Clicks and Mortar Cardiff: Meet the yummy sellers for food and drink fortnight

It's the final two weeks of the Clicks and Mortar small business pop-up shop in Cardiff and it's a tasty finale! Meet the food and drink companies selling their yummy products plus a ceramics brand with mugs to drink your tea in.

The shop, backed by the Welsh Government's Food Division, is at the St David's shopping centre in Cardiff until 1 September.

Supported by Amazon, Square and Direct Line for Business, Clicks and Mortar is opening pop-up stores across the UK to give customers the opportunity to discover and buy directly from small businesses.

If you'd like to sell your products in the stores to come, apply here.

Jeff Barry, Cymru Confectionery

Handmade confectionery based on family recipes.

How did you come up with your idea?

I found my grandfather's recipe book.

What are your tips for business success?

Keep trying as it does get better. What doesn't work in one place might work in another.

Michelle Davies, Shelly's

Innovating amazing flavours in the award-winning range of handmade all butter shortbread.

How did you come up with your business idea?

I'm a trained baker from my younger days and found a product that wasn't common around South Wales and the shortbread biscuit was that product. Over the last 10 years I have developed flavours with the help of my father

What start-up challenges have you faced?

Challenges have been massive from financial support to marketing a new product which has needed to evolve over the last 10 years. Support has come from friends, family, the Welsh government, local council and many more.

Deborah Ellis, Delicia Tea Emporium

High-quality speciality teas from around the globe and tasty gourmet cakes and cupcakes.

How did you come up with your idea?

Tea is a passion that has been with me ever since my grandfather taught me about it as a little girl. When I was made redundant many years ago I decided to take my passion and rebalance the concept of tea consumption.

The world of tea snobbery must stop and this wonderful product, which is available to everyone, should be celebrated and people should be able to enjoy it as they want to.

Which other entrepreneur inspires you and why?

Peter Jones, because failure has never discouraged him

Anne Mainwaring, Chocolate House

Award-winning handmade chocolates.

What are your top tips for business success?

Have a short and long term plan but be prepared for deviations to the plan. Be flexible but know where you're heading. Know your values and beliefs.

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Joanna Morgan, Radnor Preserves

Totally-delicious, multi-award-winning preserves from the heart of Wales. "One of Britain's Top 10 Finest Artisan Food Producers" (Olive Magazine, 2018).

How did you come up with your business idea?

I used to live in a remote off-grid cottage. Having no electricity meant that I had no freezer for my harvest of home-grown fruit and vegetables from my garden so I taught myself how to preserve them the old-fashioned way by making jams, chutneys and marmalades instead on a rayburn (often by candlelight).

I gave away hampers at Christmas to friends and family and their friends kept asking how they could buy the products themselves. 10 years ago I started selling at farmers' markets with great success and now Radnor Preserves has won the highest awards in the world of marmalade and been called one of the top 10 finest artisan food producers in Britain by Olive Magazine.

What start-up challenges have you faced and how have you overcome them?

Growing a small business is extremely challenging, particularly as an artisan food producer. There is a trend now for new food businesses to outsource manufacturing, so the founder can concentrate on growing the business. When I started this wasn't really an option, so my growth from domestic production to scaling up to a food-grade unit has taken longer.

I've received great advice from the Welsh Government and amazing support from my family and friends. I now employ a great team in mid-Wales; all our products remain truly artisanal, and we supply some brilliant customers.

Why did you decide to sell in Clicks and Mortar and what do you hope to achieve?

We now sell online through Ocado which delivers to Cardiff, and recently sold-out on the QVC shopping channel, so when I was invited to take part in Clicks and Mortar, it seemed a good opportunity for potential customers in Cardiff to learn more about our delicious preserves.

Ricky Kothari, Sticksology

Super convenient, non-drip, mess free tea stick infusers in 12 blends and flavours.

How did you come up with your idea and turn that idea into a business?

The humble tea bag has been around forever. Most people encounter them every single day and it would never occur to them that the design could be drastically improved. I was frustrated by the way that it's nigh-on impossible to use a tea bag without a teaspoon, and even then it's tricky to avoid drippage. When was the last time you made a cup of tea and didn't splash at least a few drops on the counter or leak tea from a soggy teabag en route to the bin?

So I came up with the idea for a teabag that is also effectively its own spoon - also known as the 'T-Stick'. The product consists of a foil tube encasing loose tea leaves that infuses when dunked in hot water. Due to its straw-like shape, it effectively acts as container and strainer, all in one.

The product outstrips the traditional tea bag for convenience too, as it's much easier to use when you're on the go. T-Sticks is also doing its bit for the planet by using only recyclable packaging, as well as reducing water wastage from thousands of teaspoons that no longer need to be washed. not forgetting the reduction and use of plastic stirrers.

This ingenuity of product design comes at no sacrifice of taste. Self-proclaimed unashamed 'tea geeks', the T-Sticks team spend their days figuring out the complexities or rather, complexi-teas, of making the perfect brew. The end result is a perfect blend of passion and innovation, creating a high-quality product.

What are your three top tips for business success?

1. Research your market, be open to exporting and understand your price points and margins.

2. Boot strap as long as possible.

3. Ensure ability to scale fast and get make sure communication is the heart of your business internally and externally with suppliers and partners.

Ceri & David, Welsh Connection

Fine bone china designed and created by hand in Monmouthshire. Unique pieces, inspired by the love of Wales.

How did you come up with your idea and turn that idea into a business?

After drawing images inspired by Wales, we noticed a gap in the market. Welsh giftware products were generally cheaply made and/or lower quality. We decided to create Welsh inspired giftware using our imagery, that also had quality. We researched the fine bone china industry and grew the company.

What are your top tips for business success?

Don't give up. Treat others as you want to be treated. Don't forget those that have helped you on your journey.

If you'd like to sell your products in the Clicks and Mortar stores to come, apply here.