In a survey commissioned by the Food & Drink Expo trade show - 56% - stated they would be investing in new product development over the next year, while 21% said they would be investing in developing their current range. Only 12% said they would be making no investment at all in product development.

Some suppliers indicated they would be reining in the purse strings when it came to advertising and marketing their products. Just 18% of respondents said they would be increasing spend in this area in the coming year, while 36% said they would be cutting back. The largest group, 44%, said they were freezing marketing and advertising budgets.

But asked how they spent their marketing budgets, respondents said they considered trade shows to be the most valuable investment, with 70% of suppliers rating exhibitions as either "very important" or "quite important".

Jack Halliday, group sales manager of Food & Drink Expo, said: "Our research demonstrates that although many suppliers have been affected by the recession, they remain committed to investing in product development. The survey also shows that manufacturers consider trade shows to be the single most important aspect of their marketing mix. Taken together, these two key findings suggest that Food & Drink Expo 2010 is likely to be used by many companies as a major showcase for their innovations."

Food & Drink Expo next takes place at Birmingham's NEC from 21 24 March 2010 - www.foodanddrinkexpo.co.uk.

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