The first Food Matters Live ‘event’ happened over three days last week at the Excel exhibition centre in London’s Docklands – and an ‘event’ it certainly was!
Anyone and everyone in the food/food-health/food-policy world was there – as a speaker or a participant in one of the conference discussion panels or seminars. There were over 300 speakers taking part in three days of discussions and eight seminar ‘streams’ covering everything from ‘FreeFrom’ to Marketing strategies for health and wellbeing brands’ – not to mention demonstrations, not just by chefs but by everyone from seaweed to functional food experts, plus experts on nutritious solutions to food waste, how eating insects could save the world and 3D printing of insect based foods… And, of course, they also hosted the presentation of the first FreeFrom Eating Out Awards, along with a number of other events.
(My serious frustration with the whole three days was that I was so busy either chairing or speaking at seminars myself, or setting up and then dealing with the aftermath of the FFEating Out Awards presentation that I did not get to see any of these amazing happenings at all!)
This is a very different approach to what was, essentially, a trade exhibition and, as everyone who came by our stand commented, must have cost a fortune to stage. It must indeed, but that will not, I suspect, have bothered its organisers who have the longer view in their sights. The powers-that-are behind Food Matters Live are old hands at the trade exhibition business, although their previous experience lies in creating the hugely successful EcoBuild – along very similar lines.
The thinking, as I understand it, is that most trade exhibitions are catatonically boring – and yes, they are! They consist of a large number of companies taking expensive stands from which they try to flog their wares. Most include ‘conferences’ but these are a side show and only feature the same companies giving boring presentations also flogging their wares. The Ecobuild/FoodMattersLive model shifts the balance. Yes, you have exhibitors who are there to flog their wares, but the main attraction is the really interesting conference, seminar and demonstration programme that you run concurrently with the exhibition. So rivetting is this that you get a far larger footfall of a far wider range of visitors who have such a good time that, in the long term, they are far more likely to be receptive to the offerings of the exhibitors – who are so delighted with the whole thing that they are happy to sign up again for larger and more expensive stands!
Certainly, year 1 was very impressive. The aisles were wide, the lighting was good, the carpets were new, the conference centre was a large shaded glass pod in the centre of the space so that everyone could see in but the conferees could could confer in peace, the seminar rooms were numerous, light well and well equipped, the VIP lounge was well attended and spacious, the signage was excellent, staff were everywhere and very helpful and, finally, the stands were spacious, clean, well lit and well equipped.
This was our stand – one of the nicest we have been offered at the many exhibitions that we have attended over the last few years. (We especially fancied the lit display case which showed off the winners of the FFFood and Awards and the FFSkincare awards a treat!!)
It was also extremely useful, in the aftermath of a presentation, to have a table a comfortable chair and free and fairly reliable internet access so as to be able to deal with all of the press and other queries that inevitably 
come one’s way. As it happened, it also worked very well as a studio for our interviews!!
So, a very interesting few days only marred, as I said, by the fact that neither Cressida nor I were really able to take advantage of all the wonderful programmes on offer. (Alex did rather better as he was reporting on a number of them.)
We will all look forward to year 2….
