The Region  

The Food Service Sector
The food and drink sector is worth over £9.5 billion to the Northwest economy. The agricultural, food and drink industry provides 12% of the region’s income and employs 103,000 people, which accounts for 3.5% of regional employment and 3% of the UK’s employment within this sector. The Northwest has more local food manufacturing enterprises than any other UK region.

The Northwest has significant strengths in a number of areas, including dairy production, red meat and cereal processing, speciality foods and regional food production. It is home to some of the food industry’s biggest names, including Nestle, Halewood Foods, Fox’s, Heinz, Kellogg’s, Patak Foods and Vimto.

The Northwest is the largest food and drink producing region in England and Wales in terms of manufacturing units (Promar Study for the NWFA) and leads the whole of the UK in terms of manufacturing Gross Value Added.

Source: Northwest Regional Development Agency