Sitting here and reflecting on the past, 13 and 14 September 2017 at Peterborough Arena was the first-ever UK Produce Industry Fair, with my good friend Phil Scarlett and I having partnered up in July 2016 to agree the show concept. Phil was to use his background and experience to concentrate on sales and marketing, myself to complement Phil with my produce operational and sales experience. A great partnership, a great concept.
It hadn’t been an easy run up to the show. Phil was diagnosed with cancer in September 2016 and throughout that year I watched Phil battle his disease and try to help me whenever he could. One thing I will never forget, an everlasting moment was seeing the look of pride and joy on Phil’s face when the show opened on its very first day, with so many familiar faces looking on. Sadly Phil was to pass away less than one week after the show.
Looking forward from this difficult chapter, the aims, ambitions and important factors of the show still remain the same, from Brexit, minimum wage increases and reducing packaging waste to continued commercial challenges throughout the produce industry in the UK. The initial drive was to bring like-minded people and companies together under one roof to share their experiences, products and services to better the industry.
Our aim was to create a one-stop shop which companies can easily visit at minimal cost, to send their key people to, either in a morning or an afternoon, with low-cost, maximum return just as we are all challenged to deliver every day.
Admittedly our first show had its challenges, there's no doubt about that at all. We had great support from the industry, which was evident by the quality and range of companies who exhibited. Being honest where we really struggled was with visitors - we did not get the word out soon enough to get people to visit the show.
This year however will be different. We have agreed a programme of advertising with the trade press, our mailer database is three times larger than the previous year and we have also kicked off our social media campaign, something which we did not have at all last year. Finally we have a new website, www.ukproduceindustryfair.com, which will inform exhibitors and visitors with all they need to know about the show.
We are working very closely with organisations and exhibitors who supported us last year and are again in our second year, to ensure through their network of contacts that we are continually raising the profile of the show.
There is a lot of work still to be done between now and September. We are shouting as loud as we possibly can and will continue to promote the event right up to the opening of the doors on Wednesday 12 September. We look forward to meeting visitors, both new and old, who are focused on enhancing the UK produce industry now and into the future.
If you are interested in exhibiting or hearing more about the show or how to get directly involved, the UK Produce Industry Fair team is waiting to hear from you.
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