Food and Drink Expo 2024 – The Tastes of Greece and the Prospects of the UK Market

Three days of bustling aisles, vibrant scenes, and vigorous activity at the Greek pavilions highlighted this year’s Food and Drink Expo as the busiest event in years! A multitude of visitors and significant names from the retail and wholesale sectors rushed to support the event, breaking all previous records.

During the three days of the exhibition, from April 29th to May 1st, more than 25,000 visitors attended the NEC stadium in Birmingham, consisting of professional buyers from across the market spectrum.

Additionally, the Greek Pavilion was visited by the Greek Ambassador of London, Mr. Ioannis Tsaousis, accompanied by the General Consul of Economic and Commercial Affairs, Mrs. Paraskevi Kampouroglou. The Ambassador was briefed by the exhibitors regarding their products and discussed with them the prospects of entering the UK market.

THE FOOD & DRINK EXPO 2024 | NEC | BIRMINGHAM

The Food and Drink Expo is historically the UK’s leading exhibition for the Food and Beverage market. Every year, over 65% of the exhibition’s visitors are top executives, while it is worth noting that 93% of the overall visitors are decision-makers and trendsetters in the market.

The event is organized by the market giant William Reed, and in order to facilitate its business purpose, which is networking and creating new, targeted contacts that will lead to profitable partnerships, the Food and Drink Expo includes the following “sub-exhibitions”:

FARM SHOP & DELI SHOW: The Farm Shop & Deli Show is the UK’s leading exhibition for artisanal, local, specialized, packaged foods and beverages, as well as gifts, technology, and equipment. Greek participants, based on the products they had to showcase, participated in this section of the exhibition. Their participation in the Farm Shop & Deli Show gave the opportunity to Greek exhibitors to present their products to buyers and key stakeholders influencing consumer trends across the industry.

THE RESTAURANT SHOW: This section of the exhibition is aimed at HORECA buyers. Accessible from any point of the exhibition space, it attracts significant buyers and decision-makers and serves as an important networking venue for the industry.

NATIONAL CONVENIENCE SHOW: The National Convenience Show is the largest event for the convenience store sector, providing a single meeting platform for the industry with suppliers, wholesalers, and retailers. About 6,000 visitors attend the National Convenience Show from all over the UK and from all types of stores, from independent producers to producer groups, franchises, and individual stores.

THE FORECOURT SHOW: Forecourt stores are one of the largest target markets for businesses producing snacks, beverages, and ready-made food. It is one of the main points of interest at the exhibition every year.

DRAGONS’ PANTRY

For the second year in a row, the Dragons’ Pantry took place within the framework of the exhibition, the ultimate test for the assessment of selected products by top retailers. Entrepreneurs with innovative products were selected to present their product and their businesses in a smart way to the experienced “dragons” of this year’s Food & Drink Expo.

Among the lucky selected businesses was MEZAP from the Region of Central Macedonia, a company that has gained significant recognition in the Greek market over the years. The “dragons,” after evaluating MEZAP’s product and its prospects for entering the UK market, provided useful feedback for both the product itself and valuable tips on how MEZAP could meet the specific requirements of the market.

LUNCH BITES EVENT

During the three-day exhibition, visitors had the opportunity to further familiarize themselves with the products participating in the collective stand of the Attica Region through small meals. Aiming at maximizing the promotion of Greek exhibitors and attracting the largest possible number of visitors, a Greek chef prepared ‘lunch bites’ with the exhibitors’ products, inspired by British culture.

For the promotion and support of businesses in the British market, RECO Exports organized a lunch bites event on Tuesday, April 30. Among the guests were important buyers from the HORECA sector, as well as distributors and buyers from the retail sector. During the event, which attracted a large crowd, ‘bite-sized’ meals were presented to the audience.

EDUCATION & SUPPORT FROM RECO EXPORTS SPECIALISTS

For the most effective participation of Greek businesses in the national stand, RECO EXPORTS provided personalized support both before and during the exhibition.

Prior to the exhibition, RECO Exports organized a comprehensive presentation for the United Kingdom market, presenting the development opportunities offered by such a large global market, the current position of Greek products in it, as well as the prospects for promoting Greek products and the challenges that need to overcome.

During the exhibition, RECO Exports was there to meet every need of the businesses, equipping them with the appropriate tools and knowledge to meet the display conditions required by an exhibition of this caliber. At the same time, it facilitated the entire process by bringing Greek businesses into direct contact with major market players such as Skoulikas Bedford, Cotswold Fayre, Infinity Foods, and others.

As part of the organized participation of Greek businesses, RECO Exports organized visits to major retailers’ stores in the United Kingdom, bringing Greek businesses into contact with the target market. As part of this specific action, visits were made to Marks & Spencer Food Hall, Selfridges Food Hall, Holland & Barrett, and Tesco Express.

CONCLUSIONS

The Food & Drink Expo is a reference point for the Food and Beverage sector. Through the exhibition, Greek businesses had the opportunity to discover the latest trends and innovations in this constantly evolving and diverse sector.

In particular, the United Kingdom market is the second largest market globally. A plethora of businesses compete to secure a gradual entry into this lucrative market. Commercially, the UK market affects America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong & China, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and the United Arab Emirates. In fact, in just the second half of 2023, the value of imports of Food and Beverages soared to £74 billion.

GREECE’S POSITION

Although Greek products stand out in taste and quality, Greek representation in the United Kingdom is still at low levels.

For example, Greece’s exports to the United Kingdom in 2020 barely reached £3 million, in contrast to its competitor Spain, where exports exceeded £1.5 billion.

Greece can produce a large volume of quality products, which meets the demand of the UK market. However, the lack of a strong brand name for PDO/PGI products, the lack of a unified promotion strategy for Greek products, the lack of necessary certifications, poorly designed actions by businesses, and limited state funding are invitations that limit dynamic entry into the UK market.

On the other hand, Greece’s excellent climate combined with the innovative production units now in Greece, have created excellent prospects for the penetration of Greek products into competitive markets, which means that with strategic steps and a steady and continuous presence in the United Kingdom, Greek products can conquer the position they deserve, both in that market and in the 40+ markets influenced by the United Kingdom.