Discover Delicious – It Was Only A Project!
I sent a Freedom Of Information, FOI, question through, ATISN 19228 which was a request for information regarding Discover Delicious, DD. Ian and I had had a number of queries through about DD which we couldn’t answer, so hence this FOI.
I refer to your email of 31 October 2023 requesting information regarding Welsh Government grant funding for Discover Delicious.
Our response:
- Full details and dates of funding given to Discover Delicious over the period 2017 – 2022?
See here for details of the Discover Delicious Project: Discover delicious Wales | Business Wales – Business Wales (gov.wales)
- Why was Discover Delicious website awarded Government funding?
The project was selected following a successful expression of interest under the Cooperation and Supply Chain Development Scheme (CSCDS) window 2.
- What was the object of this Government funding?
See Discover delicious Wales | Business Wales – Business Wales (gov.wales) for the projects objectives
- From what budget/s was this funding taken from?
The Project was funded by the Rural Communities – Rural Development Programme 2014 – 2020
- Explain after Government funding, why this site is now no longer operational?
Information not held.
- What recourse is there to the Directors etc. if after significant Government funding a business folds? Or does the Government simply write this funding off?
For Projects of this type there is no requirement that activity continues following completion of the project.
- During the site’s operation was the Food & Drink Division monitoring how the funding was spent?
The project was not monitored by the Food and Drink Division but was monitored by Rural Payments Wales (RPW).
- Are the Audit Office aware that this Government funded website is no longer operational?
Information not held.
Now why did I think my questions about DD would be answered? Wasn’t that silly of me? Instead I’m sent the same website link twice to get some partial answers. I tried both links and couldn’t get through so cut and pasted Discover Delicious Project: Discover delicious Wales | Business Wales – Business Wales (gov.wales) and this is what came up, but please note the funding amount:
Discover Delicious Wales
The aim of the project is to champion Wales as a high quality foodie destination, targeting and attracting new visitors to ‘Discover Delicious Wales’ on a uniquely welsh, handcrafted foodie adventure. Working with food producers & experience providers, accommodation providers and restaurants, authentic, uniquely welsh packages will be developed, allowing potential visitors to easily discover the new products created.
Experiential and UGC marketing through a series of ‘Wales Made’ secret supper clubs will shine a light on Wales’ diverse range of uniquely welsh food & drink, innovative chefs and world leading restaurants.
Project details
- Funding amount: £150,000
- Funding source: Tourism Product Innovation Fund (TPIF)
- Area: Ceredigion
- Completion: 31 December 2020
When I got the link to work this is what I found:
Discover Delicious Wales
A pilot co-operation project to test the viability of a facilitated route to market for small, independent food producers and manufacturers using direct sales mechanisms (festivals and e-commerce) under the umbrella brand name DiscoverDelicious.Wales – supported by an innovative, integrated brand marketing solution. The project will also generate market intelligence/data that will be collated, interpreted and disseminated to producers and manufacturers in order to support improved business competitiveness through data driven/market led product innovation and supply chain development.
Project details
- Funding amount: £654,479
- Funding source: Co-Operation Scheme
- Area:Ceredigion
- Completion: 31 July 2019
Well I’m tempted to call this a can of worms, or maybe I am just the person confused and without a can opener!
The 1st funding source is through Tourism Product Innovation Fund, just £150k, in Ceredigion and to be completed in December 2020. Then I find the link I should have gone to in the first place to funded a further funding amount of £654,479, source Co-Operation Scheme, still Ceredigion and with a completion date of July 2019.
Ian has just done a check here and we got a newsletter direct from Discover Delicious dated February 2023. Now we are still based in Ceredigion for last 20 years and we have heard very, very little about this Ceredigion pilot co-operation project. I am confused as co-operation seems to be the key here why we know diddly squat about it.
The few producers that have talked to us about DD say it is supposed to be a selling site but it didn’t work. Some even remembered and linked it to another ill-fated scheme, Pembrokeshire Produce Direct, again which had around £ 749k allocated. There are no details that I can find as to what the innovative, integrated brand marketing solution was. I guess like many others we somehow missed it. As to the generation of market intelligence/data that will be collated, interpreted and disseminated to producers and manufacturers in order to support improved business competitiveness through data driven/market led product innovation and supply chain development, well I’ve yet to hear any producer chat about that outcome. No understanding of why that wasn’t clearly published for all in the trade to read.
