Harlech Foodservice celebrates 40th Expo anniversary in style #Blog

Taste Cheshire
27th February 2018

Harlech Foodservice once again exceeded expectations with their annual catering exhibition. The Foodservice expo was held at Venue Cymru over two days, Tuesday 20th and Wednesday 21st February.  

The exhibition, which this year celebrated its 40th year, was attended by 2000 industry professionals from across North Wales and the North West.

The event is an opportunity for chefs, restaurateurs, hoteliers, and others across the foodservice industry to meet suppliers face to face, to sample new products, discuss menu ideas, and be inspired by the thousands of products on offer across the Harlech Foodservice range.

The number of exhibitors has increased year on year and the 40th anniversary show saw a record number of suppliers exhibiting an extensive range of goods, with 170 stands across two floors.

Exhibitors included a wide range of national and international brands including a number of new suppliers such as Cornish cheesemakers Curds and Croust, sister brand to the ever popular Rodda’s, Holy Cow curries and Doves Farm, specialists in gluten free ingredients.

Also new to the Expo this year was the addition of kitchenware and crockery which included the Churchill Stonecast range. Churchill’s Paul Fielding was on hand to demonstrate the application of the classic duck egg glaze to the instantly recognisable Stonecast plates. Visitors were given the opportunity to glaze their own plate and receive the finished, fired product following the show.

There was an increase in the number of eco-friendly products available as Harlech aim to help minimise unrecyclable single use products within the catering industry and support environmentally friendly alternatives.

Two of Harlech’s in house brands, Bwydlyn and Welsh Maid, featured prominently at the show. Bwydlyn, who are about to open a brand new butchery facility at Harlech’s soon-to-be-opened Chester depot, had a constant queue of customers waiting to sample some of some of their tastiest burgers and sausages.

Welsh Maid ice cream, which was relaunched at last year’s Expo with a total rebrand, also proved popular. The rebrand was brilliantly successful and this year Welsh Maid introduced several new flavours including Unicorn, sure to be a hit with kids, and Tropical Sunset.

Harlech’s recently launched ‘Produce of Wales’ brochure, which allows customers to view all the great products on offer from Harlech’s many Welsh suppliers, was also a success at the show.

Gill Blease, Marketing Manager said: “It’s the first year that we’ve run the Welsh brochure and we received such positive feedback from both suppliers and customers with many commenting that it’s brilliant to see us supporting local suppliers in this way.”

As well as new suppliers, more stalls and a greater product range than in previous years the Expo 2018 included fabulous chef demos in the specially created upstairs area.

The demos, from the likes of Chateau Rhianfa’s Jason Hughes, and SOSA ingredients’ Sam Rain and Guillem Corral, are an opportunity to be inspired by new ingredients and new techniques and were also broadcast on a big screen in the main area downstairs.

As always the show included the usual goodie bags and a host of great incentives and significant discounts for Harlech’s trade customers. The event proved a great success for suppliers too with recorded sales are in excess of £350,000.

Andrew Foskett, Joint Managing Director, said: “Having spent the two days talking to customers and suppliers at the show, it was evident that this was our busiest ever.

“There was great feedback for everyone involved, especially on our 40th Expo anniversary.

“As ever, the show keeps on growing. This year we introduced our new kitchenware, crockery and hygiene category to complement our existing range and coupled with live chef demonstrations, it’s fast becoming THE show to attend if you’re in the catering industry.”

*Press release from Harlech Food Services