Cumbria's Hawkshead Relish has shipped 40,000 jars of jam to Germany.

Hawkshead Relish has shipped the jars of its strawberry daiquiri jam to Germany after securing the lucrative sale during an overseas trade mission.

The deal will see a major German wine club supplier sending out an offer of the Lake District’s finest preserves to its customers.

Hawkshead Relish, which is based in the village, was founded in 2001 and currently exports around 10 per cent of its output.

Maria Whitehead MBE, co-owner of Hawkshead Relish, said: “We started as a simple café in the middle of the Lake District but now thanks to exporting, we’re shipping our fundamentally British jams, chutneys and relishes to customers across Europe.

“With the help of Defra and the Department for International Trade we are one step closer to trading to new markets and maximising our overseas growth potential.

“We’ve been working closely with our International Trade Adviser who has helped us enter new markets and ensure we are speaking to the right people.

"We’re excited about future opportunities both in Europe and further afield.”

The deal came about as a result of trade missions the company took to Europe with support of the Food is GREAT campaign, an initiative between the Defra and the Department for International Trade.

The trade missions have also helped the company make contacts in Sweden and France that have now become regular customers.

It has also learned about small product changes it can make to better target the tastes of particular countries, including Sweden, Germany and the Czech Republic.

Hawkshead Relish now intends to turn its attention to China, which it sees as a potential market due to the growing level of disposable income among the country’s expanding middle class.

Food and drink exports from the North West increased to £1.9bn in the year to June 2018 - a rise of 5.2 per cent compared to the previous 12 months, and the trend looks set to continue

Paul Stowers, head of region for North West, DIT, said: “Hawkshead Relish has established itself as an innovative and high-quality producer from the heart of the Lake District with a reputation that clearly resonates internationally.

“We’d urge any local food and drink producers that want to explore some of the hundreds of exporting opportunities across the region to get in touch and find out how they can begin or grow their trade overseas.”