Natasha Wilmans is UK operations director at all-day Danish bakery chain Ole & Steen. She’ll be appearing in lunch!’s ‘Operations Director panel’, alongside LEON’s Shereen Ritchie, Tortilla’s Matt Chapman, and Chilango’s Richard Franks (2.45pm, Thursday 19 September).
Meet Richard Franks, operations director for Mexican restaurant chain Chilango. An experienced operator, with a strong people-focus, he boasts nearly two decades of service in food retail. He’ll be appearing in lunch!’s opening day ‘Operations Director panel’, and is looking forward to sharing strategies for “strengthening operations” and highlighting just how “crucial operations is to ongoing business growth and innovation”.
“Interesting, informative and delicious!” — that’s how Will Stratton-Morris, CEO of Caffè Nero UK, describes lunch! show. Arrive early on opening day to see him in a rare Keynote interview, talking to Mark Stretton about his incredible career and what’s next for the much-loved coffee shop brand. Topics will include customer service and customer loyalty, Brexit, and his predictions for the market (10.30am, 19 September).
Anya Marco is one of the UK’s leading authorities on coffee shop trends. In her lunch! Keynote, she’ll be dispelling some of the myths around social media and sharing five simple tips on how coffee shop businesses can use it to engage with their customers.
Tortilla’s Martyn Clover is looking forward sharing some kitchen secrets, and talking about his ‘passion’ for food innovation, in lunch!’s must-attend Head of Food Panel on opening day.
Marta Pogroszewska, MD of GAIL’s Bakery, is a big fan of lunch!, calling it ‘the best event in the industry’. She’ll be taking part in an exclusive interview at the show (1.15pm, Friday 20 September), chatting with lunch!’s Chris Brazier about the company’s success so far, its plans for the future, and the potential challenges and opportunities ahead.
Our next Q&A features Fiona Speakman, client director within CGA’s food & retail team. She’ll be exploring some of the key movements in the food-to-go sector, including the role of delivery and the rise of coffee shops.
Our next lunch! Q&A features Maurice Abboudi, executive director at Japanese restaurant and takeaway chain K10 (and investor on the BBC’s My Million Pound Menu). In an exclusive opening day panel session, with Jonathan Jowett (Greggs), Peter Mayley (La Baguetterie) and Jim Winship (British Sandwich & Food to Go Association), he’ll be giving his take on some of the biggest issues challenging the industry (from allergy labelling and listeria, to training, staffing Brexit and more).
Meet Fátima Diez, former international brand and communications manager at Five Guys and one of The Drum’s Future 50 Marketers. Now working as brand manager at Picnic: the sociable media company, she’ll be sharing her expertise in this year’s lunch! X Supersonic Food Marketing Podcast.
Next up in our speaker Q&A series is Peter Mayley, business manager at independent sandwich bar La Baguetterie, in Reading. He’ll be appearing alongside Maurice Abboudi (K10 Restaurants), Jonathan Jowett (Greggs) and Jim Winship from the British Sandwich & Food to Go Association discussing some of the biggest issues and ‘challenges of today’s marketplace’.
Meet Matt Cundrick, head of convenience format & FTG at leading neighbourhood retailer McColl’s, which operates around 1,500 convenience stores across England, Wales and Scotland. A lunch! show regular (he calls it ‘vital’ for sourcing tomorrow’s bestsellers), he’ll be making his speaker debut on opening day sharing top tips for making the most of your POS data and customer insights to drive future growth.
Hannah Squirrell is customer director at Greggs. With 2,000 shops around the UK, and many more in the pipeline, Greggs is a major (and much admired) player in the food-to-go market – winning plaudits for its food quality, convenient locations, customer engagement, and value for money. In her exclusive lunch! Keynote, Hannah will be discussing the ‘recent brand journey’, and how the bakery giant has stayed true to itself while broadening its appeal to attract new customers (10.45am, Friday 20 September).