Locally manufactured food products are again enjoying a high status among the Maltese, according to Claudio Camilleri, head of sales and marketing at Master Distributors.

He said that during the recent Mediterranean Food Festival, organised by the Tourism and Culture Ministry and the Malta Tourism Authority, it could be seen that the Maltese had regained trust in locally grown products, especially wines.

He pointed out however that the constant influx of foreign brands would always eat away a good part of local business. This was the case with foreign wines, but there were so many of them that brand awareness was diluted, he added.

"We have started to realise that this has made consumers feel safer when consuming local wines because just like relationships, when you know someone well, you tend to trust that person more," Mr Camilleri said.

In the Mediterranean Food Festival, Master Distributors were represented with Zeppi's Traditional Maltese liqueurs and Camilleri Wines.