A VALE of Clwyd firm that has launched a new vegan burger brushed shoulders with top food producers including Heinz and Seabrook crisps at a two-day expo.

Record-breaking deals worth a total of £500,000 were secured at the Harlech Foodservice Food and Drink Expo 2020 at Venue Cymru, Llandudno that welcomed almost 165 suppliers.

Sales were up by more than 30 per cent on 2019 as suppliers met more than 2,000 industry representatives, telling the story behind their product and offering free tasters.

Global giant Unilever was also present at the event along with businesses such as Fentimans and Deli France.

Also present among the stands was Ruthin company Patchwork Foods, which has made vegan products for 25 years with its latest the Vegan Punk Zero Bull burger that launched at the start of the year.

Andrew Grannell, sales manager for Patchwork Foods, provided tasters of the burger that was developed in partnership with Dave Ahern, a multi-award winning chef who won a place in the Top 10 Burgers in London from respected bar and restaurant guide Fluid London.

Mr Grannell said expos are a chance to “get the story behind the products and the future we are building for the company out there”.

“We have been making beautiful pates for 30 years, and vegan ones for 25 years, but our range is bigger than that now and the Harlech Foodservice expo gives us a chance to tell people all about that,” he said.

“The expo is important because it give us the chance to see our customer face to face. We don’t want a distant relationship with them, we want to be able to talk directly to them, show them new products like the Zero Bull burger and become recognised by them for our tone, our customer support and the real quality of our products which we care about.”

Andrew Foskett, joint managing director of Harlech Foodservice, which is headquartered in Gwynedd, said the event is growing year on year.

“The customers are able to come and see, taste and feel the products for themselves and there’s no substitute for that,” said Mr Foskett.

“We have suppliers here specialising in vegan produce, allergen free products, and other things which our customers need to be aware of.

“It helps them to find out the latest food trends and to stay on top of the changing patterns in the industry.”