We’re just back from our favourite trade show – the Farm Shop and Deli Show at Birmingham’s NEC. It’s the biggest event in our calendar and one which takes quite some planning and resource. This year it was a packed three days of meeting and greeting, presenting awards and speaking at events.
Retailer Awards
We are proud to be the champion and sponsor of the Retailer Awards. With our heritage in farm shops it’s particularly relevant for us and what an opportunity to be able to get behind all the fantastic independent businesses which span bakers, butchers, cheesemongers, delicatessens, farm shops, village shops, online businesses and food halls.
With involvement in the judging process our MD Matt Whelan was bowled over by the entrants and said “It is an honour to be involved in these important awards and to meet so many of the incredibly passionate and dedicated people behind the businesses that entered this year.”
The full list of winners is here but particular congratulations go to Lovingly Artisan Bakery in Kendal, Cumbria – who won the jackpot scooping the coveted title of Retailer of the Year (see pic) at Farm Shop & Deli Awards 2024, as well as the Baker of the Year and North England regional winner accolades. We were also delighted that stockist Macknade won Foodhall of the Year too.
As Matt says, “We have been impressed by the exceptionally
high quality of the entries and look forward to supporting our industry colleagues by continuing to champion the Farm Shop and Deli Retail Awards again next year, and beyond.”
Product Awards
This year the awards were judged ahead of the event, giving winners the chance to really shout about their award winning products at the show. We had THREE winners:
Gold – Summer Fruit Mix- Silver – Golden Apple Fritters
- Bronze – Double Chocolate Chip Cookie
All three products were on display in our freezers and our stand panel featured them as part of our awards hall of fame!
Panel discussions and presentations
We also got the chance to join in with some topical debate. Matt joined Julia Kirby-Smith, Paul Hargreaves and Leona McDonald for Sustainability: A force for good – why sustainability matters and how you can do your bit. The panel covered sustainable and regenerative farming, the importance of customer-friendly messaging to engage consumers and in-store solutions such as (Fieldfare’s) reduced packaging and plastic. An interesting discussion and agreement that sustainable solutions continue to be a journey for farmers, manufacturers and retailers.
Then on Wednesday Matt pitched the brand and proposition to four convenience industry specialists at the National Convenience Show’s Retailers Den. With a freezer as his prop he introduced the proposition to the convenience sector – demonstrating loose, frozen food not only offers delicious solutions but also addresses the changing shopping & eating habits of the UK shopper* who want
- Less plastic (1 in 3 actively look for this)
- Delicious tasting food (69% of shoppers place
- More than a third (38%) want the opportunity to buy what they want and not a pre-determined portion
- Choice – 49% alter their main meal and 1 in 6 people eat something entirely different from others whilst dining together
He was pitched lots of questions but it was clear that the retailers were impressed. Watch this space!
With our feet up now, we’re following up the the new leads and looking forward to what next next years event will bring!
*data source – YouGov/Fieldfare survey of 2,000 UK shoppers, February 2024.