I know I did some searching in May 2020 through Companies House that DD Accounts to June 19 were filed just last month- April. There was annoyingly little detail in them. There were retained losses of £121k, which was up slightly on the previous year. But no P&L detail at all so very difficult to know how they are trading, virtually no fixed assets and just £100k of creditors and little cash in the bank. But where has all this funding gone? Is it any wonder I am confused with all this?
I still don’t understand why 2 of my questions couldn’t be answered. Do I now go back and ask why did DD get 2 lots of funding £654,479 & £150k? Why are there 2 closure dates when we got the Newsletter in February 2023? I am sure the people in power might understand how this works but I must say I certainly don’t. For producers who have been struggling since Covid this lavish funding will be difficult to hear.
I am now left with lots more questions unanswered, confused and cross, nothing new there I know. But it appears that everything on Government and Quango websites seem to be difficult to search, when I thought the essence of a website is to make it easy for visitors in particular to find the information they require.
Love to hear your views/comments.
1 December 2023 @ 09:41
This took some reading and re-reading because I can’t believe this has gone on. I’m a producer and I have never heard of this site, perhaps I’m too small for them to be bothered with me.
How can all this money be spent and for what seems nothing at all apart from the folks that were smart enough to get a pilot going. This cost us over £800k with one part ending in 2019 and the other in 2020.
Sorry Kath I don’t understand very much of this but did think a freedom question meant you got the truth but you were only told about one lot of funding.
Why can’t the Government and it’s Quangos just be honest when they have spent our money.
What has this £800k achieved?
Micro producers like me will be furious when they read this.
1 December 2023 @ 11:56
What a total waste of money from a website I’m not of aware of despite being a producer.
How can such a lot of money be given to another ill thought out food project.
I was involved with Pembrokeshire scheme and that achieved very little for us as producers.
You have more patience than I have to try and uncvoer the truth of this wastage.
thanks
4 December 2023 @ 09:44
This lot telphoned me and I don’t recall them saying this was a project.
5 December 2023 @ 08:59
Whoever is in charge at wag food and drink nbeeds to get a grip on this department. All this money thrown at Discover Delicious and it is a project, well after all this cash what is the outcome?
I’ve heard much hot air come from this dept. but this tops it. Was nothing learned after throwing cash at Pembrokeshire Project Direct? Obviously not. So what is the point throw more money and ignore the micro/small producers – it is beyond stupid.
6 December 2023 @ 11:28
Kath you should be paid by the word – there’s a lot here to read and as for understanding, I am lost. Not good at maths but isn’t is about £800k this company have got for a project? It is just like Pembrokeshire Product Direct of the other rip off Food for fork or something.
Where is the benefit for us producers?
8 December 2023 @ 11:37
Everyone one in the grass roots of Wales are having a tough time and to read over £800k has been spent on a project who will admit to saying yes to that idea?
What did it achieve?
This dept. learns nothing at all
14 December 2023 @ 12:01
I’m tempted to say are you serious Kath but guess with the work you’ve done there cannot be any doubt about it.
I cannot beleive that wag food and drink have not learnt anything with their ‘projects’ and so much money wasted on past projects. It is disgraceful.
thanks for keeping this can of worms open
hoping you keep digging
15 December 2023 @ 09:10
Over £800k for a project what a pity so few of us in the food producer world knew anything about it. Pity too that we weren’t asked if it was needed. It seems to me it was a good double pay trip for Discover Delicious. But what was learnt from this project, much the same as Pembrokeshire Project followed by the other Food project which got around £800k, what is the point? What have Wag learnt from these 3 PROJECTS? Seems to be nothing.
But Wag food has had its budget cut and cut shame it doesn’t appear to be the same for their numerous and in my view pointless quangos.
I’d give up if I were you Kath as no-one in wag food is listening to sensible voices like you and Ian. But I do need to know what’s going on and as wag food don’t talk to us we still need you.
