HELPING FOOD AND DRINK BUSINESSES TO SCALE WITH CONFIDENCE
We help food and drink founders become buyer-ready, commercially credible, and confident in front of retail and foodservice buyers.
Our training covers group work in a classroom and online, and individual mentoring at a time which suits your business.
Trusted by - Invest NI, Food NI, NIFDA, Aldi, Lidl, Go Succeed, Local Councils in NI and over 150 Producers
Delivering group and individual training and mentoring across the UK, Ireland, US, Canade and Denmark
Our Strategic Training
Client Testimonials
"I have worked with Merv on a number of occasions, and Merv’s grocery and commercial experience from his career spent as a Buyer within the Grocery industry (Asda) is vast. Merv’s been a fantastic mentor to me over the last 10 months, especially advising on gap analysis, how to craft a compelling value proposition, pitching commercials that make ‘commercial sense’, margins across the entire retail supply chain and encouraged me to take a broader macro view of the business to objectively determine what’s holding back sales and brand growth. Internally. We assessed what 3 main tasks were needed to positively transform the business and as a result we achieved a major Irish retail listing, GB distributor and found the capital required to source our final piece of processing machinery, yielding a 40% reduction in labour costs that has helped us increase price promotions and leverage in-store marketing to encourage new customers to trial our products. If your sales have perhaps stagnated or new listings aren’t amounting to sustainable sales growth, an independent Grocery legend, such as Merv, that’s listened to thousands of pitches, could be the missing piece of your FMCG puzzle."
Matthew Rainey - Embark Protein
"A single meeting with Mervyn instilled more confidence in me taking my business forward than a dozen courses and workshops had done previously. Mervyn’s depth of knowledge and huge experience of the food sector is second to none."
Tim McCarthy - MD and Chief Alchemist at Blackfire
"I have had the pleasure of working with Mervyn on many occasions .He has extensive experience and superb knowledge working with buyers and advisors across major supermarket chains. Generous, helpful and approachable—he shares expert advice simply and with a great light-hearted manner. Highly recommended!"
Mervyn Kennedy - Owner at Kennedy Bacon
I would 100% recommend Mervyn and Andy for their services. having been in FMCG sales for over 20 years I didn't know what to expect, but I learned so much from the Capbility course I attended earlier this year.
Between them, they have a wealth of experience from both a buyer and sales perspective, so this gives an advantage as you get insights from both sides of the table.
Heather McCracken - Go Pig
"I had the pleasure of working with Mervyn a few years ago through the Invest NI Capability Programme, and I found his support incredibly valuable.
Mervyn is friendly, approachable and always happy to help. What I really appreciated was his experience-led advice — practical, straightforward and, most importantly, easy to put into action. I’ve found myself referring back to the advice he gave me many times since, and it has continued to be useful as my business has developed.
Even now, whenever I bump into Mervyn, he’s always generous with his time and happy to share his knowledge. I wouldn’t hesitate to work with him again or recommend his services to anyone looking for relatable, experienced guidance."
Ingrid Maxwell - The Mallow Makers
“Having worked with Merv during an Invest NI Programme, the insights and knowledge gained transformed the approach our company now takes to Sales, particularly in our dealings with Buyers. This has hugely assisted our sales growth over the last number of years.”
Jamie Clegg - MD Feedwell Petfood