With the final preparations now well underway, tomorrow’s lunch! show looks set for a record turnout from across the retailing, hospitality, snacking and catering sectors, as thousands of key buyers and decision makers continue to add their names to the 2013 visitor pre-registration list; which is already nearly 10% ahead of the same time last year.
Returning to the Business Design Centre, London, lunch! – the UK’s only dedicated trade event for the food-to-go industry, will feature an unprecedented 290 exhibiting companies having recently sold out of all available exhibition space at its three-floor venue (including the newly expanded upper feature level).
Working lunch! Theatre
Now located in the show’s new upper feature area, this year’s show highlights in the Working lunch! Theatre include essential market updates from Horizons, Allegra and Leatherhead Food Research. Plus, there’s debut sessions from Manaaz Akhtar, head of marketing at Subway, discussing catering for the family audience; Elliot Cantrell, Adelie Food Group’s senior food technologist and current British Sandwich Designer of the Year; Mark McCulloch, former head of marketing at YO! Sushi and Pret a Manger; Mike Bond, catering mark manager at The Soil Association; and Andrew Sherick, former senior buyer with M&S Foods.
“It's essential to know your market place,” says Sherick,“that's why lunch! is so key. I think
it's the only trade show that's 100% focused on the impulse market.”
“lunch! is the premier place for food retailers to get an insight into all the food innovation that is happening across the country,” agrees Andrew Walker, the former MD of Pret, who will also be hosting an opening day headline Keynote.
Innovation Challenge Showcase
Another show feature that has already generated a wealth of visitor interest is the Innovation Challenge Showcase, which currently includes over 50 entries. With many launches timed specifically to coincide with the event, attending buyers can enjoy an exclusive preview of exciting new product developments.
This year’s judges for the Innovation Challenge Awards include Faith MacArthur, co-founder of EAT.; Maria Bracken, deputy editor of Lunch Business magazine; and Simon Stenning, foodservice strategy director at Allegra.
British Smoothie Championships
Taking place at noon on Thursday 26 September, the popular live finals of the annual British Smoothie Championships has built an exciting reputation for keeping the lunch! show audience firmly on the edge of their seats.
Open to all professional smoothie baristas in the UK, the championships feature nine shortlisted contestants, who put their considerable talents to the test as they move through heats to earn a place in the grand final. Audience participation is a key ingredient of the judging process, and the competition is widely-recognised as an inspirational catalyst for new ideas for never-before-tasted smoothie recipes.
The lunch! App
The event’s organiser Diversified Business Communications UK have recently launched a new lunch! show app for 2013, which has been designed to provide attendees with everything they need before, during and after their visit; including a map to the venue, exhibitor details, a floor plan and Working lunch!
Simply search for lunch! 2013 in the:
Apple App Store (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lunch!-2013/id699018860?ls=1&mt=8)
Google Play (https://play.google.com/store/apps/detailsid=com.adorecms.lunch_show_2013).
Alternatively, use the following link for Windows Phones and
Blackberry Torch (http://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/adorecms-webapps/divbuscomms-app-1197001/index.html#home).
The event is free to attend for pre-registered trade visitors and relevant press representatives only.
For further information and to register in advance for a free trade pass, please visit www.lunchshow.co.uk (www.eventdata.co.uk/Visitor/Lunch.aspx?AffiliateCode=LUNPR2)and use priority code LUNPR2 where prompted. Please note, a £20 door charge
may apply to visitors who do not register in advance online.
The full exhibitor list is available to view online at http://onlineexhibitormanual.com/divlunch13/exhi/exhibitorList.aspx
The full programme, including session details and timings, is available online at http://www.lunchshow.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Working-lunch-theatre.pdf.