VISITORS to the Royal Welsh Winter Fair next week looking to stock up on festive treats can feast their eyes on a range of products from some of Wales’ up-and-coming food and drink businesses.

A total of 10 producers – including two from Powys – will be setting their stalls out under the auspices of Cywain – a project that works with food and drink producers across Wales.

They will be displaying a range of food and drink from beer, wine and coffee to Christmas puddings, chocolate and honey inside the Food Hall at the Royal Welsh Showground, in Llanelwedd, Builth Wells, during the two-day event, being held on Monday and Tuesday, November 28 and 29.

Taking to the Cywain stand on the first day of the Winter Fair are Antur Brew Co., a microbrewery launched in Three Cocks earlier this year, as well as Printed Chocolates Ltd, Spiritwood, Coffi Dre and The Crafty Pickle.

Tuesday will be the turn of Llanidloes-based Calm Cocoa by Meredith Whitely, an award-winning ethical hot chocolate range, Vale Vineyard - Gwinllan y Dyffryn, Hathren Brownies & Bakes, Pembrokeshire Gold and Woodsend Christmas Puddings to present their products to Winter Fair visitors.

Cywain project manager Alex James said: “Taking the first step of selling products at events such as the Winter Fair can be quite an overwhelming prospect for many small and growing businesses.

“But being part of the Cywain stand means they have support from their development managers, not only during the event itself but also during the run-up preparation, helping to build their confidence and honing their selling skills.

“Over the years, it’s been wonderful to see food and drink businesses graduate from the Cywain test trading stand to having their own trade stand in the Royal Welsh Food Hall. This year’s Winter Fair is no exception, with several companies featuring in the Food Hall having their roots in Cywain.”

Visitors to the Food Hall will also learn more about the Welsh Seafood Cluster – a Cywain-led project that encourages collaborative working among companies and individuals in the seafood industry.

Taking up its position adjacent to the main Cywain stand will be the Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company.

For this award-winning company, it is all about seaweed. They have developed a range of great innovative seaweed-based products from their successful street food business, Café Mor, where everything is served with a seaweed twist.

The following Welsh food and drink companies will be test trading on the Cywain stand (60 & 61) at the rear of the Food Hall:

Antur Brew Co. (www.anturbrew.com)

Bringing some festive cheer to the Cywain stand is microbrewery Antur Brew Co., which launched earlier this year.

The beer and branding inspiration comes from the Brecon Beacons National Park, with ‘Antur’ being the Welsh word for ‘adventure’. The 550-litre brewery in the Powys village of Three Cocks, near Erwood, includes an onsite bottle shop to showcase its four-strong core beer range – New England IPA, Session Pale Ale, Helles Lager and New Alt.

Joining the range at the Winter Fair will be two 'collaboration specials’: Phoenix Smash – a single malt, single hop beer made in collaboration with Brook House Hops in Herefordshire, and the Coffee Dunkel, a german style dark lager infused with coffee made in collaboration with Black Mountain Roastery in Powys.

Printed Chocolates Ltd (www.printedchocolates.co.uk)

Carmarthenshire confectionery company Printed Chocolates Ltd will have a host of festive-themed chocolate treats at the Winter Fair.

As the Whitland-based company’s name suggests, the business specialises in producing branded and personalised chocolates printed with the customer’s choice of image, logo, or message.

Coffi Dre (www.coffidre.cymru)

Based in Caernarfon, Coffi Dre’s goal is to celebrate the Welsh culture, language and people through amazing artisan roasted coffee.

The company launched its ethically sourced, Welsh-roasted coffee in 2021 and named it after local landmarks – Twthill trig point and Segontiwm roman fort.

Spiritwood (info@spiritwoodwales.co.uk & Facebook @spiritwoodwales)

Spiritwood’s honey will be making its first appearance at the Food Hall with its soft set and runny honey.

The family-run business has 70 hives around Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire, including 150 acres of land near Narberth that Caz and Mike Pattinson-Phillips have spent many years re-wilding and establishing a land-based education and volunteering enterprise.

The Crafty Pickle (www.thecraftypickle.co.uk)

Nutritionists Madi and Arthur have combined their major passions – nutrition, fermented foods, science and sustainability – to create a fermented food company, The Crafty Pickle.

Using their background in microbiology, the Caldicot-based couple handcraft gut-friendly, unpasteurised, living fermented foods. The result is a ‘tongue tickling’ range of naturally nutritious sauerkrauts and kimchis.

Vale Vineyard – Gwinllan Y Dyffryn (www.valevineyard.co.uk)

After planting the vineyard in 2019 in the Vale of Clwyd, Vale Vineyard - Gwinllan y Dyffryn launched its first wines for sale this summer.

They are already reaping rewards, and earlier this month scooped top awards for their white and rosé wines at the Welsh Vineyard Association Awards.

Hathren Brownies & Bakes (www.hathren.co.uk)

Family and friends couldn’t get enough of part-time Carmarthenshire teacher Meinir Evans’ brownies, so she launched Hathren Brownies & Bakes.

The brownies are baked to order at her family farm from carefully sourced ingredients and posted across the UK.

Pembrokeshire Gold (www.pembrokeshiregold.co.uk)

A new range of infused cold pressed virgin rapeseed oil from Pembrokeshire Gold will be featured on the Cywain stand.

Grown on the Thomas family’s farm in Manorbier the rapeseed is pressed to produce Pembrokeshire Gold Cold Pressed Virgin Rapeseed Oil.

Woodsend Christmas Puddings (www.woodsendpuddings.co.uk)

It wouldn’t be Christmas without pudding, and Woodsend Christmas Puddings will add to the festive ambiance at the Winter Fair.

The enterprise’s founder, Rebecca Marston, uses her grandmother’s Welsh recipe to handmake her luxury Christmas puddings at the family farm in Pembrokeshire.

Calm Cocoa by Meredith Whitely (www.calmcocoa.co.uk)

Calm Cocoa by Meredith Whitely is an award-winning ethical hot chocolate range based in Llanidloes, blending mindfulness, meditation and chocolate.

Created by meditation teacher and chocolate judge Meredith Whitely, the aim is to help busy people slow down through eating and living more mindfully, all while enjoying a soothing mug of hot chocolate.

Calm Cocoa’s hot chocolate contains flakes of delicious, sustainably-sourced single origin chocolate and is made by hand in small batches; the company is also proudly single-use plastic free.