Event preview: lunch!

Leading brands, new product launches and industry legends will all be at ExCeL London this September for lunch! and the special 10^th anniversary edition of Casual Dining. lunch! – the definitive café, coffee shop and food-to-go event – and Casual Dining – the specialist restaurant, pub and bar event – will return on 18^th and 19t September with the very best food and drink innovations, technology, equipment, packaging and services for operators and buyers to explore across both days.

Thousands of decision-makers have already registered for the co-located shows, including buyers from Aramark, The Alchemist, Azzurri Group, Big Table Group, Boparan Restaurant Group, Burger King, Caffè Nero, Caravan, CH&CO, Chartwells, Compass Group, Costa Coffee, Côte, Dishoom, Elior, Franco Manca, Gail’s Bakery, Greene King, Greggs, Hall and Woodhouse, Hawksmoor, ISS, itsu, JD Wetherspoon, Leon, The Liberation Group, Loungers, Marks and Spencer, Marston’s, Mitchells and Butlers, Mowgli, Nando’s, Ocado, Pizza Pilgrims, PizzaExpress, Pret A Manger, Punch Pubs, The Restaurant Group, Revolution Bars Group, Rhubarb Hospitality Collection, Sainsburys, Shepherd Neame, Sodexo, SSP, Star Pubs and Bars, Starbucks, Stonegate Group, Tesco, Tortilla, Tossed, Waitrose, WH Pubs, Whitbread, plus many more.

What’s for lunch!? 
From functional snacks to healthy drinks, ethical coffee to best-selling sandwiches, lunch! is a must-attend for operators and retail buyers looking for the latest in contemporary food-to-go. The show will showcase new ranges from leading brands including Capri Sun UK, Fox's Burton's Companies, Lindt and Sprungli, Lipton Ice Tea, Twinings, Typhoo Tea, Yeo Valley and many more. 

The popular Innovation Challenge is back for 2024. It will showcase exciting new products that have launched in the last 12 months, many of which will be doing so live at the show. Buyers can visit the Innovation Challenge Gallery to see what’s new to the market, vote for the most innovative products and be part of the audience to hear the finalists’ pitches.

Buyers looking to meet the newest brands entering the market (with their exciting new products) should visit the Start-Up Zone, showcasing the latest ones that have been around for 18 months or less. Challenger brands confirmed in the Start-Up Zone include Desilicious, Dot Dot Bubble Tea, Gelarto UK, HealthBae, JBN Beverages/Theodore Global, More Toddler Meals, Neptune Spring Water, No More Lids, OlaLa!, Porij, Rithm Flow, Riviera Iced Tea, Tru Foods, Win Win Water and Yogoody.

Igniting inspiration
Industry leaders will take to the stage for lunch!’s highly anticipated free-to-attend seminar programme, which will include exclusive keynote interviews, exciting panel sessions and data-driven insights across three theatres (sponsored by Lipton Ice Tea). This will include a dedicated Coffee Shop Keynote Theatre.

lunch!’s big name speakers that are already confirmed include Julian Metcalfe OBE, founder, itsu; Emma Woods, chair, Tortilla;  Will Stratton-Morris, chief executive officer UK, Caffè Nero;  Cathy Goodwin, global head of food innovation, Costa Coffee; Sophie Chow, UK head of commercial, Pret A Manager; Jason Cotta, chief growth officer, itsu.

Stratton-Morris is certainly looking forward to the event, saying: “lunch! is the place to be if you’re in the industry.” Metcalfe adds: “It’s such a great show to see industry innovation.”

lunch! industry leader panels

• The operations leaders panel   

Featuring Emily Bagshaw, head of central operations, Tortilla; Shoaib Muhammed, director of operations, Wendy's; and Emily Hawkley, director of operations, Burgerism.

• The coffee shop leaders panel   
  Featuring Roland Horne, founder and chief executive officer, WatchHouse; David Ferguson, co-owner, Bob and Berts; and Will Kenney, commercial director, 200 Degrees Coffee.

