Speciality & Fine Food Fair is now open for registration, promising an enhanced experience and exciting new features for its 25th anniversary edition.
Taking place on Tuesday 10 – Wednesday 11 September 2024 at Olympia London, this year’s Fair will introduce several new features and significant changes aimed at celebrating the event’s legacy and enhancing its value for attendees in the speciality food & drink sector.
New Additions for 2024:
The Wine Cellar: A new dedicated section for visitors to explore and discover quality wines from around the world. This area will showcase a carefully curated selection of fine wines, offering a unique experience for wine buyers at the Fair.
Drinks Uncovered: This new stage will feature a wide range of experts discussing the latest trends in the drinks industry. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn from leading professionals and gain insights into emerging trends and innovations shaping the future of drinks, from hot drinks and soft drinks to alcohol and low & no.
Tasting Stations: New Tasting Stations will provide a curated sampling opportunity, allowing visitors to taste and experience a variety of high-quality speciality food and drink products. This addition aims to enhance the interactive and sensory experience of the Fair.
Celebration of 25 Rising Stars: In addition to these exciting new features, the Fair will include an exclusive event to celebrate 25 Rising Stars in the UK food & drink sector, an initiative announced in June in partnership with Speciality Food Magazine. Rising Stars highlights up-and-coming foodie founders and exciting entrepreneurs in the early stages of their product journey, showcasing the next generation of talent in the food and drink industry.
Changes to Registration and Attendance Policy
To ensure the Fair attracts its intended audience of food & drink buyers and producers, visitor registration approval has been introduced for this year’s edition.
Retailers, hospitality professionals, food & drink buyers, food & drink producers and more will continue to enjoy free entry to the event, however suppliers to food & drink producers will be subject to vetting and unable to attend the event free of charge.
Nicola Woods, Event Manager for the Speciality & Fine Food Fair, commented: “Each year the Fair is proud to welcome a diverse and loyal community of leading food & drink buyers, who trust the event to curate a quality selection of speciality products.
“It’s important to us, as we celebrate our 25th year, that we do everything we can to ensure the Fair attracts the right audience and that we enable buyers and producers to connect, do business and gain value from the event. While suppliers to food & drink brands are an important part of the industry ecosystem, we have to focus on facilitating invaluable new connections between buyers and speciality producers. That is the heart of the Fair.”
Montgomery Group, organiser of the Fair, has committed to investing in thorough vetting of prospective attendees to ensure the 2024 event delivers a relevant, engaged audience, enhanced networking opportunities, and more chances for both buyers and exhibitors to connect with the right people to grow their business.
Paul Hargreaves, CEO of Cotswold Fayre, comments: “At Cotswold Fayre we love exhibiting at trade events and talking to customers and making new relationships with retailers; after all that is the main point of the event, isn’t it?
“However, an increasing frustration over recent years has been the deluge of non-exhibitors to our stands and trying to sell us services and products, stopping us talking to customers. I am delighted that this year, for the first time, Speciality & Fine Food Fair are charging an entry fee.”
Speciality & Fine Food Fair 2024 will also include popular returning features including the Start-Up Village, which showcases new brands in food & drink, the Talking Trends stage, where visitors can keep up to date with all the latest trends and topics and hear from inspiring industry leaders, and the Speciality & Fine Food Fair Awards, which this year are introducing a new DEI Initiative category to recognise the amazing work being done by businesses across the industry to improve their diversity, equality and inclusion.
Speciality & Fine Food Fair takes place at Olympia London on Tuesday 10 – Wednesday 11 September. Find out more about everything happening at this year’s event, and register to attend, at specialityfinefoodfairs.co.uk. Suppliers to food & drink producers will now be required to pay a £350 fee (incl. VAT) to attend the Fair and provide credentials showing a connection to the food & drink sector.
Anna Startin
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