A food company in Pwllheli is expanding by carrying new products and opening another warehouse.

Bwydydd Madryn food company recently opened a new warehouse in Pwllheli to cope with demand.

The company sells Jones branded products, including Jones Chocolate from Bala, Jones Popcorn flavoured with Halen Môn sea salt from Anglesey, Blodyn Aur rapeseed oil from hills above Llanfihangel Glyn Myfyr in Conwy and iconic Welsh treats like individual slices of Bara Brith fruit loaf and twin packs of Welsh Cakes made in the Snowdonia village of Llanllechid.

Among the first stockists of the snacks is the Dylan’s chain of restaurants which has eateries in Criccieth, Porthaethwy and Llandudno.

Bwydydd Madryn was set up by agri-food expert Geraint Hughes in 2012 to promote and provide an outlet for Welsh produce which he describes as the “best in the world”.

The firm employs three other people including Geraint’s business partner, James Hughes.

Geraint said: “I was brought up on a farm and I always had an interest in growing crops and later I led crop research at Bangor University.

“The spur for establishing Bwydydd Madryn nine years ago was to have more of an influence on the food chain so we could provide an outlet for Welsh food producers.

“I realised the reality of trade is that it’s easy enough to grow something, but it’s altogether more difficult to find a route to market to sell the produce.

“When times are difficult like now with the Covid pandemic it’s important not to retreat into your shell.

“We have done the complete opposite and been proactive in speeding up the launch new products like the snacks which, I’m glad to say, are proving very popular.

“We work with 11 different food manufacturers to make our ranges, and by doing that we indirectly support work on those sites.

“The golden thread that runs through everything is our Welsh ethos – the driver for me was seeing how much was being bled out of the local economy because of the way the food industry is set up.

“What we do is try to set up food chains which are as Welsh as we can possibly make them.”

James added: “Generally, the snacks market is run by multi-nationals so we wanted to bring Welsh brands together so that we can also have a slice of the market.

“One consequence of the pandemic is that there seems to be a bit of a backlash against globalisation with people wanting more localisation.

“The market seems to be polarising with the bargain basement outlets doing well and locally produced, high quality food at the other end of the spectrum proving popular too.

“The story behind the produce and its provenance is important and we felt there was a gap for Welsh snack products.”