Throughout the two years that TRADEIT has been running, one of its primary objectives has been to support SME growth and competitiveness through the effective use of technology. Bearing in mind that our focus is on traditional food producing SMEs in the diary, meat and bakery sectors, this is quite a challenge.

Over that time, we have talked to a lot of SMEs, over 700 have attended TRADEIT events, and many more have been contacted through our HUBs or have sought advice from our experts. Our aim with this ongoing dialogue has been to support the adoption of innovation and/or innovative practice by the artisan food producers we engage with. There are two issues that generally arise when we use the words ‘artisan’ and ‘innovation’ in the same sentence. One is that many artisan producers remain dedicated to their craft, maintaining that it’s the manual nature of the production process that makes it worthy of the description ‘artisan’. Two is the assumption that innovation must be technology based, when in reality innovation is anything that is new to you, not something that is new to the world and that it may be a product, process or service innovation.  The way in which innovation can impact on artisan entrepreneurial businesses is wide and highly varied. It does not have to have a negative impact on the essence of the process or compromise the ethics of the producer to be impactful in a positive way.

At TRADEIT our approach from the outset has been to ask businesses what they need, rather than tell them what they should have. In this respect, the past two years has been marked by a series of consultation exercises in which we have asked businesses to tell us about their business needs and to tell us what factors most inhibit their potential for growth. We did this initially through an online survey and through small group discussions and workshops.

Partly in response to the consultation above and partly based on our knowledge of trends (such as gluten free in the bakery sector), we have arranged a series of brokerage events. There have been six brokerage events in total which focused on the expertise of our sector specific Hubs. Three events addressed cross-sectoral needs: sustainability, packaging, food safety and the other three address the main product areas: dairy, meat and bakery.

The brokerage events brought technology and knowledge providers together with SMEs in a very specific context. The events provided the SMEs with the opportunity to tackle a specific technology problem that they have identified and discussed with the local Hub Adviser. The bi-lateral meetings, a key feature of the brokerage events, created the space for detailed discussions and networking between technology provider and producer. But this is not the only way in which problems have been addressed. TRADEIT recognises that a lot of learning takes place through peer assistance – artisan to artisan – and may have involved no technology at all. What we know is that peers from the same industry can directly relate to the challenges and frustrations of a particular context. That the practitioners often possess a deep and hard won knowledge of the sector and sharing that knowledge can be more beneficial than most other sources of support or intervention.

Our research and experience also tells us that solutions to the problems experienced by artisans are often more management and soft skills related than product related. The producer may need help with creating a social media strategy, or managing their employees or finance. There are also many examples of supply chain and distribution chain issues that don’t just impact on a single producer, but the sector in a specific region or clusters of artisans from a range of sectors.

With TRADEIT in its final year as a project, the SME Missions form the final stage of the project’s formal activities to support innovation transfer. A series of Missions is taking place at the nine regional hubs and each Mission will be organised around the needs of the local SME (local to the specific hub). Details of the Missions can be found on the TRADEIT website and in the articles in this newsletter. Some of the Missions are still ‘works in progress’ so now is a good time to contact your local hub to express an interest in an event, or suggest a topic for Mission that might be relevant to you or your sector.

The Missions aim to bring people with a common problem to solve together with those who may be able to provide a solution, or at least move the problem closer to resolution.  The articles in this newsletter give some examples of the type of Missions being planned. Missions may take many forms and we have started to loosely describe them as: micro; meso and macro in terms of their focus and scale.

The micro mission may be a small group (less than 10) of producers in a particular region or sector who share a common problem. In this respect the mission is highly focused and more of a round table discussion facilitated by the Hub Advisor and supported by relevant experts with knowledge of the specific issue to be addressed. Micro scale missions may also be necessary to reflect the wide geographic spread of artisans in some of the Hub regions.

The meso mission may be larger in scale (10 -20 participants) and address a more general or wider scale problem within a sector or region.  These events acknowledge that a solution to a problem may be regional, rather than product or sector specific.

