Three local food and drink producers are expanding onto the Hampshire shelves of a local co-operative.

Mighty Fine’s honeycomb, Wholesome Wolf’s biltong and Mortimer Chocolate Company’s drinking chocolate all have strong links to Hampshire and are the latest products added to the Local Flavours range offered by Southern Co-op.

The products will be on offer in 29 stores in West Sussex, Hampshire and Surrey run by the regional, independent co-operative.

Southern Co-op’s Local Flavours range currently has around 200 local suppliers and 200 stores in 11 different counties across the south of England stocking local products with an assortment of products from essential eggs and milk to luxury chocolate and top tipples.

Matt Elliott, Retail Buying & Services Manager who looks after Local Flavours at Southern Co-op, said: “We discovered two of these products thanks to a special event organised by county food group Hampshire Fare where local producers could ‘pitch’ their products. There were more than 20 suppliers who entered our ‘Pigs Den’ and there were a number of local sustainable suppliers we hoped we could work with in the future.

“It’s good to finally see this come to fruition and we hope our customers love them just as much as we do.”

Wholesome Wolf, which is based at Rogate near Petersfield, impressed the judges in the Pigs Den with its range of sustainably sourced biltong snacks.

Products selected for Southern Co-op’s store are Wholesome Wolf’s Beef Biltong Diablo, Beef Biltong Peri Peri, and Beef Biltong Classic.

Founder Murray Spalding said: “It all started with myself – a South African foodie, and Shon Sprackling – an ethical Sussex beef farmer. The vision was to create delicious products using the finest local ingredients cured with the handcrafted techniques of South African air drying – time for a delicious meat snack. With all of our products we hope to offer people more sustainable choices.”

The second producer to come out of the Pigs Den is Mortimer Chocolate which is based one mile from Hampshire border in Mortimer Common, Berkshire.

The small award winning chocolate producer, was founded in 2006 by Adrian Smith who had previously worked for Mars Confectionery.

Adrian Smith said: “I am delighted that two of our products are going to be more widely available in Hampshire – our 30% drinking chocolate and our salted caramel drinking chocolate. It all started in the kitchen of my family home and, although we have since expanded, it is still all produced right here in the UK using carefully selected, sustainable cocoa.”

Mighty Fine’s honeycomb products have also been added to the Local Flavours range with its factory based on the Gosport/Fareham border.

Its products available in Southern Co-op stores are the Milk Chocolate Honeycomb Bar, Dark Chocolate Honeycomb Bar, Salted Caramel Honeycomb Bar, Milk Chocolate Honeycomb Buttons, and Dark Chocolate Honeycomb Buttons.

Kit Tomlinson, Owner and MD of Mighty Fine, said: “We are working hard to build a really strong manufacturing base in Hampshire and have also made sure we focus on the climate with our factory being 100% powered by renewable energy. In 2014 we began creating handmade treats with great ingredients in a shop in Camden and now, we still make everything the same way with the same values.”

Southern Co-op stores stocking all three new types of product are Alresford’s West Street, Bosham’s Delling Lane, Drayton’s Havant Road, Eastleigh’s Leigh Road, Emsworth’s High Street, Fairoak’s Sandy Lane, Hayling Island’s Elm Grove, Holbury’s Long Lane, Lee on The Solent’s High Street, Lyndhurst’s High Street, Overton’s Winchester Street, Portsmouth’s Tregaron Avenue, Stockbridge’s High Street, Tadley’s Franklin Avenue, and Wickham’s The Square.

Other stores stocking selected products are Alderholt’s Ringwood Road (biltong and drinking chocolate), Alton’s High Street (honeycomb and drinking chocolate), Andover’s Picket Twenty Way (biltong and drinking chocolate), Bishops Waltham’s High Street (biltong and drinking chocolate), Clanfield’s White Dirt Lane (biltong and drinking chocolate), Denmead’s Hambledon Road (drinking chocolate), Farnham’s Farnborough Road (honeycomb and drinking chocolate), Four Marks’s Winchester Road (honeycomb and drinking chocolate), Odiham’s High Street (biltong and drinking chocolate), Portsmouth’s Western Road (biltong and drinking chocolate), Romsey’s Abbotswood Common Road (drinking chocolate), Romsey’s Botley Road (honeycomb and drinking chocolate), Romsey’s The Hundred (drinking chocolate), and Wrecclesham’s Wrecclesham Road (biltong and drinking chocolate).

An existing supplier, Lorama Foods in Bosham, has also expanded its range in Southern Co-op’s stores in Hampshire with new protein nature bombs from TRIBE.

To find out more about the Southern Co-op’s Local Flavours range, visit www.thesouthernco-operative.co.uk/food/local-flavours/.