Hundreds of innovative food and drink producers will be showcasing their latest healthy, natural and better-for-you products at Food Matters Live 2019.
The two-day event on 19-20 November at ExCeL London features live demonstrations, business and networking opportunities, and the UK's largest curated ingredient exhibition.
Buyers will have the unique opportunity to meet exciting global challenger brands and the best new start-ups in the UK, showcasing their products in a series of curated pavilions and attractions.
A new attraction at Food Matters Live 2019 is the UK Future Brands pavilion.
Supported by Mintel, The Grocery Accelerator, and Young Foodies, this pavilion will showcase cutting-edge food and drink innovators selected by an influential panel of buyers, who consider these companies as big brands of the future.
The panel of buyers comprises Tom Elliott, the origination and development manager of future brands at Sainsbury's; Paul Hargreaves, the chief executive of Cotswold Fayre; and Wan Mack, head of nutrition and dietetics at Sodexo UK and Ireland.
Meet The Innovators
Another new attraction in this year's event is the Plant-based Pavilion, which will bring together some of the most exciting vegan brands in the country.
Launched in response to the spectacular growth of veganism, the pavilion will see companies such as Red Red Super Stews introducing their range of African inspired vegan lunch pots, developed by Ghana Kitchen head chef Zoe Adjonyoh.
Plant-based and free-from companies also exhibiting at Food Matters Live 2019 include the award-winning One Planet Pizza, the UK's first frozen vegan pizza company, which offers handmade pizzas from Norfolk with added flax and chia seeds.
Another company looking to changing the future of convenience food is Fodilicious, which has created gluten-free, dairy-free nut-free delicious takeaway meals suitable for people in the UK with IBS.
Global flavour fusions are also on the menu at Food Matters Live 2019 as UK consumers increasingly look for international inspiration.
Buyers visiting the Country Pavilions will discover a showcase of the cuisines from dozens of countries, and will be introduced directly to international producers, manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers, and distributors.
Meanwhile, in the Nutraceutical Showcase buyers will find innovative functional products that support gut health, beauty from within, better ageing and more.
These include innovative gut health products such as Symprove, the water-based supplement designed to support the gut microbiome, and Bimuno's daily prebiotic fibre supplement which takes just seven days to increase levels of beneficial bifidobacterial in the lower intestine.
TrooFoods launched Troo Granola, the first gut-healthy cereal in plastic-free packs earlier this year and will be introducing Troo Spoonful of Fibre, pure inulin syrup to buyers at this year's exhibition.
Other innovative gut health drinks at the exhibition include Genie Living Drinks, which has created a range of unique live (pro-biotic) fruit sodas and award-winning fermented kombucha drinks.
Jitterbug Sparkling Apple Cider Vinegar Tonics, will bridge the gap between the categories of functional beverages and premium soft drinks, combining a healthy dose of apple cider vinegar with 100% natural fruit juices.
Convenience Redefined
Responding to market trends for convenient, healthy food, Food Matters Live 2019 brings together challenger brands, which have created some exciting, new 'on the go' products.
Innovators like Gregory's Tree have launched 'twisted' fruit snacks which are organic, gluten-free and vegan and the founders of Purely Plantain developed a range of tasty and higher quality crisps inspired by their travels in Ecuador.
The Nutrilicious team has created guilt-free snacks with their healthy and organic bars made from crunchy coated pumpkin seeds.
With growing consumer demand for natural, healthy and unprocessed foods and supplements, Food Matters Live 2019 showcases companies that have got a real buzz around their premium products.
Black Bee Honey was launched in September 2017 to introduce raw, unblended honey in the market.
This range of award-winning, single-origin British honey fills a gap between supermarket value brands and expensive Manuka varieties.
AlBeeNa works with beekeepers across the UK to produce a range of premium apitherapy products including bee bread, bee pollen, royal jelly, and balms.
Future Trends
Buyers and NPD professionals will not want to miss the new 'Future of Retail Trends' theatre at the event, which brings together industry insiders from some of the UK's largest supermarkets.
They will be taking to the stage to examine how retailers have adapted to new and developing consumer-led markets.
Among the speakers are Elen Ormson from Waitrose, Claire Richardson from M&S' Plant Kitchen, and Grace Coates from Asda who will explain how they responded to the challenges and dealt with the demands of the free-from and plant-based markets.
Meanwhile, James Read, founder of digital agency Giant Peach, will host two unmissable workshops on securing website conversions and how Instagram has shaped modern buying habits.
Food Matters Summit
Meanwhile, in ExCeL's prestigious platinum suite, the inaugural Food Matters Summit will run alongside Food Matters Live.
Described as the 'Davos of the food industry' it is the first London-based event with a truly international cast of speakers.
From a session celebrating the top 30 disruptors rethinking the way we source, produce, package and distribute food in the race to develop alternative proteins, the Food Matters Summit offers delegates unique learning and networking opportunities.
Henry Dimbleby, who is leading an independent review into the UK's food system, will be one of the keynote Summit speakers.
"No part of our economy matters more than food. It is vital for life, and pleasure. It shapes our sense of family, community, and nation," he said.
"We need to come together, through events like the Food Matters Summit, to explore new ideas and share our understanding of what is working well, at home or abroad, that we can learn from."
Other international speakers at 'Disrupting the Business of Food' and 'Meet the Game Changers' include Dr Sandhya Sriram, co-founder and CEO of Shiok Meats; Jamie Crummie, founder of Too Good to Go; Gil Horsky, director of Innovation SnackFutures; and Andrew Ive, founder and managing general partners, Big Idea Ventures.
Over two days, the ambitious and wide-ranging summit will focus on three central themes, which will shape the food industry in the future. These include:
- 'The Food Revolution' will examine how we can feed 10 billion people by 2050 and how the food industry can respond to philosophical as well as commercial needs.
- 'Feeding our future' looks at the consequences of an unprecedented level of food options, a shift in consumer demands towards healthy and sustainable foods, and a new generation of millennial buyers.
- 'Tomorrow's Innovation' investigates how customer tastes and trends have changed the food industry. It explores how innovations and technology can be utilised for both consumer and commercial benefit, the future of robotics, AI, nanotechnology, alternative proteins, nutraceuticals and more.
The international speaker line-up includes:
- Elsa Bernadotte, Founder, Karma (Sweden)
- Dr Neta Lavon, Vice President R&D, Aleph Farms (Israel)
- Dr Pasi Vainikka, CEO and Co-Founder, Solar Foods (Finland)
- Fabrice Bienfait, Partner, ETF Partners (UK)
- David Wagstaff, Executive Director, Europe, JUST (UK/US)
- Darren O'Sullivan, Director of Plant Protein Europe & Russia, Kerry Europe and Russia (Ireland)
- Professor Tim Lang, Professor of Food Policy, City University (UK)
- Gil Horsky, Director of Innovation SnackFutures, Mondelez International (Israel)
- Bruce Friedrich, co-founder, and executive director, The Good Food Institute (US)
- Hilary Leam, Group Director of Trading, Holland & Barrett International (UK)
- SummitConnect Service
For delegates, the Summit also offers unparalleled opportunities to connect with some of the world's most prominent advocates for inspirational food change and development.
The SummitConnect service will enable them to pre-book up to six one-to-one meetings with speakers and make unique and lasting business connections.
There will also be more informal networking opportunities, and delegates will also be able to join curated exhibition tours, leaders lunches and more.
For a full speaker line-up, more information about SummitConnect, and to book a delegate pass register at www.foodmatters.co.uk/summit.
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