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Get your free copy19 January 2026, 12:16 PM
- Authenticity, provenance and pride. Welsh food and drink producers combine all three, making them ideal for speciality retail
Modern speciality food consumers and shoppers are more thoughtful than ever. They want to understand more about the people behind the products they buy, the sustainability and ethical claims of what they put on the table, and the stories that make the produce in their baskets exceptional.
The makers and farmers of Wales more than step up to the plate, delivering world class dairy, meat, fish and seafood, drinks, preserves and so much more.
Join Speciality Food in its celebration of their excellence by downloading your free copy of Celebrating Welsh Food & Drink 2026 here. Produced in collaboration with Food & Drink Wales, it puts everything you need to know about the country’s growing and thriving food and drink scene at your fingertips.
Within it, we profile more than 50 producers. Here is just a taster of some of the brands you’ll discover, with a focus on the cheese, dairy, meat, fish and ambient categories.
Calon Wen is a co-operative of organic family farms across Wales, united by a commitment to responsible farming and exceptional organic dairy.
From four Welsh families in 2000, to a growing network of 25 family farms today, Calon Wen remains dedicated to producing high-quality organic milk, cheese and butter that taste great and are made with integrity.
Golden Hooves is part of First Milk, The Regenerative Co-operative, a British farmer-owned co-op of 700 family farms, 200 of which are in Wales.
As First Milk is mainly B2B, Golden Hooves was created to share the stories of its brilliant farmers – the true heroes! Each has developed their own ‘regen plan’, proving that farming with nature doesn’t just work, it wins.
Pembrokeshire Creamery is Wales’ only BRCGS liquid milk processing facility, committed to providing high-quality, locally sourced Welsh Milk.
The initial business aim was very clear – to keep the entire economic footprint in Wales, to support the rural economy, reduce food miles, and provide Welsh dairy products.
Usk Valley Cheese Company is an artisan cheesemaker deeply rooted in the rich cultural and natural heritage of the Usk Valley, which handcrafts cheeses that celebrate the region’s history, flavours and traditions.
From herb-infused Six Peaks, inspired by the Brecon Beacons’ rugged mountain range, to saffron-rich Roman Gold, honouring the valley’s Roman past, and Chartists’ Heritage, a tribute to Newport’s radical history – every variety tells its own story.
Castle Dairies take their many years of expertise in great-tasting butter making and butter churning seriously. They know what they are doing and are passionate about getting it right.
Some of the Castle Dairies team have been with the business for over 40 years – true butter experts who know their craft inside out.
In 1981, co-founders of Caws Teifi, John, Patrice and Paula, came to Wales from their native Holland with dreams of setting up a centre for leaning organic farming and self-sufficiency.
They bought Glynhynod Farm (meaning ‘Remarkable Valley’ in Welsh) and set to work realising their vision.
Soon after arriving at the farm, Patrice, who trained as a cheesemaker in Holland, started making wonderful raw milk cheese. Based on a 500-year-old Gouda recipe, it is the very same cheese they make today, and is named after the nearby river Teifi, a tributary of which runs through the farm.
South Caernarfon Creameries is Wales’ oldest and largest farmer-owner dairy co-operative, rooted proudly in the landscape of the Llŷn Peninsula since 1938.
What began as a small group of Welsh farmers working together to create a sustainable future for local dairy has grown into a modern, award-winning creamery producing exceptional cheese and butter for customers across the UK and beyond.
Who knew that from Gareth and Falmai’s first trials of yogurt in their Tal Y Bryn Farmhouse airing cupboard, back in 1985, Llaeth Y Llan would develop into a thriving producer with a modern linear production facility specifically designed to create and package high-quality yogurt?
The initial dairy was converted from an old calf shed, where milk was bottled, cream separated and yogurt produced all next door to the milking parlour and cow holding areas, where cows would wait to be milked. Then in 1995, a more modern dairy was designed and built utilising the old redundant farm granary and other outbuildings, to fulfil increased demand for yogurt and milk.
Crwst began in 2016 as a humble home bakery, when founders Catrin and Osian started baking in their kitchen and selling to local shops and farmers’ markets.
The business has since grown into a thriving Welsh food business with four cafes across West Wales, an off-site bakery supplying their fresh bread and bakes to Crwst’s own sites and others, and a production facility where the team creates award-winning caramels, granolas and hot chocolates – now stocked by independents across the UK, including Harrods, Selfridges and Fortnum & Mason.
Country Fresh Eggs only supplies their local region in South Wales, keeping food miles low, and ensuring their eggs reach customers quickly and efficiently. Creating a stress-free environment for their hens also leads to a better-quality egg, and their 39,500 birds roam freely at just 1,000 hens per acres, with space to scratch, perch and shelter.
