"This event is great for restaurant operators and businesses to be able to come to see the latest products to get some of the innovation that's going on, to get inspiration for how they can develop their products and develop their businesses so they can respond to changing customer needs."

~Kate Nicholls, OBE, Chief Executive, UKHospitality

"The UK Food & Drink Shows affects the industry massively. It's a place where we get suppliers, restauranteurs under one roof, where everybody gets to mingle, taste, sample and open up everyone's little gems to everybody in the industry. This year's event, the energy is massive. As soon as I walked through the door, the queues within... it's busy, it's bustling."

~ Kenny Atkinson, Chef/Patron, House of Tides

"The UK Food & Drink Shows are an incredible sort of melting pot of ideas, products and coupled with some really great people who are incredibly helpful and committed to help you survive and thrive in a challenging economic environment"

~ Adam Leyland, Editor in Chief, The Grocer

"I would say the UK Food & Drink Shows are crucial because you get to meet a lot of other people. If you're in the food and drinks industry, then you should definitely attend shows like this. It is mind blowing. This is my first one ever and I'm really glad I'm here."

~Oni Oghosanine, Director, La Novela Cakes

"The UK Food & Drink Shows has a hugely positive effect on the industry. For me personally, coming to shows like this, it's great for networking. I can meet some really interesting people, but also gain knowledge. The talks are incredible. I always come away with a page of notes, and full of ideas as well."

~ Tom White, Co-Founder and Brand Director, QVO Hospitality

"I think the UK Food & Drink Shows are quite incredible. I've been very surprised that there's so many people here, and the number of stands and the diversity of products is just incredible."

~ Jo Fleet, Managing Director, Caravan

"The UK Food & Drink Shows are such an important event for this industry, simply because very rarely do we have the opportunity to take time out of your day to day and congregate in one space where we're able to connect with our partners and our suppliers to have really important conversations about the future of our industry and business"

~Lorraine Copes, CEO & Founder, Be Inclusive Hospitality

"I think the biggest benefits of attending a trade show like this, is people just network and make contacts. It allows them a meeting space that's neutral as well. So people are allowed to just meet, collaborate and brainstorm. It just lets people's creative juices flow"

~ Steph Gibson, Food Beauty and Care Category Manager, NBC Universal Studios

"I think the UK Food & Drink Shows are important because they bring together so many brands across the UK from various different subcategories. For us, specifically within TikTok, we're trying to diversify our category as much as possible, and there's no better place to come and see all these amazing brands in under-developed categories or categories that are performing really well."

~ Barney Waugh, Food & Beverage Partnerships Lead, TikTok Shop

"The UK Food & Drink Shows are absolutely essential, particularly for a business our size where we have very limited resources in terms of people. Just being able to come to one location to get so many contacts, so many products tasted and sampled. It's just absolutely essential to making sure that we've got a really strong pipeline of new products going into our stores for our customers."

~ Nigel Murray, Managing Director, E H Booths & Co