I love speed-dating

Speciality Bites with

Paul Hargreaves

Chief executive of Cotswold Fayre

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I am just back from Ireland and still recovering from the splendid Irish hospitality in Dublin. Just as two years ago the Marketplace event in Dublin this week has to go down as one of the best events in the annual food and drink calendar.

Around 400 buyers from many countries and 250 + Irish producers makes for a massive number of speed-dating style meetings in one day. As I said two years ago after the last event, this style of event in my opinion is far more useful than a trade show, and better for business on both sides. This is due to the meetings from the buyer’s perspective being more targeted and from the seller’s perspective they are better able to prepare because they know who is coming to see them. We will do a lot of business out of the meetings we had this week, whereas I am questioning how useful trade shows are any more. Sure we will still attend them, but there are so many these days they are beginning dilute each other, and certainly in the last couple of years, potential customers have seemed more reluctant to travel longer distances to attend. Of course part of that issue is travel costs and accommodation, but that is helped enormously by organisations like Bord Bia who cover the costs of all that ensuring good attendance!

Why do they do this? Because it is essential that Ireland exports itself out of a huge financial hole. 85% of Irish food and drink production is exported and this year their total food and drink exports should reach 9 billion euros, so spending a Million or so on a buyer’s event is relatively small fry! They do know how to put on a good show. The evening in the Jameson whiskey distillery with great food, music and dancing was fabulous, although possibly the police escort that took us to the conference centre possibly a little over the top - the citizens of Dublin must have thought the Queen was in town again!

As you can probably tell I am feeling very up-beat at present. The start of 2012 has been very positive, our new product launches also - and we are just about to increase our sales team by another 50%. It all looks good for 2012, despite the normal bad debts that always seem to happen at this time of year. There is just one word of warning in this month’s Fine Food Digest in the article, “How supermarkets are taking on the speciality sector”. Yes they are taking us on, and have been for a while. I am more determined than ever that they won’t win!