Thousands of key buyers in the global food and drink industry attended IFE, International Food & Drink Event at ExCeL London from 21 - 23 March 2022.
The 22nd edition of the event took place alongside Hotel, Restaurant & Catering (HRC), IFE Manufacturing, The London Produce Show, and The Pub Show.
Visitors from major retailers, wholesalers, distributors, caterers and hospitality businesses including Bidfood, Compass Group, Fortnum & Mason, HelloFresh, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, and many more used the show to gain vital industry insights and discover new products to meet customer demand for 2022 and beyond.
The shows also welcomed several famous faces in the world of food and drink, with celebrity chefs Michel Roux Jr, Tom Kerridge and Gennaro Contaldo all making an appearance.
Finlay Warren, Pan EU Category Manager at Amazon, commented, "IFE demonstrated the forward-thinking and constantly innovating global catering and hospitality sector, showcasing key developments within the sector from sustainability to new product developments."
Emma Piercy, head of climate change and energy policy at the Food & Drink Federation, stated, “My first thought arriving at IFE was the scale! Having been in lockdown for two years, to finally meet people in the industry and see all the amazing businesses, from the smaller suppliers to the larger pavilions from all around the world, has been great.”
The Future Of Food
The Future Food Stage at IFE hosted a wide range of panel discussions and presentations, tackling some of the most urgent challenges and opportunities in the sector.
One standing-room-only session took a close look at the industry’s road to net-zero, with an all-star panel including Dr Stephen Mackenzie, greenhouse gases specialist (Food) at WRAP, and Dr Emma Keller, head of sustainability at Nestlé.
Another key resource was the Certification Clinic, where organisations such as BSI, The Soil Association, The Vegan Society, RSPCA Assured, SALSA, Fairtrade and more were on hand to provide advice to visitors on a wide variety of industry certifications.
Streamlined Product Sourcing
With nine distinct show sections, covering everything from frozen food to drinks to speciality food, IFE made it easy for buyers to easily source products in specific categories.
New for 2022 was the Vegan & Plant-Based section, in partnership with The Vegan Society, which proved a huge hit with visitors, exhibitors and partners alike.
Philippa Christer, IFE event director, said, "This is an industry built on strong partnerships and delicious products and there’s no more effective and efficient way to do business than at events like IFE. We can’t wait to return even bigger and better in 2023!”
International Food & Drink Event (IFE) will return to ExCeL London on 20-22 March 2023. Find out more at ife.co.uk.
This year’s seminar programme will soon be available, on demand, on the IFE Connects platform.
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