging and key ingredients whilst meeting the needs of their customers. Forecasting and budgeting has become ever more challenging. And, as the cost of living crisis took hold, the ability to pass on some of the input cost increases to retail and foodservice customers has been difficult.
Sustainable Scale Up Cluster Annual Report 2021-22
Over the past few years, a recurring theme in the Welsh food and drink sector has been the need for businesses to be able to scale sustainably in a way that is both affordable and manageable. The Sustainable Scale Up Cluster’s vision and mission statement supports businesses in their growth, and is aligned with the sector strategy, “A Vision for the Food & Drink Industry from 2021 – Building on our success”, launched by Lesley Griffiths MS, Minister for Rural Affairs and North Wales, and Trefnydd in 2021.
We are pleased to share the Sustainable Scale Up Cluster’s first annual report which captures the main activities and themes from the first year of the cluster’s development. We have also offered some policy considerations based on the particular challenges which cluster members address as they look to scale up after the last very turbulent few years.
