Snowdonia Wagyu
With funding from Project HELIX, the Food Technology Centre was able to offer support and advice on various projects for the company.
Snowdonia Wagyu
Nestled in the hills near Caernarfon, Snowdonia Wagyu has a major point of difference as they breed Wagyu beef, the world’s most expensive meat because of the way it’s reared.
Known for its incredible marbling that gives its unique tenderness and buttery flavour, Wagyu is a breed of cattle native to Japan. The team at Snowdonia Wagyu pride themselves on producing the best quality Wagyu beef and care passionately for the welfare of the animals, the environment and farming sustainably.
The Wagyu cattle are grown slowly on grass for around three years, in an area of the UK that cannot grow other crops effectively. The cattle require a stress-free environment so they burn less fat and achieve the correct marbling.
Wagyu beef is also considered a healthy option as it contains a high percentage of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids with its intense marbling, improving the ratio of monounsaturated fats.
Support received from the Food Technology Centre
With funding from Project HELIX, the Food Technology Centre was able to offer support and advice on various projects for the company. Snowdonia Wagyu was assigned a food technologist who mentored them through their Wagyu beef production, and their HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) to meet legal requirements.
On the production side, the centre was able to help reduce costs of manufacturing the Snowdonia Wagyu burgers. The company took part in the Food Technology Centre’s practical knowledge transfer sessions that showed Snowdonia Wagyu how to work to their supply and demand according to seasonality.
Other projects included shelf life testing with microbiological stability testing, new product development to add value to products by manufacturing them into premium quality salami, and also nutritional evaluations on Snowdonia Wagyu’s beef pâté.
The centre also provided a full nutritional comparison to compare the nutritional differences between Snowdonia Wagyu beef with commercial grass fed beef for the business to help market their products.
Benefits of the support
Sioned Pritchard, owner and founder of Snowdonia Wagyu said, “The help and support we have received from the Food Technology Centre has been great. We have been able to ask them to support us on a number of projects, from helping us with production to looking at new product development. More recently, they have been testing our products for a nutritional evaluation to assist us with labelling, and then providing us with a full report on the benefits of eating Snowdonia Wagyu beef.
“All the work they have undertaken has meant that we have been able to market our products, sell to retail and increase our sales.”
