Thousands of buyers and suppliers from across the UK descended on Venue Cymru in Llandudno for Harlech Foodservice’s annual two-day event. Around 2,500 registrations were recorded with more than 1,200 businesses attending and 117 suppliers exhibiting – from global food giants to Welsh producers.
The bumper turnout comes as Harlech Foodservice, which has sites in Cricieth, Chester, Carmarthen, Aberbargoed and Telford, continues a period of rapid expansion, reporting sales growth of more than 30%.
Trade customers included buyers from the public and private healthcare and education sectors, along with the tourism and hospitality industry. A new innovation this year was a special fresh fruit and vegetable hub at the centre of the exhibition hall to showcase that growing side of the business.
Chris Gregson, commercial manager at Harlech Foodservice, said: “The expo more than exceeded all expectations, registrations for example were up by 45% as far as customer and business coming here was concerned.
“We were thrilled to welcome customers from across Wales, the West Midlands and the North West of England, with more than 3,200 attending over the two days. The expo is the season curtain-raiser for us in North Wales and sets our stall out for the entire summer. It allows our customers to see that we have a deal for them, not just today, not just tomorrow, but for the entire summer season.”
Global food and drink giant Nestle attended the expo, demonstrating that the event was attractive to all sizes of operations.
Account manager Amy Young added: “We come to the expo because there is a vast array of customers who attend and it is good to see them in person and to showcase a lot of new products that we have.
“It gives us an insight into what lines our customers are stocking and what we can help with from an ingredients point of view. We have been attending for the last few years and it is always a great show.”