This year’s visit to the International Food Exhibition 2013, at the end of March at the ExCel Centre in London proved as valuable as always. What a wealth of food & beverage opportunity on display. Not just the great range of products the industry provides but the very global nature of food. After two days of worn show leather and aching feet I reckoned I’d spoken to nearly 250 vendors on a variety of products, some of which have turned into really useful commercial prospects where I was able to provide the relevant expertise.
I noted a few themes for this year:-
Popcorn – what a great variety of flavours and may be the first time, a note on the healthy potential for the non-salted versions. Also a healthy snack in truth if only more might be made of the fibre story here !
Coconut water – compared to two years ago, there was a 100% increase it seemed in vendors of what is a simple but highly nutritious drink. I’m always intrigued by the processing needed to minimise flavour damage, especially to the fatty acids that contribute to the flavour. I was also keen to find out if there was a range of flavours that might work well. I have my thoughts on this.
Where was Stevia this year ? – I didn’t really see a great deal of marketed products making full use of the benefits, which suggested the story has not really filtered through to manufacturers. Technical issues surrounding aftertaste and flavour, and the purity of samples from suppliers clearly needed to be resolved. I was able to provide some pointers to vendors on application, especially in the taste-masking and testing arena.
Rapeseed Oil – a much greater range of producers are now offering this oil as an alternative, and there is a strong regional element to the supply chain.
Local UK producers – it is great to see the wealth of produce that the UK generates and from all parts of the isles. I think the message is getting out there, based on comments I’d heard from a number of international vendors and buyers. I kept hearing “I must visit this..did you try their sauces on that” “Love the flavour of this chocolate… “ from a guy out of Arizona for example. Some notable offerings were from ‘The Spanish Chocolate Company Ltd.’ (www.SpanishChocolate.com) which as the name suggests were offering samples of cocoa powder for preparation of a hot beverage. I got home, tried it, but not as the drink but as an excellent ingredient for chocolate icing. The drink incidentally yielded an extremely smooth, slightly cinnamon spicy hot beverage which filled a mug and was extremely welcome on a surprisingly wintry Spring evening. Wouldn’t mind more !
The Wise Owl Snack Company were offering some very healthy multigrain and fibre snacks as an alternative to potato crisps with a unique claim that the product was baked rather than fried. They made a welcome treat as I pounded the halls, (www.thewiseowlsnackcompany.co.uk), and having tried two, smoked bacon and the salt & vinegar flavours, I was looking for more.
After two days of intense chatting and networking, I think this particular show is a great success as it was in 2011. That demonstrates consistency and I recommend it to anyone else looking to understand how the food business operates, from supply chain to marketing. What I’m looking forward to in the rest of the year, are when the food festivals really begin in earnest.
I keep going to this show very time it comes up. Really looking forward to the next one in March in 2017 having been to the 2015 one as well. I just hope the Tube is better – had a nightmare journey getting there. Reading some of your other articles, I guess you do snacks and crisps even though its not the main concern. I’m looking to develop a couple of ideas in this area and wondered if you knew anybody (including yourself) who could help. Popcorn is a really interest at the moment.