Speciality & Fine Food Fair 2021 hailed a success as food & drink industry celebrates return of live event

The sun shone on Olympia London as Speciality & Fine Food Fair brought the artisan food and drink community together for the industry’s first major post-lockdown event on 6-7 September.

Over the course of the two days, a wealth of food halls, independent retailers, speciality wholesalers and chefs, plus international ambassadors and trade representatives, discovered the latest new products and innovative businesses set to diversify their offering and drive future growth.

Visitors enjoyed the insights of industry leaders at the Fair’s Food for Thought Stage and Inspiration Bar, met with over 450 producers and enjoyed the chance to taste new products, meet and do business face-to-face and share knowledge and insights with their peers in fine food & drink. 

Alongside the returning Discovery Zone, which featured new and exciting producers taking their first steps in their business journey, the Fair saw the launch of the Sustainability Zone, in partnership with Pallite, and two new trend trails highlighting Vegan & Plant-Based and Non-Food products.

As always, the event was packed with delicious, innovative products and passionate business owners eager to make vital connections to take the next step in growing their operation, including Robert Gosling of Hartington Creamery, who commented: “It was only my second visit to Speciality & Fine Food Fair, and how wonderful, with what we have all been through the last 18 months, to be able to get back to some kind of normality.

“We were hit very hard as a blue cheese producer and it was brilliant to be able to meet many of the new customers we have started to supply, and many new potential customers. Whilst we have all got used to meetings via Zoom, the Fair reminded us all how important personal contact is in business. We aren’t just suppliers and customers, we are people with a passion, a purpose and a story behind the great food we nurture and it was great to showcase it!”

For the first time, the event launched Speciality & Fine Food Fair Late, closing at 8pm on Day One. The evening’s festivities included cocktails from Mixology Group, live music, special producer events and an exclusive VIP drinks reception featuring a keynote speech from GAIL’s CEO Tom Molnar, who reflected on recent challenges for the industry and told guests: “Anyone who goes into a crisis, you better remember who you are. Despite the problems of the past 18 months, it’s been a period of learning and we’re stronger because of it.”

Food for Thought

The Food for Thought Stage at the Fair was jam-packed with industry debate and thought leadership, with sessions ranging from conscious consumerism and sustainability certification to navigating white labelling and growing partnerships with local producers.

Scott Winston, panellist in the ‘Pros and cons of own-brand products’ session and Buyer at Fortnum & Masons, advised: “Transparency is very important, as is the right level of contact. It’ll be intense during the development phase. You have to set benchmark expectations and it’s vital to track sales and share that responsibility for analysis to maintain the relationship. Check in regularly, maintain the dialogue and work together on challenges.”

The ‘Fresh food overhaul’ session saw panellists debating the consumer education needed to progress the sector towards greater sustainability and education of excess packaging and food waste. Dan Parker, Project Lead at Veg Power, pointed out that the connection between sustainability, the environment and food & drink is still not clear to many customers and the industry needs to come together to spread awareness and bring about impactful change.

Rewarding excellence

The first day of the Fair saw Margot & Montañez, supplier of artisan South American alfajores and other sweet treats, win Pitch Live sponsored by Virgin StartUp. The business was awarded with a place on Virgin StartUp’s exclusive start-up mentoring programme, a stand at Speciality & Fine Food Fair 2022 and a dedicated marketing and PR package.

Lissa Gillot, Head of Funding and Support at Virgin StartUp, commented: “All the judges were blown away by the level of professionalism of the pitches; all of them were skilfully put together and well thought out, all the candidates could have been winners. It’s clear they know their products inside out and have carried out robust market testing.” 

Day Two of the event saw winners announced for the inaugural Speciality & Fine Food Fair Awards. Cilgwenyn Bee Farm secured Rising Sustainability Star, Slate Cheese was awarded Independent Retailer of the Year, Hawkhead Whisky Smoked Black Garlic Salt won Product of the Year and Origin Coffee Roasters’ Head of Coffee Freda Yuan was awarded Outstanding Industry Champion for her tireless work supporting producers and advocating for the coffee industry.

International Investment

International flavours and special guests were a key component of the 2021 event, with more than 30 nationalities represented across the producers in attendance. Following the challenges of Brexit and Covid-19, the Fair was a vital catalyst for kickstarting international import and export for 2022 and beyond.

On the Fair Trade Lebanon Pavilion, Ambassador Rami Mortada, Deputy Head of Mission Counsellor Marwan Francis, 1st Secretary Rasha Haddad and 1st Secretary Oula Khodr were hosted by Economic Attaché Ralph Nehme.

Nehme commented: “Lebanese products aren’t unfamiliar to the UK market; the culinary heritage has been in the UK for some time and behind the culinary heritage are the ingredients. We are here to showcase the ingredients behind our cuisine and our gastronomy, along with the richness and diversity of our culture.”

Other guests at the Fair included representatives from:

-         The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs

-         The Department for International Trade

-         Pakistan British Business Council

-         The Investment and Development Agency of Latvia

-         Embassy of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in London

-         Trade Delegation of Russia in the UK

-         Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce

-         Economic & Trade Mission, Israel

-         Embassy of Tunisia

-         Business France

-         Embassy of Costa Rica

-         Economic and Commercial Office of the Embassy of Greece

Department for International Trade’s Simon Mellon commented: “I found the Fair fascinating. It was very enjoyable to hear from so many fine food producers about how they have innovated and adapted to come through the pandemic, both in terms of product and sales channels. There was an incredible variety of regionally influenced products from across all corners of the UK and I was very impressed with the dedication to food innovation, including plant based and free from foods, and commitment to sustainability from so many producers.”

Connecting the fine food & drink community 365 days of the year

The Fair saw the launch of Speciality & Fine Food Fair Connects, a new digital platform to connect industry buyers with innovative producers throughout the year. In addition to hosting webinars, articles, reports, virtual tastings and more, the platform will enable retailers, wholesalers and other buyers to search the Fair’s database of producers across a wide range of product categories.

As always, buyers at the Fair were thrilled by the diversity and quality of the producers on offer, and the event’s ability to showcase new businesses and product launches.

Stefano Cuomo, CEO of Macknade, commented: “What a treat to be back amongst it, the first ‘real’ event since 2019 and well worth the wait. The range of producers on show, from start-up SMEs to the bigger institutions, was as enthusing as ever and it was great to rekindle relationships as well as make brand new friends. This year felt fresh and energising exactly what the sector needed.”

Sam Steggles, owner of Norfolk’s Goat Shed farm shop, added: “As a first timer to Speciality & Fine Food Fair I was overwhelmed by the positivity, creativeness and passion that every producer shared especially given the last 18 months. We were so impressed with products that we discovered that we placed multiple orders for immediate delivery to the Goat Shed farm shop and kitchen.”

Speciality & Fine Food Fair returns to Olympia London on 5-6 September 2022. Keep up to date with the latest news at specialityandfinefoodfairs.co.uk.

Ends

Editors notes

Speciality & Fine Food Fair is an annual trade show celebrating independent, artisan and craft food & drink suppliers from across the UK and internationally. Each year the show attracts quality buyers from key sectors in the speciality and fine food industry, including key decision-makers from the worlds of retail, catering and wholesale. They have the chance to meet with new-to-market businesses in The Discovery Zone, discuss the latest speciality food trends on the Food for Thought Stage and explore an unparalleled collection of unique suppliers across the show floor.

New for the 2021 event is a dedicated Sustainability Zone at the show, which will showcase the truly innovative businesses putting environmental concerns front and centre in the creation, packaging and distribution of their products.

The show will take place 6-7 September 2021 at Olympia London.