"The face to face element of all of The UK Food & Drink Shows is crucial for the sector. Retailers - they need to see the product, they need to touch it, taste it and sample it. That's when they know if it's right for their stores. Being able to do that and seeing so many excellent suppliers in one location is absolutely essential for the sector."

~ Aidan Fortune, Editor, Convenience Store

"The UK Food & Drink Shows is really important to us. Having so many retailers and suppliers all under one roof is just a great opportunity for us. We can spend two or three days together looking at what are the current trends, what are the new products, what is being innovated across the market, to get an opportunity to taste, sample and try and think about how they might work in our business for the future."

~ Katie Secretan, Managing Director, Co-op Wholesale

"Coming to a place like The UK Food & Drink Shows gives us the chance to understand the people who are selling the products to really get into the detailed questions that we need to have to be able to explore how we can work with them, how we can work together, how we can set up with these companies, and to make sure that everything’s seamless from the supply chain to meet shoppers needs."

~ Jennifer Hargrave, Account Director, Distinctive Retail

"It's the size and having everything in one place. You’ve got the convenience show, and then the food and drink element, then you've got the farm shops and you see all the different offers in one place, and there is a massive crossover in those different themes. So, it's good that everything's in one place and you can get round everyone and come away with a good feeling of I know what's going on the marketplace."

~ Colin Shaw, Head of Commercial, Select and Save

"The key decision-makers are here at The UK Food and Drink Shows, and you get to have a great chat with all the brands that retailers are really interested in. I'm really impressed at the amount of conversations I’ve had with people."

~ Ed Woodall, Chief Executive, ACS

"It's absolutely buzzing here at The UK Food & Drink Shows. It's fantastic. It's a great moment when the whole of the industry comes together and you get an opportunity to fast track. It's like speed dating. You get to see so many different producers - large, medium and small and it really helps cement the direction of travel for your business."

~ Deborah Robinson, Chief Executive, OurCoop