The macro scale missions may be industry wide and be of more relevance to the larger scale producers. It reflects the understanding that the concept of the SMEs represents a vast array of businesses, some with many employees and a complex infrastructure.  While to some the term ‘artisan’ may no longer be relevant to businesses of this scale, we recognise that the problems faced by medium sized producers still need to be addressed and their valuable experience shared with smaller scale producers.  The macro mission may also relate to a specific sector or cluster, regardless of the scale of the producer.

The Missions feed into the concept of the Small Business Technology Transfer and Research (SBTTR) model adopted by TRADEIT.  This five stage model aims to support the process of knowledge and innovation transfer into small and medium sized business (model attached), with the aim of improving their overall competitiveness. The Missions aim to support stages 4 and 5 of this process, by helping SMEs not simply to find solutions, but to address the complex legal and contractual complexities of securing and adopting a new technology. It may also be that the innovation is already within the SME and the producer needs support in understanding how to protect his/her intellectual property.

In summary, the TRADEIT Missions are there to support artisan food producing SMEs in the meat, dairy and bakery sectors. They will be running across the whole TRADEIT network and it’s your opportunity to access expert advice and support to solve your problems and that’s too good an opportunity to miss.

The Hub in Germany, located at the Institut für Lebensmittel- und Umweltforschung e.V. (ILU) has two remits, Bakery and Sustainability. Consultation and collaboration with SMEs and innovators in the sectors revealed a range of interests for German SMEs and formed the basis of the Missions delivered between October 2015 and March 2016. They are:

1. Subsidies for the use of renewable energies
2. Reduction of the costs for energy consumption
3. New possibilities to save energy and water
4. Improvement of food safety: Rapid determination systems
5. Baking with ancient grains
6. Development of vegetarian and vegan products
7. Labelling (allergens, vegetarian and vegan products)
8. Exclusion of chemical food additives

Based on the first three needs above, an SME Mission was undertaken in October 2015 with a focus on reducing operating costs through improving sustainability; the details are provided below.

Affordable AND Sustainable
This Mission took place on the premises of Märkisches Landbrot GmbH in Berlin and followed a workshop on environmental management. This company is a traditional delivery bakery of organic products, which has been certified to the environmental management standard EMAS since 1995 and was first food processing company in Europe to achieve it.

All participants of the Workshop and the Mission got an intense insight into the whole company through a site inspection, where related sustainable technologies and the present implementation of environmental management were showcased.

A presentation and case study discussion with an independent energy consultant from ZAB Brandenburg, a stakeholder organisation, rounded off the program. This gave the SMEs information about technologies and funding possibilities based on their needs, which we had identified before the event.

Making Food Safer
The next Mission took place on the Potsdam University campus in November 2015 and focused on rapid determination systems for the improvement of food safety. This event contained a number of technology presentations, which were showcased locally by technology providers. After that, the SMEs discussed their needs with analytical companies as well as among each other involving the case studies. This event was organized together with ZAB Brandenburg, Potsdam University, Potsdam Transfer and ILU / TRADEIT.

Ancient Grains and Reducing additives
The Missions for February-March 2016 are based on needs 5 to 8 listed above. One event will have a focus on baking with ancient grains and the other addresses labelling issues in the Bakery sector. A further Mission will concentrate on using foaming technology to replace food additives and to generate vegan foams. Expert speakers and technologists from ILU and IGV GmbH will present their knowledge theoretically and practically in ILU`s application laboratories.

If you are interested in the opportunities outlined here then please contact Martha Walter (Martha.Walter@ilu-ev.de)

At the UK Hub, located at Coventry University Enterprises, we’ve spent the past two years talking to SME food producers about their needs. We started with an overall ‘needs and barriers’ survey and we’ve met a quite number of small companies since then to look much more closely at their barriers to growth.

The result of this work is going to be some highly focussed events we’re calling Missions, and our Mission is to help people find solutions that will give their businesses instant boosts.

