UK company looking to expand in Far East
Based in Eye, Suffolk, the company processes and supplies meat to the foodservice and catering sector as well as butchers, wholesalers and farm shops.
Following participation at a major trade show in Hong Kong, it secured overseas orders of around £100,000 and was prompted to push further into foreign markets.
Stephen Banks, international trade adviser, UKTI said the British meat industry has been feeling the pressure declining consumer spend on food shopping.
"Selling goods overseas, including in Asia where consumers are rapidly developing an appetite for westernised food and drink, became a means of offsetting the stagnant home front," he said.
Joint owner Kevin Burrows said it became apparent that its product would potentially be well received in Asia, "but we needed financial assistance and advice to investigate our options further".
It contacted UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) in March last year in order to help expand into Asia. The company signed up to a scheme called Passport to Export - a 12 month programme which provides new or inexperienced exporters with advice and support, including help with market research, and potentially matched funding for trips and overseas trade shows.
C&K Meats managed to secure a grant which enabled it to exhibit at HOFEX - a major food and hospitality trade show in Hong Kong last year. As a result it is now supplying a number of hotels, entertainment venues, airlines and prestigious gentleman’s club - The Hong Kong Club.
Burrows added: "Meeting potential distributors face-to-face was crucial for our expansion as Asian clients are more inclined to buy from people they have met and feel they can build trusted and honest relationships with."
C&K Meats is now looking to explore other markets, including Macau, the USA and the Philippines.
The company employs around 100 staff and has an annual turnover of around £18 million (€22.6m). It also exports to Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.
