Caffè Culture (16 & 17 May, Olympia, London) was a huge success, with a record attendance of 4,662* visitors and over 230 exhibitors in attendance over the two days – one of the highest numbers of exhibitors since the event launched in 2006 and a 5% increase in visitors numbers year-on-year.
Commenting on this year’s show, Event Director Elliot Gard said: “Caffè Culture is now operating in an extremely busy market place with a whole host of coffee based events having popped up within the last few years. We are however delighted that the industry’s original and best trade event continues to deliver exactly what it set out to do – the most comprehensive resource for UK café and coffee bar businesses.
“We have had phenomenal feedback from both exhibitors and visitors who recognise that Caffè Culture offers a unique opportunity to gain vital support, business information and access to a fantastic range of international suppliers. We had developed a number of different initiatives this year to provide the core audience of café bar owners and managers with the business support needed to ensure they continue to survive and thrive despite tough trading conditions on the high street. From the fantastic feedback we have had we are delighted to know that Caffè Culture continues to play a pivotal role in the industry’s calendar, providing a much-needed opportunity for the whole community to come together to network, share ideas and do business.”
Visitors who came to this year’s event met with suppliers of thousands of products and services specifically designed for the café bar market, as well as enjoying free access to a first-class programme of seminars with the Caffè Business Theatre and, new for 2012, the Caffè Culture Taste Experience – offering advice and support on everything from ensuring that visitors were up to date on the latest in barista skills and techniques through to how to go about choosing the right teas, coffees and chocolates for their businesses.
The event also teamed up with the Coffee Boys to create a one-day Marketing Masterclass where Johnny Richardson and Hugh Gilmartin explained 50 separate step-by-step techniques that can be used to increase sales. Feedback from the one-day session was extremely positive with attendee Barry Hampson, owner of Nuvo on Cannon Street, commenting: “I was impressed by their passion, knowledge, ingenuity and, above all, a cast iron certainty (backed up with empirical evidence) that their techniques really do work. I am really pleased I made the time to attend.”
Exhibitors also had a rewarding event. Commenting on his company’s attendance, Andrew Tucker, MD of Sanremo UK said: “We have had an excellent reception to our range of coffee machines at this year’s Caffè Culture. We were very impressed with the quality of the visitors including serious buyers who wanted to see the machines first hand for themselves, and are now keen to get them into action.” First time exhibitor, Mark Taylor of Filbert’s Fine Food Ltd from Dorset, added: “We had a spectacularly busy show. Visitors were of an superb quality – it was a very focused event and very well attended by key decision makers.’
Carrs Foods featured their new St Pierre Brioche to Go range of individually wrapped, traditional French bakery products which are all individually wrapped for freshness and convenience. From Choc Chip, Apple & Raisin, to Crème Pâtissière or Plain sweet brioche, these tasty treats suit a wide range of service operations, from eat in, take-away, vending or kiosk style.
Margaret Johnson, National Account Manager at Wenlock Spring, commented: “Caffè Culture 2012 has been a fantastic show for Wenlock Spring. The quality of visitors has been excellent with local and national distributors and operators from across the coffee sector. A really good show for Wenlock Spring!”
Elliot Gard concludes: “The show has once again been a delivered for exhibitors and visitors, with thousands of new business relationships forged. We have already seen 40% of exhibitors rebook their stands for 2013 and are very much looking forward to further developing the event and continuing to grow CaffeCulture.com, ensuring Caffè Culture’s continued relevance and success.”
Organised by Upper Street Events, Caffè Culture 2013 will take place at Olympia, London on 15 & 16 May. For more information visit www.caffeculture.com
*This figure is visitors only and excludes all exhibitors and is the highest attendance excluding 2010 when the event was co-located with the World Barista Championships.