18 December 2023 @ 10:13
As a business when plans /ideas don’t work you learn from them and change them. Sadly this obviously doesn’t seem apply to our food civil servants. No idea who is in charge there but nothing has been learned and that shows with comments left. There have been so many failed food yes – projects -which must run into millions but the people that it has helped appear to be those runnng them. As producers we’ve seen and got nothing.
Kath you will never get the food civil servants to open their eyes and apply common sense and you have clear proff on this post. Yes let’s have yet another project, another £800k+ for no gain, but that doesn’t matter if it is a project. It’s stupid, stupid, stupid
20 December 2023 @ 09:26
I cannot believe this Kath. The stuff you find out is annoying but much needed. I think it is typical of how the food and drinl lot work – or don’t
How can the continue to give enormous sums of money to food projects when all the have are food project failures.
Why can’t they tell us what comes from all this money? They never have which speaks volumes doesn’t it?
This money could have helped so many smaller producers grow esp. after covid.
I don’t know of any worthwhile food project and wag food is to blame
21 December 2023 @ 11:08
I cannot believe that the food dept have learnt nothing over the years with their ill-thought out projects.
Value-for-money should surely apply to a few people in that team or does it not matter when they are not spending or throwing away their own money.
No idea how you uncover all these stupid, stupid food projects Kath but wish you and Ian had some say
thanks for doing this – we need to know and no-one in that dept. talks to us minions.
24 December 2023 @ 07:41
what is the point of a food dept. that never learns from past mistakes
without you Kath we’d no nothing of this constant wastage
8 January 2024 @ 09:56
Kath I read the new site but never make a comment until this report and I’m furious.
I am so cross that we still have a food dept that never learns any lessons which they’d have to if they were spending their own money – but lucky them they are not.
They’ve poured cash into many ‘food projects’ most of which we know nothing of, but we know of PPD and Fork To Fork and in my view, 2 large failures are surely enough for the food lot to learn some lessons.
Goodness know if you’ll ever get to the end of this, but I’d rate it a financial scandal, not that my view matters, I’m only working in the industry
thanks for these news pieces Kath
12 January 2024 @ 11:02
My take is the wag food is out-of-touch with the grass roots of the food industry. I hear about exports and companies having trips abroad through wag food but as shown on here the food festivals don’t seem to have got help with so many refusals. Wag food don’t look after or take an interest in local produce markets and these markets are so vital to smaller producers, but wag food show they have no interest in us at all. Maybe if we could afford to go to RWS they might know we exist but I cannot recall seeing any wag food person at any food festival. Mind you I suppose they would not advertise where they work! I know I wouldn’t.
17 January 2024 @ 10:05
Kath what on earth is going on here? Wag food seem to have lost the plot, but it is more than that, they seem oblivious of what is happening at ground level in Wales food and drink. The only drum they bang is for exports and keeping the big boys happy because as you said to me at the Royal they are too big to fail, how true when we have lost so many small and micro guys.
This is another food project which you have searched and found £800k was given to this website, what are wag thinking about – if anything? What has happened to this site now all I could find was a 404. Then wag will say their budgets have been cut – well what a surprise. Who authorised this spend Kath? Will you ever be told? I’m guessing not but thanks for uncovering another can of wag food worms.
18 January 2024 @ 09:17
I had to read this again because I couldn’t not believe wag food has gone down the same rabbit hole after Pembs Produce and Food To Fork.
Both total failures as PROJECTS but wag food cannot learn any lessons can they? It looks like at least another £800k has gone the same way and for what? Now let’s here again how broke wag is.
It is so easy to spend/waste money when it is not yours and doesn’t make any difference to your salary, holidays, pension etc.
Wag food do not seem to understand what is happening in Wales, just to focus only on exports is scary as is the hospitality sector.
23 January 2024 @ 10:23
how can a dept. with constant budget cuts spend/waste so much money of yet another food project?
pity we’ve no say if how the spend/waste our cash
hope you get the answers you want kath but doubt it very much
30 January 2024 @ 09:56
I am disgusted to hear of another food project that hasn’t helped any food producers that I know. No-one seems to know about this project so what is that all about? All that money for a company to take from the food industry and in my view they have achieved nothing.
Who is responsible for giving this the red light?
Sure you know Kath, I’ll give you a call.