Show up or miss out
When I joined Food & Drink Technology back in July, I wrote in my first blog that I was pleased to be joining just ahead of ‘show season’ and looking forward to making contact with many of the magazine’s readers and contributors at the various exhibitions taking place before the end of the year. As these things do, show season has rolled around quickly, and after nearly three months of getting to know the industry I am ready to face the exhibitions!
I was eased in relatively gently last week with a visit to lunch!, a trade event for the UK’s £14.9 billion lunch market which was held at the Business Design Centre in London on 23-24 September. More than 6,000 people attended the two-day event where they were treated to 300 exhibiting companies showcasing food, drink, packaging, catering equipment and technology. The show also hosted the Working lunch! Theatre, which featured sessions from big industry names including Leon, Starbucks and EAT.
A highlight of the seminars was Wendy Duncan’s session on the EU’s new Food Information Regulations (FIR), which come into effect in December. Under the new law, it is a legal requirement for allergen information to be provided for all foods that are sold onsite. R&D deploy manager at Unilever Food Solutions, Duncan’s session was designed to help all foodservice operators (no matter their size) prepare for these changes.
Many of the exhibiting companies were launching new products at the show. New food-to-go innovations included Consett Popcorn Company’s gourmet popcorn range; Oppo Ice Cream made with natural extracts, virgin coconut oil and exotic superfoods; Square Pie’s new range of mini pie Canapies; and Tideford Organics’ new range of free from autumn soups. Beverage launches included The Sassy Drinks Company’s soft drink Sass, a mix of fruits and spices; Enhance Drinks’ portable water enhancers available in four flavours; and Vita Coco Coconut Water’s new lemonade variant. Packaging, equipment and technology launches saw Packnwood showcase its new range of street food packaging; Little Cherry’s new biodegradable natural coconut shell bowls; Glen Dimplex Professional Appliances’ new Lec Commercial bottle cooler range; and Phat Pasty’s new Phat Soup soup server.
Next on my show agenda is this week’s PPMA, the UK’s largest processing and packaging machinery exhibition. More than 300 exhibitors and 8,000 visitors are expected to attend the three-day event, being held 30 September-2 October at the NEC in Birmingham, to see the latest technology – from machinery, industrial robot and automation technology to the latest machine vision solutions.
If you are attending the PPMA Show, we will be exhibiting on stand B45 along with our sister publications Confectionery Production, Dairy Industries International and CanTech International. On 1 October, Food & Drink Technology is chairing a session in the Seminar Programme – you can find out more here: www.foodanddrinktechnology.com/7371/editors-blog/adapt-die/.
See you there…
