Most inspiring food and drink firms in Britain

The businesses range from beverage, meat, farm and fisheries to wholesalers, restaurants and retailers.

Here, we bring you a selection of the companies identified as the UK’s most exciting and dynamic small and medium-sized businesses.

UK food and drink manufacturing has held up well against the economic headwinds of the recession and increased exports and new job creation, the London Stock Exchange said.

Biggest problem ​

John Cridland CBE, director general of the Confederation of British Industry, said that scaling up was the biggest problem for most small to medium-sized business.

“Only 0.4% of companies based in the UK scale up to beyond 250 or more employees, compared with 0.7% in the US,” ​he said.

“Nurturing start-ups, accepting some will fail but supporting those that are ready to take risks, will help to overcome this challenge.”​

There also needed to be better advice to help firms scale up at the right time and access to finance, he added.

The UK government helped 2,500 food and drink businesses sell their produce abroad in the 12 months to October 2014 – generating £300M for the British economy, London Stock Exchange claimed.

Enjoy our gallery to find out about some of the firms inspiring Britain in 2015.