Whether you’re making a quinoa tabbouleh or mixing a cassis cocktail, sourcing international ingredients has become easy in the UK. But for many items that were once a speciality of other nations, British-grown versions are springing up. So why are farmers tussling with tradition?

David Hughes, emeritus professor of food marketing at Imperial College London, says a drive to diversify makes sense when profit margins on fresh produce are shrinking. The market is dominated by a few, large growers, he says. “If you aren’t in that bunch, how on earth can you survive? It’s a case of looking for something a little bit different.”

According to the Food and Drink Federation’s EU manifesto, which sets out the priorities for a new relationship between the UK and the EU, a weaker pound could make UK producers more competitive in export markets, although many will also face rising costs of importing raw materials.

On Tuesday, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Department for International Trade launched a food and drink export action plan (pdf). It aims to increase the UK’s food and drinks exports by a third by 2020 by providing business support, mentoring and training and focuses on demand for traditional British produce including beef, cheese and preserves.

In the first half of 2016, the EU accounted for 71.5% of the UK’s exports of food and non-alcoholic drink. The export initiative therefore seeks to explore new markets.

While the plan focuses on traditional British products, however, experimental producers across the UK are ahead of the curve. From wasabi to grappa, five business owners explain how they are finding success at home and abroad with a UK version of another country’s speciality.

The British Quinoa Company, Shropshire

Stephen Jones wanted to branch out from traditional crops, so in 2006 decided to grow quinoa. Traditionally from South America, the bulk of the world’s production is in Peru and Bolivia. Since then the UK market for the grain has exploded. Jones, the first large-scale UK grower of the grain, is behind most of the UK production from his farm in Shropshire and he now grows quinoa crop across the country from Lincoln to Kent.

From big corporations to smaller customers, many buyers’ interest in a UK-grown product stems from a growing push to source more ethically, Jones says. “They want to know where it’s come from, it’s that traceability. They can come and see the crop in the field, see where it’s processed.”

The Brexit vote has brought its own short-term bonus, says Jones, making his product more competitive to customers who previously imported as import costs have increased. But the UK’s exit from the EU could throw up obstacles if the company wants to expand into Europe, with the main potential issue being tariffs.

‘Dappa’, Devon Distillery, Devon

Devon Distillery’s founder Cosmo Caddy decided to use the discarded grape skins of his grandfather’s vineyard to make his own version of the Italian spirit grappa, calling it “Dappa”. The drink hit the market in May 2014 and can be found in restaurants from Devon to London.

“It’s a growing trend to try and have things made locally or within the UK and that pushes people to think what else can be made that we get in from outside,” says Caddy.

For him, the effect of the referendum vote on the pound has brought a rise in prices for some of the specialist equipment he buys from Italy. But it could could also bring benefits. “I think there will be a growing trend towards all things British and local so hopefully demand will rise as imports get more expensive.”

The Wasabi Company, Hampshire

When watercress grower Jon Old decided to grow wasabi in the UK, a major motivation was the challenge. “The general opinion was that wasabi couldn’t be grown in Europe and nobody had done it before in Europe,” he says.

Six years later, a client list that started with Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons now includes at least a hundred English and Japanese restaurants in the UK and Europe. Old admits that, at first, some Japanese chefs were resistant to English wasabi.

While other UK producers may have tried to grow wasabi, nobody had brought it to market so Old felt he had a head start. “We’ve been through some punishing times. But we picked up good distributors in lots of European countries such as Sweden, France, Spain, Norway, Italy and Switzerland who are committed to us, they bring their chefs to visit us, and that’s given us a head start.”

At the moment, Old says the spectre of Brexit is helping business. “The exchange rate means that we’re doing OK,” but he admits it’s hard to predict what the future holds.

British Cassis, Herefordshire

When Jo Hilditch had 50 tonnes of blackcurrants that a well-known soft drinks maker didn’t want, she couldn’t bear to see them wasted. Instead she took inspiration from her taste of kir, a French cocktail that includes the French liqueur cassis, during teenage French exchanges to bring cassis to Herefordshire.

From there stemmed British Cassis, now stocked on shelves everywhere from farm shops to Whole Foods stores.

Like British Quinoa, Hilditch thinks traceability is a big draw. “People love the fact that I live on the farm where I produce the berries.”

She puts buyers’ decision to buy British cassis rather than the traditional French down to a cache often associated with British food and drink. “Certainly there are countries who look towards Britain as being a mark of quality.”

Ogilvy Scottish Potato Vodka, Scotland

“We have always sold our potato crop to the supermarkets and there’s a percentage that’s always rejected because it’s the wrong shape or size,” says Caroline Jarron, Ogilvy Vodka founder. That frustration with unnecessary waste, plus a desire to diversify, led to her farm becoming Scotland’s first potato vodka producer. While potato was historically used to make vodka in Russia and Poland, nowadays most vodka is made from fermented grains such as sorghum, corn, rice, rye or wheat.

Jarron thinks British produce will attract worldwide interest whether the UK is part of the EU or not. “Scotland and Britain have a very strong name in food and drink across the world and that means a lot to consumers. We’ve had huge interest from America and Australia for us to export and I think that interest will continue whether we’re in Europe or not.”

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