Warrendale Wagyu builds international business and opens new markets at SIAL Paris

Warrendale Wagyu returned from SIAL Paris with new international enquiries, confirmed sales and promising opportunities across Europe and beyond, underlining the growing potential for British Wagyu in global markets.

SIAL Paris proved a valuable opportunity for Warrendale Wagyu to strengthen existing customer relationships, explore new export markets and identify opportunities to expand its international product offering.

The team connected with buyers from across Europe and further afield, with interest spanning established markets and new territories including Bulgaria, Spain, Greece, Cyprus, the French Caribbean and Canada. Several conversations have already translated into business, while others have opened the door to potentially significant future opportunities.

What is SIAL Paris?

Held every two years at the Paris Nord Villepinte exhibition centre in France, SIAL Paris is one of the world’s leading international food industry trade shows, bringing together food producers, manufacturers, retailers, importers, distributors and buyers from across the global food supply chain.

The event provides a platform for businesses to showcase products, identify emerging food trends, establish commercial partnerships and develop international markets.

The scale of the opportunity is considerable. At the 2024 edition, SIAL welcomed approximately 285,000 food industry professionals from around 200 countries and featured 7,500 exhibitors from 127 countries. The five-day event covered more than 270,000 square metres of exhibition space, demonstrating its importance as a meeting place for the international food industry.

For Warrendale Wagyu, the opportunity to meet so many existing and potential customers in one location makes SIAL an important part of its international business development activity.

New markets and immediate sales

Interest in Warrendale Wagyu extended across several European markets, alongside enquiries from further afield.

New contacts from Bulgaria, Spain, Greece, Cyprus, the French Caribbean and Canada highlighted the breadth of international interest in the company’s products.

Importantly, some conversations have already delivered tangible results. A new Spanish customer is due to receive product in November, which is also a boost for the business.

The team also sold a pallet of trim, demonstrating the commercial value of conversations around different product specifications and requirements.

While some enquiries will take longer to develop, the event generated a strong pipeline of opportunities for the team to follow up in the coming months.

Strengthening relationships with established customers

Alongside new business development, SIAL provided an opportunity to spend valuable time with existing international customers.

One notable milestone was reached with Dutch customer Luiten, which has now purchased more than 100 tonnes of Warrendale Wagyu product in 2026.

Over approximately the past 20 months, Luiten’s purchases from Warrendale have exceeded €2 million, highlighting the value of building strong, long-term relationships with international customers.

Maintaining these relationships is an important part of Warrendale’s export strategy. Regular face-to-face meetings help the team understand customer requirements, discuss future demand and identify opportunities to develop the business further.

The event also provided an opportunity to meet with a German customer ahead of a planned visit to a retailer in Germany in December. The discussions could lead to a significant commercial opportunity, with further developments expected following the visit.

Responding to international demand

Conversations at SIAL also highlighted opportunities to broaden the range of products available to international customers.

Halal products attracted considerable interest, making the availability of Freedown Hills products particularly valuable during the event.

The level of demand has prompted further consideration of how Warrendale could support wider international markets through its halal offering, including whether additional halal production capacity or arrangements may be required to meet future demand.

The team also met with customers from Hong Kong who expressed interest in further-processed products, including Wagyu hot dogs.

These discussions demonstrate the importance of understanding the needs of individual markets. International customers may be looking for different cuts, product formats and specifications, creating opportunities to make better use of the carcase while reaching new customer groups.

For Warrendale and its farming supply chain, developing a broader international customer base can help create additional outlets for a wider range of products. Tom Richardson, Managing Director of Warrendale said: ‘To generate so much interest in wagyu because it is underpinned by assured, high-welfare, British meat that is part of an innovative supply chain, is testament to the work of our farming community. There is clearly so much demand for British wagyu products’.

Building connections across the British food industry

SIAL also offered opportunities to connect with other British food businesses and discuss the wider challenges and opportunities facing UK exporters.

The team attended a British Meat dinner hosted by AHDB, where MP Stephen Morgan spoke about Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreements and their implications for international trade.

On Tuesday, a drinks reception at the British ambassador’s private residence brought together British producers exporting to markets around the world.

These events provided an opportunity to exchange experiences, discuss market access and build relationships with other businesses operating internationally.

For British food producers, international growth depends on more than product quality alone. Understanding regulations, maintaining access to overseas markets and building relationships with customers and industry partners all play an important role.

Turning conversations into commercial growth

The results from SIAL underline the value of investing time in international business development.

Following the event, Warrendale and Freedown Hills reviewed 52 genuine leads between them, with a further 13 genuine leads recorded in HubSpot. The team has identified two opportunities among these that are considered likely to convert. Chris Harrison-Bloom, Warrendale’s Business Development Manager said, ‘This is such an amazing opportunity to showcase Warrendale’s product and to garner so much interest was brilliant. The event has already delivered tangible commercial results, while also opening the door to some potentially significant opportunities for the future. It was also a great opportunity to connect with other British exporters and discuss the challenges and opportunities facing our industry in international markets.’

These prospects will require further engagement, but the early results provide a strong foundation for continued follow-up.

Combined with the new Spanish business, the milestone achieved with Luiten and the sale of trim, the event has already demonstrated its commercial value. The German retail opportunity and interest in halal and further-processed products offer additional potential for growth.

Creating opportunities throughout the supply chain

For Warrendale Farmers, international business development is an important part of the wider story behind Warrendale’s integrated supply chain, connecting genetics and farming through to processing and retail.

Building demand in overseas markets creates opportunities to develop customer relationships, broaden product sales and identify new outlets for British Wagyu.

The conversations at SIAL also reinforced the importance of responding to changing customer requirements, whether through new markets, different product formats or additional production capabilities.

Although not every enquiry will translate into an order, the event has provided Warrendale with a valuable pipeline of prospective business and a clearer understanding of where further opportunities may lie.

With new customers to develop, established relationships continuing to grow and further discussions planned in the months ahead, the work following SIAL will be just as important as the event itself.

The focus now is on converting that international interest into lasting commercial relationships, supporting the continued growth of Warrendale’s Wagyu business and the farmers who supply it.

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