London Food & Drink Festival debuts as UK’s most innovative food trade show moment
Five leading trade shows united for the first time at Excel London, drawing senior buyers from Sainsbury’s, Tesco, wagamama, John Lewis, Costa, Greene King and more
The inaugural London Food & Drink Festival welcomed 10,958 visitors across two days at Excel London last week – a 26% increase compared to the same period last year – in what organisers are calling a landmark moment for the UK’s food and drink trade calendar.
For the first time, The National Restaurant, Pub & Bar Show, lunch! and Natural & Organic Food Show – three of the industry’s most established trade events – came together under one roof, joined by London Drinks Exchange and Artisan Food & Drink Show. Together, the five events created a single, unmissable two-day destination spanning the full breadth of the hospitality and retail sector.
The scale of the event was remarkable: more than 600 exhibitors showcased new food, drink, technology and equipment innovations, supported by a programme of over 200 speakers across eight stages – the biggest speaker line-up the festival’s constituent shows have ever run.
The event’s growing reputation as an unmissable date in the calendar was reflected in the calibre of buyers who attended, including senior representatives from Sainsbury’s, Greene King, Tesco, wagamama, John Lewis, Pret, Punch Pubs, Pizza Pilgrims, Costa, Five Guys, itsu, easyJet, Whole Foods Market and Planet Organic, among hundreds of other retail and hospitality operators – a major draw for exhibitors looking to put new products directly in front of the buyers who matter.
The show was matched by a festival atmosphere throughout both days, with stilt walkers, jugglers, roaming musicians and live DJ sets adding to the energy and helping the event live up to its new festival branding.
This was also the first year Natural & Organic Food Show and Artisan Food & Drink Show joined the festival, bringing a wave of healthy, ethical and sustainable products to the show floor and broadening its appeal to a new community of buyers and brands.
Celebrating innovation
Innovation was at the heart of the festival, with awards handed out across The National Restaurant, Pub & Bar Show, lunch! and Natural & Organic Food Show, recognising standout new products from drinks and staffing tech to better-for-you snacking.
Diisco’s Hospitality Staffing Platform were one of the Gold Winners at The National Restaurant, Pub & Bar Show Innovation Challenge, with judges calling it “a true one-stop solution for industry staffing challenges that eliminates admin and drives immediate operational efficiency.”
“Winning Gold in the Innovation Challenge was a huge moment for us. We’ve built Diisco around a problem we’ve experienced first-hand in hospitality, so having that recognised by an industry judging panel was incredibly rewarding. It gives us a real boost as we continue expanding Diisco across the UK and developing the technology further.” – Hasan Shahid, Co-Founder, Diisco.
UNROOTED also won Gold at the lunch! Innovation Challenge for its High Fibre Breakfast Smoothie, Pineapple, Mango & Baobab, with judges praising it as tropical, functional and not your average smoothie, thanks to its innovative pouch format.
“This year’s lunch! trade show was so exciting for UNROOTED. We used it as our platform to launch our brand-new high-fibre smoothies, and it was exactly the right audience and atmosphere to launch them in. We also loved being able to maximise all the extra opportunities at lunch!, from the Meet the Wholefoods Market Buyer pitch to being able to enter our NPD into the Innovation Challenge and take home Gold. It really is the best show for brands like ours to get in front of the right buyers at the right time.” – Olivia Sinclair, UNROOTED
At Natural & Organic Food Show’s Innovation Awards, Orkney’s Eviedale Bakehouse won Best New Vegan Food for its Beremeal Sourdough Crackers.
“We are delighted to champion our island’s food heritage, introduce buyers to Bere barley – one of the oldest cereal grains still grown in the UK – and show how traditional sourdough fermentation can create a premium product with outstanding flavour and natural appeal.”
Other winners on the day included Cocktails Machine UK, Diageo, MOJU, SOOP Mug Co. and Windmill Organics, among many more, underlining the breadth of innovation on show across the festival.
A bigger, better trade show
“Bringing five of the industry’s most trusted trade shows together under one roof for the first time was an exciting move and the results speak for themselves. Nearly 11,000 visitors, an unprecedented 26% jump on last year, over 600 exhibitors and some of the most exciting innovation we’ve seen in this sector in years – this is exactly the connected, high-energy event the food and drink industry has been asking for. We can’t wait to build on this for next year. Thank you to all our exhibitors, visitors, speakers and media and association partners”
– Chris Brazier, Group Event Director, London Food & Drink Festival
“It’s my favourite show of the year. I think it is one of the most important things within our industry. It isn’t just a great place to connect, a great place to make new relationships, to hear what is going on in the industry, what’s going on in the sector – it’s a community now, it’s a tribe that has been created and it’s massively important.”
– Shereen Ritchie, Group CEO, Kuvi Hospitality
“Definitely the event of the year – I always look forward to it. There are loads of amazing speakers, really inspirational leaders, great networking and the show just seems to get bigger and better every year.”
– Caroline Ottoy, Managing Director, Watchhouse
“A really great show that captures a lot of the great emerging brands we’re seeing in this country. We can spot trends as they’re starting to come through. It’s such a big event, people come from all over the country so it’s a really great opportunity to get together, network and meet a lot of people in the industry.”
– James Campbell, Director of Product & Innovation, Sainsbury’s
Save the date for 2027
Next year The London Food and Drink Festival will be held at Excel London 22-23 September. For more information please visit www.thelondonfoodanddrinkfestival.co.uk.
