Savvy Foods Ltd

5th June 2014

Sheffield based food manufacturer Savvy Foods Ltd, have secured a place at the prestigious Speciality Fine Foods Show, to be held at The Yorkshire Event Centre, Harrogate in June.

The annual show, hosted by the Guild of Fine Foods, is a unique occasion, uniting the very best local, regional, national and international producers and suppliers with major retail buyers, whom the company are hoping to attract the attention of, with their produce. Savvy's founders Jonathan Drury and Katie Owens, were runners up in the SheffieldHallamUniversity's Enterprise Challenge 2013.  The pair make a unique range of nutritious sweet spreads, based on a traditional Mediterranean recipe, which is currently on sale in around twenty health shops and recently at shows such as the Sheffield Food Festival. The research that went in to the award winning plan last year revealed a lack of innovation in the UK sweet and savoury spreads market, which is worth over £800m a year. The pairs' early success with a completely new product range, has just led to a private investment deal. Jonathan Drury who has been making the original version since the early 1990's explains; -The sweet dip I originally tasted in Turkey has never been available ready-made so I would put mine into a jar for convenience. I've always been creative and like experimenting, so as well as having a sweet tooth and eating healthily means I'm now in my dream job! He adds, -Carob is a Middle-Eastern super-food, which has had a bit of a bad press as a so-called chocolate substitute, but the syrup is very rich and tasty, really bringing out the deep, natural sweetness.  There's a need for indulgence without health-compromise. The new range of spreads, which include cocoa and date varieties and can be used on ice cream and pancakes, are proving very popular with children and local sports people, including a Sheffield based fencer who took part in the London 2012 games.  Savvy has also been associated with the 2014 Sheffield Steel Peloton, an initiative to create a bicycle made including iron from Sheffield, timed to coincide with the Grand Depart which comes to the region in July. The company are also benefitting from an Innovation Grant from the Technology Strategy Board and tests and focus groups are underway at the SheffieldBusinessSchool's Centre for Food Innovation. Says Jonathan; -We are delighted to be involved in such a high profile event as the Speciality Food Show, and it certainly highlights our experience in this field He added finally; -It's always encouraging when small local companies can measure up to more established ones at larger shows, as it underlines the depth and breadth of knowledge and innovation available in our region.  We're confident to be applying for some Great Taste Awards next year