Tag Archives: sabor de amor

Food and Drink

Spanish sauce company signs major supermarket deal after Covid sales rise

SABOR DE AMOR has signed a major supermarket deal and achieved a 40% rise in online sales during the Coronavirus pandemic.

The popular Spanish sauce firm revealed Sainsbury’s will stock its Paella in a Bottle and Salsa Brava products at 70 of its stores from Monday February 15.

Based in Wrexham, director Dr Beatriz Albo said they are one of 10 producers nationwide to feature in the retailer’s Taste of the Future campaign and was proud of the progress made since launching the company in 2015.

She confirmed Covid-19 had impacted upon their traditional sales at food festivals and events, but a surge in orders via their website and independent outlets – including farm shops across Wales and England – had given them a much-needed boost.

“Like most businesses we have been affected by the pandemic and had to adapt to new ways of working and a decline in revenue initially,” said Beatriz.

“But we have kept going and were determined to keep channels open with the leading suppliers and supermarkets interested in stocking our range of sauces before the Coronavirus struck.

“We were already in discussions with Sainsbury’s and are delighted to get that deal done; it’s a proud moment for us, especially given we are one of just 10 producers in the country to be a part of this campaign, and the only one from North Wales.”

With the support of son Albert, Beatriz secured a contract for Sabor de Amor to be on the shelves of Sainsbury’s stores in Greater London, Yorkshire, the Midlands and the South East.

She has built the range of salsas and sauces using family recipes to create incredible flavours, having arrived in North Wales from Salamanca, Spain, as a biology student in the early nineties.

Plans for a new food service were scuppered by the initial lockdown in March last year, but she persevered and has big plans for the coming months, including the relaunch of an old favourite.

“A lot of people have been asking me to bring back the Sofrito slow roasted tomato sauce I produced years ago, so we will be doing that in the run up to summer,” said Beatriz, winner of the BBC’s Top of the Shops series Sauces category in 2018.

“One of the positives we took from this challenging time is the feedback we have received from customers, especially those who bought our products because their holidays had been cancelled and they wanted to try and recreate that taste of the Mediterranean from home.

“That meant a lot to me, so we are glad to be able to bring Sofrito back in addition to our other sauces, which have proven very popular in lockdown.”

She added: “All we can do is thank our loyal customers and work hard to make a success of this new supermarket campaign and the other ideas we have in mind for the year ahead, depending on restrictions around the pandemic.

“If it goes well it could be rolled out to be even more stores, and then possibly nationwide, so we are hopeful and confident for the future.”

Visit www.sabordeamor.com for more information and the latest news from Sabor de Amor.

Food & Drink

Tapas star brings Spanish sunshine into the lives of North Wales food lovers

A POPULAR Spanish sauce company has been bringing sunshine to the lives – and plates – of customers throughout the year.

Despite the challenges brought on by the Coronavirus pandemic, Beatriz Albo and the team at Wrexham-based Sabor de Amor worked hard to support local producers and communities by supplying a steady stream of their award-winning sauces and salsas.

Winner of the BBC’s Top of the Shops programme two years ago, Beatriz launched the business in 2015 using family recipes to create incredible flavours, including the much-loved Paella in a Bottle.

Having arrived in North Wales as a biology student in 1993, and later working as a teacher, she decided to go it alone after achieving success at farmers’ markets and food and drink festivals.

With the support of Taste Wales, she grew in confidence and was set to sign a major deal with a leading wholesaler in the Spring before Covid-19 took hold and thwarted those plans.

However, Beatriz – who has now been joined in the company by her son Albert, a Business Management graduate – has been busy forging new relationships and plans to unveil them in the months ahead.

“Going into the first lockdown we were just about to launch a new food service, it was a really exciting time, and everyone loved it,” said Beatriz, who hails from Salamanca.

“Then March came and suddenly the whole food sector was thrown into disarray, it was impossible to continue at that time.”

She added: “Like many businesses we had to pivot and try to be innovative to push on, and we learnt that when dealing with buyers – whatever the situation – that you have to be persistent.

“We worked hard behind the scenes, and Albert joining me has been a big boost, to try and take things to the next level, and in May managed to secured a contract with a leading online supermarket to sell the paella and salsa brava sauces.

“That was fantastic for us, and we are looking forward to announcing another new relationship with a major supplier next year.”

Beatriz has big plans for the future but insists nothing is more important than supporting local businesses, using the best local produce and “giving back” to her community.

She is also going to begin hosting regular Continental cookery demonstrations and tasting sessions online after the success of the event held with Marina Midolo from Marina’s Italian Cookery in Cyffylliog, near Ruthin, as part of this year’s Taste North East Wales virtual programme.

Making people happy is top priority for Sabor de Amor.

“In the summer we had a lot of feedback from people who had to cancelled holidays to Spain and the Mediterranean, so they bought some of our products to make their own dishes at home,” said Beatriz.

“I’m an emotional person so it meant so much to me hearing how someone’s birthday or celebration with family had been special because of us, and that we had made a difference.

“Bringing some sunshine into their lives and onto their plates, especially at such a sad and difficult time for everyone, was so important to us.”

And in the coming weeks Beatriz and the team will be going the extra mile to help those who need it most.

“We are going to be cooking meals to give to homeless shelters in the area and just want to give back to people after a very hard year,” she added.

“And it was great to also do that through Taste North East Wales; we loved being part of it, the films and virtual events that gave people a chance to have fun and celebrate local produce.”

Taste North East Wales is organised by Clwydian Range Food and Drink and Llangollen and Dee Valley Food and Drink, with the support of Cadwyn Clwyd, the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley AONB and the local authorities of Flintshire, Wrexham and Denbighshire.

This project receives funding through the Welsh Government Rural Communities – Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government.

For more on Taste North East Wales, follow them on social media @taste_blasu or email taste.blas@gmail.com.  Alternatively, visit the website: www.tastenortheastwales.org.

Visit www.sabordeamor.com for the latest news and recipes from Sabor de Amor.