3 minute read
Speciality & Fine Food Fair delivers a 25th anniversary event to remember
Speciality & Fine Food Fair, the UK's leading showcase of artisanal food & drink, returned to Olympia London from 10-11 September 2024 to celebrate its 25th anniversary with an extravaganza of inspiring producers and insightful conversations.
Farm shops, delis, independent retailers, specialty wholesalers, leading supermarket multiples, hospitality professionals and more descended on the Fair to discover the latest innovations and new products in artisan food & drink and to network with industry peers.
Multi-award-winning broadcaster, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, joined Emma Mosey, Chair of the Farm Retail Association, onstage for an in-depth discussion around the power of local food, and commented, "We want not just great food but food with a great story, we’re better nourished by food when we know its story. Everyone at Speciality & Fine Food Fair has come to tell the story of their food."
Fearnley-Whittingstall also joined the Farm Retail Association for an event unveiling the organisation's exciting new rebrand, marking the start of a significant period of growth and evolution for the brand.
Speciality & Fine Food Fair once again collaborated with IND!E to provide a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity for one food brand & one drinks brand to secure an online listing with Ocado. Four startup drinks producers & four startup food producers pitched their product live to a panel of senior buyers from Ocado to be in with a chance to earn the listing & take their business to the next level.
Tess Reed, Founder, All Dressed UP Dressings and winner of Food Pitch Live, said, "We had a great couple of days at Speciality & Fine Food Fair! The Start Up Village had such a buzzing atmosphere, and you feel really connected to other brands sharing the same journey. The quality of buyers was fantastic, ranging from brilliant farm shops and delis to bigger retailers.
"Having the opportunity to take part in Pitch Live was a great experience, and really good fun! I wasn't sure what to expect given it was our first time exhibiting - but it was a really well organised event, with great energy and we're looking forward to hopefully returning in the future!"
The Speciality & Fine Food Fair returns next year to London’s Olympia from 9-10 September 2025. This is our pick of the best exhibitors from this year’s Food & Drink Expo, listed here in alphabetical order: Bay Coffee Roasters, Cannasa, Chilli No. 5, Deerness Distillery, Fudge Kitchen, Ladamakes, LittlePod, Lotus Labels, Lunin Distillery, McNeill’s Fine Foods Ltd, Pink Salt Shed, RJF Farhi, Tea Tease & The Toffee Shop. Further details can be found on this page and the next five.
