UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) has launched its Grown in Britain Global Business Programme in an effort to deliver a £1bn boost to the UK economy.
Prompted by the 2015 World Expo in Milan, the campaign will see the UK showcase breakthroughs helping to provide solutions to the challenges posed by the rising global population.
Focus sectors include agri-tech, food and beverage, healthcare, life sciences, technology and the creative industries; all of which will be promoted at major global events including the Rugby World Cup 2015, Rio 2016 Olympic Games and Dubai Expo 2020.
Building on the legacy generated by the 2012 London Olympics, the UKTI hopes that Grown in Britain will further highlight the country’s excellence and innovation, as well as demonstrate the UK’s leadership in international development and promote it as a destination to study, visit and conduct business.
Trade and Investment Minister, Lord Livingston commented: “Milan Expo 2015 is the perfect springboard for us to showcase the UK is still leading the charge, not just in design and technology, but in a wider ambition to help meet the world’s development and sustainability needs.”
A number of the UK’s leading international businesses are expected to join the Grown in Britain campaign, with Mosimann already signed up and named as the official caterer for the UK pavilion at Milan Expo.
The company’s head, Anton Mosimann, was the chef for the evening reception of Prince William’s 2011 wedding to Catherine Middleton and is developing a distinctly British menu to ensure visitors to the UK pavilion receive a taste of the best of the country’s national produce.
With 20 million delegates expected to attend, Milan Expo 2015 will run from May to October next year and see nations such as the United States and China taking part and showcasing their country’s creativity and innovation.
Embracing the theme of the Expo, Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life, the centrepiece of the UK’s almost 2,000 sqm pavilion is a giant beehive constructed from aluminium. Inspired by the role the honeybee plays in food pollination, the sculpture also symbolises the new technology being developed at Nottingham Trent University to monitor the health of a beehive.
