Caffè Culture Show 2014: Artisan food focus reflects changing marketplace
The two-day show, running on 14 and 15 May, will feature over 230 exhibitors ranging from larger, well-known brands to independent, artisan producers. This year, the show will take a new 'artisanal' focus, reflecting the growing consumer desire to know where their food has been sourced.
A number of free-to-attend seminars will provide business advice for over 5,000 trade visitors attending, with industry figureheads giving expert advice on choosing the right products via interactive food and drink demonstrations.
"Whether you are looking to take advantage of the ever-growing café boom by opening a new operation, are already a successful business looking for new ideas or looking to add a quality coffee offering to your pub, hotel or restaurant, this is the event for you," said a spokesperson for the event.
Artisan Bakery
Another particular focus of the 2014 Caffè Culture Show will be around baking. With the profile of baking in the UK rising considerably over the past few years and coffee enthusiasts becoming more demanding of the quality of baked goods, the Caffè Culture Show will feature seminar content led by Peter Sidwell of TV’s Britain’s Best Bakery.
Visitors can learn about the latest baking trends and how to boost their profits by adding freshly baked products to their businesses.
The show will also host dedicated street food seminars, led by Richard Johnson - creator of the British Street Food Awards - who will offer advice on how vendors can capitalise on one of the fastest growing sectors of the food industry. The seminars will be aimed at both current street food vendors and those looking to enter this lucrative sector.
In response to growing customer demand to know where their food has been sourced and trends for locally produced food and drink growing year on year, an area of the show, supported by The Artisan Food Trail, will be dedicated to a new artisan food market, bringing together a host of independent suppliers and producers, allowing visitors to source the very latest in locally sourced products.
Price war
As the artisan specialists and patisseries start to make more inroads in the sector, foodservice consultancy Horizons warns that the UK’s coffee shop market is ‘rapidly approaching saturation point’ and a ‘price war’ between the major operators may be just around the corner.
“There’s a limit to the number of new stores and new delivery concepts that can open as almost every high street in the country seems to boast a Costa, Starbuck or Caffè Nero,” said Horizons’ managing director Peter Backman.
“The coffee chains will be forced to re-examine and improve their food offer even further, and perhaps even their coffee offer. Alternatively, we could see something of a price war as the big three start to compete head-on by offering increasingly cheaper cups of coffee.”
Free visitor registration for the Caffé Culture Show will open towards the end of January. To find out more, visit www.caffecultureshow.com.
The Caffè Culture Show will take place at London’s Olympia on 14 and 15 May 2014.
