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Spain Advisory Council launches successful US initiative in the UK

The council initiative is a tried and tested concept. It was initially established in the US several years ago, with the aim of drawing on the expertise of senior and active members of the trade for a series of focused and objective discussions.

The model has now been shipped to the UK, too, in a joint initiative from ICEX Spain Trade and Investment and the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. On the 4 and 6 July respectively, Harpers can reveal that several prominent members of the UK trade and well-known communicators gathered in London at the Spanish Economic & Commercial Office to discuss how best to take the category forward.

• Read more: Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino welcomes three new members

The Spain Food Nation Summit 2023 is also scheduled to take place on 28 September. Co-chaired by Harper’s editor Andrew Catchpole, the event will release the two UK councils’ findings to a trade audience.  

“The idea was to take us [Wines from Spain] out of the room, to get real and genuine feedback from our council members,” Marianne Rodriguez, assistant director at Foods & Wine from Spain, told Harpers.

“We see it as an opportunity to help us focus on the work we’re doing and our campaigns, in order to get the most out of them, while also moving together with the trade to better establish Spanish foods and wines in the UK.

“Spanish wine is very highly regarded, but it often seems to be missing an image [in consumers’ minds] and is not always understood. Consumers might like a wine, but they might have no idea what Rioja or Rías Baixas is, or can be are confused by the grape varieties.”

The UK is currently one of Spain’s largest exports market for wine. A huge number of Spanish wines arrive to the UK every year. Yet, Wines from Spain acknowledges the work still to be done on encouraging both consumers and the trade to look beyond Rioja and Cava.

The Foods & Wine from Spain Summit 2023 will take place in London on 28 September, with a venue soon to be announced.

Guests can look forward to two separate roundtables on food and wine respectively. Chris White, chief executive of Market Intelligence, owner of titles such as Fresh Produce Journal, will host the food-focused event, while Harpers editor Andrew Catchpole will host the other.

From there, plans are in place to continue the initiative into next year and develop it further.

“The plan is for the advisory council to continue into other years. It’s great to have feedback from such a fantastic group, but if we don’t keep up the momentum, that feedback can get lost,” Rodriguez said.

• Spanish Wine
• Spain Advisory Council