Harrods

Our regional food promotion at Harrods led to new supplier relationships.

The issue

Harrods, the world’s most famous department store, has a reputation for excellence. The magnificent food halls boast the finest foods the world has to offer, and as such, provide the perfect showcase for Britain’s top quality regional food and drink. Food from Britain teamed up with Harrods to celebrate the best of British.

What we did

FFB organised a series of ‘meet the buyer’ events where Harrods staff were presented with a broad range of unique regional food products.  These events were partnered with the devolved nations (Welsh Development Association, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands and Invest Northern Ireland) and the eight English Regional Food Groups.  Products accepted by Harrods went forward to take part in Harrod’s ‘Truly British’ storewide event from 5 September to 15 October 2005. 
 
As part of the promotion, delicious British food was served throughout the store’s restaurants.  Leading British chef, Andrew Turner, created a variety of up-market tapas using the finest ingredients from the UK to raise awareness of the delicious products available to store visitors.

Additional activities included product sampling, consumer and media events and an investment in publicity, in partnership with Delicious magazine.  In-store impact was at a premium, with the world’s largest cheddar on display, artful window design and even a hive of live bees. 

Andre Dang from Harrods, commented, “We’re extremely pleased that Harrods was able to give both traditional and modern regional food and drink such an important place in the promotion.  The long-term benefit to producers is that Harrods has agreed to keep a minimum 50% of the products post the event.  Food from Britain provided a fantastic support service, and their in-depth knowledge of the supply base available to us was invaluable in filling holes in relevant product categories, both for Harrods and the buyers involved.”