Experiencing Scotland is a food and drink consultancy service for tourism companies.
Food and drink are a key part of Scotland's visitor experience with an increasing number of visitors to Scotland seeking to try quality local produce.
Recent research by Scottish Enterprise showed that visitors to Scotland prefer to buy food and drink of local provenance, that is produce "with a story behind it".
The research also revealed that businesses and events providing locally sourced produce led to a better visitor experience and higher levels of sales - on average 20 percent more per year.
By choosing authentic local produce, tourism businesses and event organisers can raise their profile, make more profit and ensure a better visitor experience.
The Experiencing Scotland service includes one-to-one business advice and support to help make the most of these market opportunities.
What services does Experiencing Scotland provide?
Experiencing Scotland provides two services:
- One-to-one business support
- Workshops
Experiencing Scotland business support
Eligible businesses can access in-depth expert advice from the Merritt-Harrison Catering Consultancy.
The advice will provide companies support on offering and promoting quality Scottish produce, in order to raise their profile, profits and deliver a better visitor experience.
Business support includes:
- An introduction to business tools plus support networks available
- Up to two days of direct business support, delivering a diagnostic analysis which reviews menu offer, service delivery, purchasing, marketing, staff skills and overall financial performance
- A bespoke action plan with benchmarks, tagets for growth and timescales for achievement
- A review of progress and telephone support as required
Businesses are required to contribute £500 + VAT towards consultancy costs
Who is eligible for support?
- Visitor attractions with 75,000+ visitors per year
- Resorts, hotel groups and hotels (50+ rooms)
- Conference and corporate events venues
- Sporting events venues
- National Parks
Experiencing Scotland workshops
These one day workshops offer an introduction to delivering profitable and engaging visitor experiences which put local produce at the heart of their food and drink offer.
Who is eligible to attend a workshop?
The eligibility criteria for business support does not apply to the workshops, however, only groups of 10 or more tourism businesses can apply to attend a workshop.
The workshops are available on demand from business groups, so your group can choose a preferred date and location.
The workshop includes:
- An introduction on how to drive your business through the use of provenance
- An opportunity to meet local food and drink companies
- An introduction to using business tools and support networks
- Top tips for purchasing and partnership
- Innovating through menu offerings and service delivery
- How to share food and drink stories through a variety of media, including marketing materials, social media and staff enagagement
- Plan to succeed: simple steps to consolidating the key messages from the day and putting an action plan into place
The cost is £50 (plus VAT) per attendee, based on a workshop with 10 businesses participating.
The cost includes a buffet lunch using local produce, services of a workshop facilitator, workshop resources and a free follow up consultation for each business participant.
How do I make an enquiry?
For information about one-to-one consultancy or to register for updates call 0845 607 8787 or email enquiries@scotent.co.uk
Additional resources
Register on Tourism Intelligence Scotland to access resources such as:
- The Food & Drink Experience in Scotland Guide - ‘Opportunities for Growth’ guides are packed full of easy-to-use intelligence and examples that will help you maximise the business opportunities from the food and drink sector
- At Your Service - packed with practical information for front line staff in tourism businesses, providing facts about different food types, seasonality, background information on Scottish dishes and drinks, and hints and tips on how to ‘upsell’ to customers.
Producers' Fact Sheet (Word, 316kB) - further market information and support for food and drink tourism.