East Midlands food and drink firms prepare for flagship event

Organisers are planning one of the East Midlands’ key food and drink sector trade events of the calendar.

Business support organisation The Food and Drink Forum will stage its annual general meeting and members’ supper at Kelham Hall near Newark on Tuesday 25th June 2013.

The event attracts members and associates from across Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Rutland, and is the ideal place for those in the sector to network, renew acquaintances and make new contacts.

The Food and Drink Forum, which was founded in 1998, is working with DNCC to raise awareness about the event, and DNCC plans to invite more than 200 of its members who are buyers within the food and drink industry.

This year’s supper is being sponsored and supported by Campden BRI, the UK's largest independent membership-based organisation carrying out research and development and providing technical support for the food and drinks industry worldwide, Clegg Food Projects, a market leader in providing practical design, engineering and construction solutions for major food and drink operations, and the Food and Drink iNet, which is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and run by a consortium led by the Food and Drink Forum.

“This is our flagship event of the year, and is highly anticipated by members and associates who work in the food and drink sector in the East Midlands,” said Food and Drink Forum managing director Fiona Anderson.

“We are delighted that this year we are working with DNCC to promote the event, and as a result we expect to see many new faces joining us.”

This year’s speakers include James Pogson, director of Chesterfield-based Northern Tea Merchants, Kamal Dhutia, director at Leicester-based condiments portion control supplier B I (Europe) Limited, and Phil Ellis, from Attimo – an online sales and distribution project.

Members of The Food and Drink Forum are eligible for free tickets to the event, with the number dependent on their membership level. Additional tickets cost £75 plus vat, with membership discount also available.

Sponsorship and exhibiting opportunities are also available, offering an ideal showcase for any company that works within the food and drink sector. These include the chance for producers to run sampling sessions and for consultants to promote their services.

A networking, buffet supper rounds off the event – featuring some of the region’s finest food and drink products.

Campden BRI business development manager Daphne Llewellyn Davies said: “Campden BRI is delighted to have been given the opportunity to support local food and drink manufacturing in this region. As an organisation, we have taken part in the event for several years and we look forward to an exciting future of continuing to take a key role in the sector in the East Midlands.”

John Moxon, business development director at Clegg Food Projects, said: “This is an event I always look forward to attending. It provides a great opportunity to meet interesting people directly involved at the sharp end of food and drink manufacture and sale.“

The Food and Drink Forum, which operates across the East Midlands and beyond, is based at Southglade Food Park, Nottingham. It is a not-for-profit, membership-led organisation which aims to stimulate and support the sustainable growth and development of the food and drink industry in the region.

It provides a range of support for firms working in the sector in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Rutland, including technical services, accreditation, compliance, packaging and shelf-life advice, and marketing.

The Forum is also the lead partner in the Food and Drink iNet, a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) which encourages innovation in the region’s food and drink industry.

For information about joining The Food and Drink Forum, tickets to the AGM and members’ supper or exhibiting and sponsorship opportunities, please call 0115 9758810.

Issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk