News

Diversified Business Communications UK Ltd

28 Sep 2011

Award-winning lunch! show returns to London’s Old Billingsgate tomorrow!

Visitors to the lunch! trade show will be spoilt for choice when it comes to sourcing a fantastic array of all the latest food-to-go products, packaging, equipment, services and technologies, when the sold out event opens its doors at 10am tomorrow at Old Billingsgate, London.

With visitor pre-registrations figures at an all-time high and a 40% increase in exhibitor numbers taking the show up to the venue’s mezzanine level for the first time, the award-winning, two day trade event is poised to connect more than 3,500 key buyers and decision-makers from the UK’s £11.3bn out of home food and drinks sector with 200 of the industry’s most innovative manufacturers and suppliers.

Aside from the wealth of new product launches being unveiled at lunch!, tomorrow’s visitors will also be amongst the first to see the results of the show’s first industry confidence survey. Conducted by the show’s organiser, Diversified Business Communications UK, respondents included nearly 100 individuals from a representative sample of retail businesses in the eating out of home sector. The survey’s respondents were asked questions on how they expected their business to perform over the next twelve months, how optimistic they felt about the outlook for their business compared to the previous year, and how they think future consumer spending habits on food-to-go will change. The full results, to those questions and more, will feature in the lunch! 2011 Show Guide.

Opening day highlights include the British Smoothie Championship 2011, sponsored by Magrini, at 12:45-2:45pm in the Demo Theatre. One of lunch!’s most exciting – and entertaining – show features, the championships sees nine smoothie baristas from all across the UK battling it out live for the crown of the nation’s best. Double Smoothie Champions Shaketastic, winners in both 2009 and 2010, will be back defending their title and trying to make it a hat trick.

“We have been working even harder and longer on this one and if you thought the other award winning smoothies were good, well just wait for this one. You do not want to miss it!” says Josh Kettle, director of Shaketastic.

Competition also remains at the fore of this year’s lunch! Innovation Challenge Live!, which celebrates truly innovative ideas in the food-to-go market. Benefiting from a slight change of format, whilst participating exhibitors will still vie to have their innovative ideas awarded ‘Gold’ or ‘Commended’, the 15 short-listed entrants will now have three minutes to pitch their products and ideas to a panel of industry judges and the audience of visiting buyers. Pitches start at 1:45pm tomorrow (Thursday 29 September) in the show’s Working lunch! Keynote Theatre, and the results will be announced at 4pm. All new products entered into the awards will be on display throughout the show in the Innovation Challenge Showcase on the upper Feature Level.

The shortlisted Innovation Challenge Live! finalists are as follows:

• Kokoa Collection Hot Chocolate – Kokoa Collection
• Flat Table Bases – FLAT
• Choccy Munchy Seeds - Munchy Seeds
• Butterware Innovative Software – Butterware
• CRC – Heat Recovery System – Dawson Foodservice Equipment
• Tascas – La Pizza Company
• Gourmet & Hot Wraps Using “More” Seasonings – Discovery Foods
• New Toasty Auto Grill - Toasty Products
• Wow-Box – wewow Ltd
• PortaTray™ – Tri-Star Packaging
• Wholesome Pots – The Food Doctor
• Toblerone Pastry – Delice de France
• Alfee’s Spicy Chicken Flatbread – Alfee’s
• Meringue Crumble – Pidy UK Limited
• Peppersmith Fresh Mints – Peppersmith

Those visitors unable to attend on Thursday will be sure to find plenty to keep them busy at the show on the Friday. Working lunch! Keynote highlights include a unique ‘Sandwich and Snack Surgery’ hosted by food guru Nellie Nichols (starting at 10:45am), former Coffee Republic CEO Steve Bartlett discussing his experience of being at the top of a major high street coffee company, as well as his theories behind the triumph and flaws of corporate franchise in ‘Anyone Can Can’t Do It’ (11:45am); and a Keynote by David Worthington, Chairman of design companies Holmes & Marchant, Lloyd Northover and Designersblock, and Chair of the UK Design Alliance, on the importance of creating a brand for the food market (2:15-3pm). Whilst the Demo Theatre will see the return of independent restaurant consultant Franklyn Boltman, founder of independent sandwich bar Thanks for Franks (starting at 11am), ‘Tips on successful commercial sandwich design’ from multi-Sandwich Designer of the Year winner Mark Arnold (12pm), and a fantastic ‘Learning from experience’ session featuring leading operators Ben Sibbald (Made by Ben) and Peter Dore-Smith (Kaffeine) (2pm).

For the full Demo Theatre and Working lunch! Keynote programme, please visit the show’s website, www.lunchshow.co.uk. lunch! is free to attend for pre-registered trade visitors. For further information and to register, please visit www.lunchshow.co.uk quoting priority code LUN11017. Please note, free advance registration closes today at midnight (28 September 2011)

Press passes are available to editorial staff writers employed by a trade publication, mainstream media outlet (newspaper, radio, TV, etc), or online magazines. Freelance writers, contributing editors, or bloggers may request press passes from ejones@divcom.co.uk if the event is being covered for a specific publication or topic-related article.