We are often told that using technology will invalidate a product form being properly artisan. We don’t entirely agree. The important thing is to clearly identify what makes your product artisan and the points at which manual intervention is essential; then you can automate everything that might distract you from getting that part of the process right.

The topics we’ve isolated are all based around common themes:

• Business Technologies to Free Time

We have begun the process of identifying a series of technologies that will free the producers time from the administration and management of the business. We have found some lovely packages for bakeries and are working hard at finding more – the less time producers spend doing the accounts or chasing debts, the more time they have to do the things that really matter and that sell the business and its products.

• Accessing Technology in Packaging, Labelling and Traceability

There is no doubt but that these are hot topics. To compete in the modern world products need to be packaged right, labelled well and completely traceable. The difficulty is that all these things cost money and so producers may have to live with any decisions you make for a long time. This Mission is designed to help them make the right choices from the outset.

• Packing in the Cold

Many of our producers in the meat and dairy sectors have issues with the speed at which they can chill their food, and how to handle it afterwards without warming it up again or freezing their staff. This will be the focus of a third Mission. We are actively looking for SME who would like a solution to this problem and for technology producers who may already have a solution that would be suitable for small scale producers.

For all these topics we will be bringing together experts and product providers that can help to steer you through these tricky areas. We announced the timings and locations of these events in December. There will be funding available to help with travel costs (for UK SMEs) where required.

Our guests at these events tell us repeatedly that the benefits of our events aren’t limited to the technology access that you gain, but are matched by the value of the contacts you make for your business while you are with us.

If you are interested in the opportunities outlined here then please contact Tess Lukehurst: tlukehurst@cad.coventry.ac.uk

The TRADEIT hub in Ireland has been listening to its members and responding with a range of SME Missions tailored to their sector.

The Meat Sector

Ireland has been a top quality producer of a range of livestock, including cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry for generations. One of the benefits of our mild, wet maritime climate is that grass grows almost 10 months of the year, with no summer drought. Traditionally each family kept a couple of pigs for the house and at slaughter time the meat was preserved through dry salting, with the fresh cuts distributed amongst neighbours. Every town and village had its local butcher and the emphasis was on quality fresh meat. As a result, very little emphasis was given to methods of preserving meat, such as fermenting, curing and smoking. With the growing popularity of ‘continental’ style cured meats, there is a growing interest among Irish Butchers, Farmers and other Meat producing SMEs in this  area. On March 3rd & 4th Gubbeen Farm in West Cork will play host to the TRADEIT Meat Mission, which brings together all of the leading lights in Irish charcuterie and meat curing, along with a number of internationally recognised experts in the field. Participants will learn about the principles and science of charcuterie production, be introduced to a range of packaging and other new meat production technologies, have the opportunity to see the state of the art facilities in Gubbeen and get the opportunity to make charcuterie for themselves in a hands on workshop led by UK Charcuterie producer and TRADEIT member, Jackie Kennedy.



Food Safety Accreditation for Traditional Bakeries

The majority of bakeries in the region that have engaged with TRADEIT do not have accreditation beyond registration with the Local Environmental Health Office (EHO). While many supply supermarkets and have to meet with their standards and inspections, the lack of accreditation (ISO or BRC) restricts their ability to access wider or even export markets. At a dedicated ‘Food Safety for Bakeries’ Mission held in IT Tralee on December 1st, local bakeries gathered for a focused workshop and discussion led by TRADEIT project partner Catherine Halbert. A case study by TRADEIT member and BRC ‘A’ rated bakery Bia Ganbreise highlighted the reality of meeting the highest standards and participants also had a webinar from Safefood 360, a Food Safety software provider, founded in Ireland but now providing technology solutions to food companies globally. The Irish hub continues to work with traditional bakeries assisting them to access technologies and supports through the TRADEIT Marketplace.



