Business community backs festival

Shropshire Festivals has shared its delight in being supported by a number of businesses from the region through sponsorship of the Shrewsbury Food Festival.

This year's sponsorship includes the Shire Collection Chef School, The Shropshire Distillery Chef Demo Stage, the Monks Home and Garden Area, Reconomy's Field to Fork area, and the Adcote School Kids Area.

“They say it takes a village to raise a baby, well it takes a local business community to host an event of this scale!” said Beth Heath, creative director at Shropshire Festivals.

“Our infrastructure costs have gone through the roof, as have electricity, suppliers, and labour – in fact, just about every cost has increased. Our customers are surviving a cost of living crisis, so we can’t pass on all our rising costs to them. In fact, our ticket prices are the same as in 2022 to help our visitors as much as we can.

“We have been overwhelmed with support from local businesses, who not only want to be part of the event, they see the opportunity to tap into our audience here – growing sales, brand exposure, and reputation.”

New to sponsor this year’s event are Shrewsbury-based IT providers Start Tech and DS Automobiles - a Parisian brand with their nearest branch in Stafford.

The baby changing facilities are supported by Waterbabies, and Full Fibre provides reusable cups to reduce single-use plastic.

Beth said: “I think it’s really positive to see these brands invest in marketing, after the tough time businesses have had in recent years. It shows the strength in some of these sectors, and I’m really pleased they can see the value in partnering with Shropshire Festivals.

“I’m grateful to the local businesses that have supported us through sponsorship for several years now such as Aaron & Partners, Volvo, Monks, Cartwrights, TCA, and the Tudor Griffiths Group, to name but a few.

“A huge success story has been working with Reclaim Tax. They sponsored our VIP area last year, and that support has seen us expand and upgrade the whole area. This year, the VIP area has already sold out – showing that with investment, we can grow ticket sales. Thank you to Reclaim Tax for sponsoring the VIP area again this year.”

The Shrewsbury Food Festival is taking place on 24th and 25th June at Shrewsbury’s Quarry Park. Find out more at www.shrewsburyfoodfestival.co.uk.