Welsh food and drink brands enter Cardiff Clicks and Mortar pop-up

Welsh food and drink brands are set to take part in a pioneering pop-up shop scheme aimed at helping small up-and-coming online-only retailers grow their high street presence.

Set in St David's Centre, Cardiff, the shop is part of a year-long national pilot programme that is exploring a new model in retailing.

More than 100 online brands will feature in 10 pop-up shops across the UK providing independent research which will be submitted to the UK Government following the call for new ideas to develop the Future High Streets strategy.

The food and drinks brands in Cardiff start trading on 19 August and include the following:

• Radnor Preserves: Award-winning artisan preserves including marmalade, jams and chutneys made in Radnor, Powys.

• Shelly's - The Welsh Shortbread Company: Bridgend-based shortbread and Welsh Cake specialists made with local Welsh ingredients including Welsh butter, founded by Michelle Davies and her dad. Shortbread flavours include peanut butter, strawberry and black pepper and dark chocolate and chilli.

• Chocolate House: Based in Trehafod, Rhondda, an award-winning hand-made chocolate company, founded by Anna Mainwairing.

• Delicia Cakes and Teas: A Llantrisant-based artisan baker and speciality tea producer, founded by Deborah Ellis.

• Cymru Confectionery: Handmade fudge, made with natural ingredients in Cardiff. Products include marshmallows, Turkish delight and a range of vegan products including peanut brittle and fudge.

The featured brands have all built online businesses and now want to explore real retail on the high street, mostly for the first time. The brands will be able to access on-site business advisers to help them scale, both online and in physical retail.

Emma Jones, founder of Enterprise Nation, said:

"This is the first time we have created a 'themed' collective of traders, so it will be interesting to see how a food and drink pop-up goes. While they are in the shop, well as providing these small online businesses with a physical space to trade, we'll have advisers on hand to offer free advice to help them scale, both offline and on.

"We feel it's important to ensure our stores benefit not just the small firms and their customers, but also the wider local economy."

Clicks and Mortar is a collaboration between Amazon, Enterprise Nation, Square and Direct Line for Business, and the Cardiff store is in partnership with intu and LandSec.

James Waugh, General Manager of St David's Cardiff, said:

"The opportunity to showcase fantastic food and drink brands in the centre is always welcomed and enjoyed by our shoppers, and with the added bonus of them all being local to Wales, we know our visitors will look forward to tucking in.

"We are very proud of our partnerships with local Welsh businesses who have called St David's home throughout our ten years, so we are looking forward to a further raft of exciting local brands coming to the Clicks and Mortar store."

The initiative is supported by the Welsh Government.

David ap-John Williams, Business Wales Regional Manager for South Wales said:

"We think it's important for online-only retailers to have the experience of putting their products through a 'live' retail situation where we can support and advise on how they can develop and grow through an 'offline' environment as well.

"The opportunity to interact with customers directly is so valuable to product and service development - something our advisers have been stressing in their 1-2-1 sessions in the Clicks & Mortar shop.

"The presence in a busy retail setting has also provided the opportunity for local SMEs to walk in and discuss their business ideas with our advisers, which also helps drive traffic back to the high street."

Clicks & Mortar has already opened shops in Manchester and Edinburgh, with more planned next month in Sheffield and London in the run up to Christmas.