Hit by flooding in February and the coronavirus shutdown in March – it would be understandable for a business to fall back on Government support to see them through.
But food wholesaler, deli and cafe firm Blas ar Fwyd in Llanrwst was determined to battle on and keep all its 50 strong workforce in jobs.
The devastating floods that hit the town had already closed the deli and wine shop – and the final bill for their losses could top £750,000.
Coronavirus then wiped out much of their wholesale business as restaurants, hotels and cafes were closed to help control the spread of the virus.
It meant the business had to reinvent itself rapidly to prevent a temporary shutdown of all operations.
This saw it ramp up its home delivery service – to both keep its workforce employed and provide a vital service in the Conwy Valley to many individuals and families – particularly those having to self isolate.
That has now grown 1,000% in just a couple of weeks.
Osian Deiniol, operations manager at the 32 year old business started by his parents Deiniol and Chandra, said: “The deli and wine shop were flooded in February and this knocked us for six, then we had coronavirus on the back of this.
(Image: Blas ar Fwyd)
“But you can’t let it beat you.
“The cafe was okay in the flooding, just, so when we had to close due to coronavirus we set up the shop in the cafe, although it takes times to recreate anything like we had there.
“Despite what happened there was real positivity about carrying on and doing food delivery.
“It has meant staff adapting and they have been fantastic, it has meant we have been able to retain staff and also help people in the community.
(Image: Blas ar Fwyd)
“Home delivery and online sales had been a small part of the business prior to coronavirus, it has increased 1,000% since then – really gone through roof – it is crazy and shows the response we’ve had.
“We are not the only ones doing this – the two butchers in the town have also adapted and others too.
“This is also good for producers because we are all about Welsh food from small producers. It keeps them going too.
“This has been good for the community in the Conwy Valley too at a difficult time, we have had some really positive feedback from it.
“I can see this changing things in the long term, especially after Brexit because UK food is going to be more important. I hope we see a move to buying more local produce, and less imported food. “