•  Marketing for food-to-go panel
  Mariam French, marketing director, Leon; Malachy O'Keeffe, head of marketing, Wingstop; and Rob Burns, marketing director, Chopstix. 
• The operations leaders for coffee shops panel
  Edyta Stec, director of operations, Gail's; Russell Simpson, director of operations, The Coffee House; and Luke Shaughnessy, regional operations director, Costa Coffee.

•  The founders panel
  Featuring Dimeji Sadiq, founder and owner, Vegan Shack; Stephen Grocutt, founder, Cornish Bakery; and Dawn O'Sullivan, founder, Boost Juice Bars.

As well as these panels, you can join industry experts for eye-opening research, data and analysis for the café, coffee shop and food-to-go sectors. The industry insight sessions will include: 

• 2030 Vision - The Future Of Food-to-go
  Simon Stenning, founder, FutureFoodservice

• Making Delivery Profitable – The Move to First Party Delivery
  Peter Backman, founder and chief executive officer, Thedelivery.World  

• Paris, New York And Beyond: Food-to-go Concepts to Learn From Across Europe And North America:   
  Gavin Rothwell, director, Food Futures Insights 

• Coffee: A Global Inspiration Tour
  Shannon Goldsmith, senior insight analyst, IGD

• The Future of Formats
  Rhian Thomas, head of insight, IGD   

• Consumer Trends and Opportunities in the UK’s Retail Food-to-Go landscape 
  Seton Leung, head of UK foodservice, Circana 
• Customer Satisfaction – The Critical Factors That Keep Customers Coming Back
• Alex Bell, editor, Sandwich and Food To Go News.

​​What’s on the Casual Dining menu? 
Celebrating its 10^th anniversary, Casual Dining will feature the very best hand-picked quality suppliers and a world-class speaker programme for leading pub, bar and restaurant operators to explore. “We understand how important it is for restaurants, pubs and bars to provide fresh products and concepts for their evolving customer base, which is why we have the best innovations on display for 2024 and beyond,” says event manager Stephen Herring.

He continues: “Ranging from the latest plant-based alternatives to no-and-low drinks, the latest ordering systems to sustainable kitchen equipment, Casual Dining will feature everything operators need to successfully run their business. Also, we’ve been working hard to deliver the best speaker programme to date, so make sure to register for your free trade ticket.”

Exhibitors making their show debut include Bute Island Foods, Disaronno, Donna Italia, Little Moons, McWhinneys Sausages, Pecan Deluxe Candy, Served and Sweet Street Desserts. They’ll join returning big names including Adnams, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Lamb Weston, Leathams, Pizza Si, Unox, Uber Eats, Zonal and many others.

Alcoholic insight
For visitors looking to take their drinks menu from ordinary to extraordinary, a visit to the Artisan Spirits Lounge, The Taphouse and The Vineyard is essential. Featuring new spirits, low/no, wine and craft beer options, this dedicated wine, beer and spirit zone won’t disappoint.

Visitors can also look out for many more spirit, wine, beer, cider and drink suppliers located throughout the show floor, including Adnams Disaronno, Funkin, Moth, Pimentae Drinks, Poretti, ROKiT Drinks, White Claw and many more.

World-class speaker programme 
Casual Dining is renowned for its world-class keynote speaker programme and this year is no different. From keynote interviews to data-driven insights and panel sessions, the three theatres (sponsored by Uber Eats) will be packed with inspiring content across the two days. This year the show welcomes headline speakers Tim Martin, chairman of JD Wetherspoon; Laura Harper-Hinton, co-founder and chief executive officer of Caravan Restaurants; and James Elliot, co-founder of Pizza Pilgrims, among many other industry leaders.

“Casual Dining is a great show to share ideas and pick up very valuable tips,” says Martin. “It provides a fantastic showcase of the latest trends all under one roof,” adds Harper-Hinton.

Innovation Challenge 
The popular Innovation Challenge is back for 2024. Showcasing exciting new products that have launched in the last 12 months, buyers can visit the Innovation Challenge Gallery to see what’s new to the market, vote for the most innovative products and be part of the audience to hear the finalists’ pitches.

You can register for a free trade ticket to lunch! and Casual Dining at lunchshow.co.uk

Essential info
What? lunch! (and Casual Dining) 2024
Where? ExCeL London
When? 18^th and 19^th September
More info: lunchshow.co.uk

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