Based in Penarth and established in 2021, Grounds For Good upcycles spent coffee grounds – a prolific food waste.
As the only business in Wales tackling this problem, the team transforms this undervalued resource into new food and drink that is innovative, sustainable and embraces a circular economy.
In 1997, David and Alison Lea-Wilson left a saucepan of seawater to boil on the Aga in their family kitchen, and as the salt crystals started to form, they knew they’d struck culinary gold.
They started supplying Halen Môn Sea Salt to Swains, their local butchers in Menai Bridge on the Isle of Anglesey, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Hard Lines began as a tiny pop-up in Cardiff back in 2016. Since then, it’s grown into one of the UK’s most exciting speciality coffee brands – but their core belief hasn’t changed: great coffee should be fun, inclusive, and something people genuinely look forward to.
Hard Lines started roasting in their café in Canton, Cardiff, before growing into the dedicated roastery they run today.
Puffin Produce Ltd is Wales’ largest supplier of fresh Welsh produce, including potatoes, seasonal vegetables and daffodils, all of which are grown, picked and packed in Wales.
They work with a dedicated growing base to provide customers with the best quality produce, while driving innovation in sustainability and supply chain efficiency across Wales and the UK.
Ferrari’s Coffee has been roasting coffee in Wales since 1927, when founder Vittorio Ferrari settled in South Wales from Italy.
His passion for authentic Italian espresso inspired him to source the finest beans and roast them to perfection, creating a base that reminded him of home.
The Thomas family have been farming at Manorbier in Tenby, Pembrokeshire since 1958. In the early 2000s the farm became a predominantly arable enterprise, which is where Harry’s passion lies.
Together with his wife Kim and their two children, George and Oscar, he hoped to secure the farm for the fourth generation, and that is where Pembrokeshire Gold cold pressed rapeseed oil was born.
The famously powerful twice daily tides bring fresh, pure Atlantic waters directly into Atlantic Oysters’ farm, allowing them to achieve a Class A shellfish classification from the Food Standards Agency. This means they can harvest and supply Pembrokeshire Oysters GI direct from the sea, ensuring that they retain the true character of the sea around the Atlantic Edge.
Born from a love of great taste and the Welsh food scene, Salt & Smoke entered the market in 2021 following founder Joshua Freeman’s redundancy and has never looked back.
The seeds of the business grew from humble beginnings, when Joshua converted an old fridge into a smoker and tested brining solutions for optimum taste and texture.
Since then, the business has gone from strength to strength – no doubt aided by its passion for using supreme quality salmon, produced sustainably.
The award-winning range of products made by Cwm Farm Charcuterie are created with passion and pride, and an expert combination of skill and old traditions.
There are a number of products in the range: Sheriffs Cracked Black Pepper Biltong, made with no additives and slowly air dried plus low fat and high in protein; Sheriffs Spicy Chilli Beef Biltong with a spicy hit of chilli; Maverick Beef Sticks which are slowly air dried and made traditionally using old practices; and Bresaola marinated in Port and herbs.
Welshhomestead Smokery is an award-winning smokehouse nestled on the edge of the Welsh Cambrian Mountains. They combine the ancient craft of cold smoking with modern technology to create unique flavour combinations that are infused with the natural aroma of woodsmoke.
Their range includes Smoked Lamb Bacon, Smoked Chilli Jams, Smoked Bacon and Chorizo Jams, and even unusual treats like Chocolate Espresso Smoked Bacon.
Trailhead Fine Foods Ltd is proud to be a champion of exceptional Welsh craftsmanship, flavour, and provenance.
From its home in the heart of Mid Wales, the team handcrafts premium products that celebrate the best of Wales, led by quality ingredients, responsible sourcing and uncompromising commitment to taste.
At the heart of Trailhead’s jerky lies PGI Welsh Silverside Beef – with guaranteed premium quality and full traceability.
Peter’s has been part of Welsh life for over 50 years. Since the first pies rolled out in 1970, the brand has grown from a small, local operation into one of Wales’ most familiar and trusted names.
For many people, Peter’s isn’t just a product on a shelf, it’s something they’ve grown up with, something they’ve shared around the table, and something that still brings a bit of comfort to busy lives today.
Albert Rees Ltd is a sixth-generation Carmarthenshire butchery specialising in traditional Welsh curing and artisan butchery. The business is best known for Carmarthen Ham – the only air-dried cured ham in the UK with PGI protection, placing it alongside iconic protected foods such as Champagne and Parmigiano Reggiano.
The Rees family has been butchering in Carmarthen for more than a century, with Carmarthen Ham produced in the town for generations. The recipe and methods have been passed down through local families, with all curing carried out in the Carmarthen area.
Download Celebrating Welsh Food & Drink 2026 here.
