With spending patterns evolving and consumers becoming more selective, more and more UK businesses are exploring growth opportunities in international markets.
A wider pool of potential customers covers markets that are experiencing more optimistic economic growth and exhibit comparatively stronger consumer confidence, giving UK companies huge potential for growth that they may not have considered.
With global food consumption due to rise by more than 50% by 2050, businesses that are able to meet this international demand will be primed for expansion.
Resources and support, from bodies such as UK Export Finance (UKEF), are available to help businesses expand globally.
UKEF is the government’s export credit agency and helps to ensure no viable export fails due to a lack of access to finance or insurance. It offers tailored support to help food and drink retailers achieve their ambitions, offering guidance on suitable finance products and markets.
UKEF’s backing: How external support can unlock growth potential
UKEF works with businesses of all sizes that are looking to increase their international reach, often struggling to secure access to finance to meet international demand and fulfil orders. This support can help to continue the growth of food and drink exports, which stood at £24.6 billion in 2024.
Through tools like the General Export Facility, UKEF provides partial guarantees to banks, making trade finance more flexible and accessible while offering insurance to protect against non-payment risks.
UKEF also offers bespoke SME products through its Small Export Builder product. This initiative makes export protection accessible to smaller businesses nationwide, having supported 496 of them last year.
Moreover, it provides support for overseas buyers through facilities like the Buyer Credit Facility, which ensures UK exporters receive full payment up front while buyers repay an order over a longer period of time.
Fulfilling repeat orders from international buyers is also assisted through Repeat Order Guarantees, which enables UK suppliers to process recurring orders without the need for repeated applications, reducing red tape. This enables businesses to look ahead with a level of certainty otherwise hard to come by.
Going global: The rewards of exporting
Selling products in different markets has many advantages. In particular, the ability to diversify a business’s potential scope of consumers and, in turn, capture varying demand between consumers from different economies.
For example, exporting diversifies sales away from domestic season fluctuations. This can result in a business achieving a more consistent stream of sales and being more resilient against demand-side shocks.
Cocoba, a Kent-based chocolate manufacturer that started life as a pop-up shop in Northwest London, is a great example of this. The business has recently been able to establish a range of international retail partnerships as a result of financing support from UKEF and Lloyds.
UKEF’s support helped unlock working capital to enable Cocoba to purchase top-quality ingredients, building a foundation to create innovative and market-leading products, while serving a growing domestic and international consumer base.
As of 2025, Cocoba’s products are now being exported worldwide, with Spain, Canada, Japan, Australia and South Korea representing key markets for the business.
The benefits of international exporting include meeting the demands of a larger variety of consumer needs and reaching a greater pool of potential buyers. These businesses can experience different consumer preferences, tailor products to these preferences, increase brand recognition and ultimately enhance sales.
Boosting Britain’s economy
Growth in the food and drinks industry creates a trickle-down effect, with scaling up contributing not only to the economy but also to local communities. Whether it be through inflows of overseas revenue, the creation of new jobs, or supporting local suppliers and partners.
Take Dean’s, a Scottish shortbread manufacturer. Seasonal demand for shortbread meant that Dean’s required additional working capital to fulfil overseas demand in the lead up to Christmas, Mother’s Day and Chinese New Year. As a result of this financing support from UKEF, the business has been able to invest in its Aberdeenshire-based facility and create up to 20 new jobs, benefiting the local economy.
UKEF’s support enabled the business to expand on its existing customer bases in markets such as Germany, USA, Australia and Chile, selling branded and own-brand products to large overseas retailers.
Global growth ultimately boosts businesses by meeting international demand and diversifying sales, but also significantly benefits the wider UK economy. These are realistic and beneficial outcomes, and they can be met with the right support in place – truly nourishing food retail growth.
