Returning from Speciality & Fine Food Fair

Speciality Bites with

Paul Hargreaves

Chief executive of Cotswold Fayre

• Becoming a B Corp
• Top trend predictions for Christmas 2021
• Self-sacrifice: The importance of building a leadership legacy centred on others
• Undercover Boss
• Can/should bosses really be close friends with their staff?

As always when returning from Speciality & Fine Food Fair it is good to reflect. This show, being the largest in the sector, is always a good barometer of the industry as a whole, so what have we learned this year?

Firstly, the general consensus, even from those upstairs in the hall, was that the show was busier than it had been for a few years.  Certainly in our pavilion, despite having 10 members of the team present most of the time, there weren’t enough of us.  There was an “up-beat” atmosphere which was good to see and hear.

Secondly, and perhaps more concerning, I had a number of people say to me during the show they were disappointed by the lack of innovation at the show.  Due to various commitments throughout the 3 days I didn’t spend as much time as I wanted walking the show, but in the time I did I am inclined to agree.  One way of focussing the mind is to pretend you have a pot of cash to invest and ask yourself, “Which companies would you invest in”? There are several “me too” companies e.g. chocolates in different packaging than previously, yet more coconut drinks, more healthy bars….  How much true innovation was there?  Kits of all kinds are clearly “in” at present – how long will this last?

Thirdly, what are the main trends at present is another question to ask at events like this.  Is birch water or maple water the new coconut water?  How much seaweed will we really eat over the next few years?  Undoubtedly there is a tend towards healthy snacking which will be here to stay.  This presents an interesting marketing challenge for the Great Taste Awards, who declared a beef dripping to be the Supreme Champion this year out of a total number of 10,000 entries.  Consumers need to understand these awards in order for them to generate the income for producers they are meant to do so it will be interesting to see if beef dripping flies.

Finally, what were your experiences of the stand-holders that you interacted with at the show?  I love the passion of some producers, but I hate the wasted opportunities that I see from poor note-taking at the show and those who don’t follow up their leads properly, something my team will never be guilty of.  As I say, when asked frequently, “How was the show for you?”, “Ask me in 6 months’ time”.  It is only then when new customers have placed several orders that you can judge whether these shows are a success or fail.