Scotland’s Speciality Food Show closed on Tuesday with visitors encouraged by the range and quality and products on show and the enthusiasm and entrepreneurship of the exhibitors.
Date:
Fri, 27 Jan 2012
Source:
Scotland's Speciality Food Show
With over 120 exhibitors, many of whom are new companies launching to the trade for the first time, there was plenty for fine food shops, delicatessens, garden centres, butchers and grocers to taste and order. The mood of the Show was upbeat with the independent food sector remaining buoyant and retailers keen to source new, quality goods to offer their customers.
Many new companies were small Scottish producers who were delighted by the response from retailers and many have already booked for next year. Campbell’s Fudge from Biggar said the Show exceeded all expectations while Stewart Tower Dairy from Perthshire, which produces delicious ice cream from their own herd of dairy cows, were pleased with the huge number of enquiries especially from the catering trade.
New exhibitor Linda Galli from Chocolati from Ayr said: “This is our first trade Show and we have been inundated with visitors. We have had many enquiries and are very pleased with the level of orders and interest.”
Margaret Carter from Patchwork Traditional Foods said: “This has been an excellent Show and has allowed us to think of new ways of offering our products, including offering corporate deals and given us feedback from customers which is vital in this industry.”
New exhibitor Chris Knox from Gran Stead’s Ginger which produces ginger drinks added: “The Show was tremendous for allowing us to showcase our products to the Scottish market and let us make contact with Scottish outlets which is vital in the growth of our business.”
Over 750 dedicated food buyers attended the Food Show over the three days – a rise of 12% on last year - which is run in conjunction with Scotland’s Trade Fair. This proved invaluable for many retailers who also sell non-food items and were able to source these as well all under the same roof. The Trade Show attracted over 4000 gift buyers.
Catriona Farquharson from Finzean Farm Shop and Tearoom in Aberdeenshire said: “There is such a wealth of new products here, many of which I’ve placed orders with and it has been an enjoyable and necessary Show to buy quality, exciting products. We continually need to offer our customers exciting products, especially from local suppliers and I have been pleased with the amount and quality of what’s on offer.”
Despite the challenging economic times the success of the 2012 Scotland’s Speciality Food Show demonstrated that fine food is a key element in Scottish retailing and will remain so for the future.
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