Bakery Masterclass
Many of the bakeries involved in the Irish Hub are already involved in the production of gourmet, alternative and functional bakery products. However, in many instances they have struggled to adapt their production, train staff and source good quality ingredients to make the most of the new opportunities in bakery. In May TRADEIT, in collaboration with The Hotel, Catering and Tourism department in IT Tralee will be hosting US based Master Baker Mitch Stamm, who will conduct a full day bakery master-class with Traditional SME Bakeries. He will introduce the bakery owners to a range of bakery styles and trends, help them to hone their skills and develop a range of new bakery products.

Addressing the Social Media needs of SME Food Producers
A group of 20 food producers attended a mission titled ‘Managing Your Social Media Infrastructure - Demystifying Social Media for SME Food Producers’ which took place in the Institute of Technology Tralee on January 11th. This mission was organised following the ‘Smart Use of IT’ workshop where a need was highlighted around the use of social media as an important marketing tool for SME food producers, and the desire to focus on that specifically in a dedicated hands-on workshop.



This working session facilitated by branding & social media experts, ‘The Brand Geeks’ covered the full cycle of social media activities required for effective marketing of an SME business, including social media platform selection, set up and the often overlooked “bio” creation. Attendees also learned effective account management skills, such as how to utilize dashboards, how and who to follow, “list” development and uses, what and when to post online reviewing and updating existing accounts. Participating businesses were encouraged to bring their laptops and smartphones on the day to ensure they went home already well on their way to social media success. A key issue arising from the workshop was that while the majority of food producers do use IT and social media tools, many didn’t know how to make them ‘sing in chorus’, getting the job they wanted done more effectively, while saving time and money.

SME Mission planning is underway. Savonia is running five training modules during the autumn months (see below for details). During the sessions they will discuss the Missions and interview companies in more detailed to establish their current status and development needs.

At present they have identified the following general streams as key Mission themes:

• new ingredients
• product development needs
• benchmarking good practices in production

If you want to participate in the training events or suggest themes for SME Missions, contact:  Anna-Maria.Saarela@savonia.fi

APRE, Italy
The Hub in Italy has been focusing on two key themes:

• Access to EU Financial Instruments for SMEs
• A cluster focus (possibly Mortadella) to address specific technology and innovation needs within the sector.

If you want to express an interest in the SME Missions being arranged for early 2016 by the Italian Hub or suggest other Missions themes, contact:  Matteo Di Rosa (dirosa@apre.it)

IPB, Portugal
The Portuguese Hub had its first Mission in November 2015. They ran a workshop that focuses on two themes:

• technology providers: such as high pressure; modified atmosphere packaging; paper packaging and skin packaging;
• software and services support to SME: such as FoodInTec  (an enterprise that offer software for production, traceability, etc) and Imperativo  (a consultancy service)

If you want to express an interest in the future SME Missions being arranged by the Portuguese Hub or suggest other Missions themes, contact:  Elsa Ramalhosa (elsa@ipb.pt)

CF+I, Spain
Missions are currently being planned for early 2016 and the Spanish Hub is very much open to suggestions on meat related themes.If you want to express an interest in the SME Missions being arranged by the Spanish Hub or suggest other Missions themes, contact:  Macarena Baylos (mbaylos@clusterfoodmasi.es)

Food Concepts, Poland
In Poland, the majority of traditional dairy producers are family companies in the micro scale.  Consequently, the owners have very limited time and resources for attending events and training courses; they also have few resources to invest. The Mission has been arranged to meet the needs and expectations of these producers, but also bearing in mind that the needs of larger scale milk producers must also be addressed.

The Mission will bring together the three groups of traditional dairy producers, with researchers and companies providing technology.

A series of events took place in December, 2015 in Warsaw.  For additional details, or if you want to express an interest in future Mission in Poland, contact: Dr Andrzej Fetlinski (fc@food-concept.pl)

ITENE, Spain
The provision of packaging solutions is a theme that appears throughout a number of the Missions planned by Hub Advisors. ITENE will be supporting other Hubs in the delivery of their Missions. However, if you would like to express an interest in a packaging event arranged by ITENE, contact: Vanessa Delmer (vanessa.delmer@itene.com)