Yorkshire food company rises to Canadian challenge

A classic Yorkshire dish is cooking up a new fan base across the Atlantic.

The Real Yorkshire Pudding Company (RYPC), based in Thorne, Doncaster, specialises in chilled and frozen Yorkshire puddings, manufacturing a million puddings a week.

RYPC is a supplier to the UK’s restaurant and hotel industry as well as several major supermarket names including Waitrose.

Now, following assistance from the South Yorkshire International Trade Centre (SYITC), the RYPC is exporting more than 80,000 products a year overseas, including to the Canadian market.

The popularity of the savoury dish is particularly on the rise in Canada where the RYPC has discovered a mixture of ex-pats, British holidaymakers and Canadian converts buying the classic British product.

RYPC national accounts manager Deidre Bailey said: “Ex-pats tell us they struggle to make their own Yorkshire puddings. It’s something to do with the flour in North America and Canada – it means their puddings do not rise as well as the traditional English ones! So our products are very sought after out there.”

After a degree of success exporting to Spain, RYPC turned to the SYITC for help getting their product into new markets.

The centre provided research assistance via Passport to Export – a UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) programme delivered by the SYITC and designed to assist new and inexperienced exporters to develop their export potential.

RYPC later accessed the SYITC’s Targeted Export Support Scheme (TESS) with help breaking into the Canadian market. TESS funding (supplied by Yorkshire Forward) helped finance a market visit which resulted in the long-term effect of cementing a relationship with Canadian meat and deli importer, Northbud.

Said Deidre: “We had a distributor in Canada but our relationship was a little unstable so I went out to visit and we attended a food exhibition in Toronto with them where we had a stand thanks to TESS.

“Unfortunately it did not help us maintain the relationship but it had the knock-on effect of opening another door – through contacts I made during the market visit we were introduced to Northbud, who are now our Canadian distributor.

“Our SYITC adviser John Hall has always given us lots of support – I can’t describe the amount of support we’ve had from the SYITC as well as the Yorkshire and Humber Food Group.”

UKTI trade adviser John Hall said: “The RYPC have had the foresight to realise that British people abroad miss their home comforts and have plugged that gap in the export market.

“But they are not resting on their laurels. RYPC are developing new products and have also realised that people want hot and hearty meals in the winter months and so are looking to export to markets in the southern hemisphere where the seasons are reversed.”