More than £500,000 worth of deals at latest Fairway Foodservice event

Deals worth more than £500,000 were completed at Fairway Foodservice’s second Meet the Member event of 2016.

The two-day event, at Villa Park in Birmingham, saw the buying group’s 17 members meet 38 suppliers in a speed dating-style format, with more than 100 new products and special offers on show.

The bi-annual event gives Fairway’s members an opportunity to sample new products, as well as discuss the latest trends in the foodservice industry with suppliers.

The total number of deals concluded across both 2016 events is more than £1.2m.

Fairway Foodservice chief executive Chris Binge said: “The feedback from suppliers and members has been incredibly positive.

“Concluding more than £1m worth of deals two years in a row shows how valuable our Meet the Member events are.

“We strive to ensure the event works well for suppliers and for members and there is a real business focus. Suppliers want to introduce new products and sell more existing products and members want to keep up to date with new trends and buy stock ‘on offer’.  It really is a win-win.

“You can’t stand still in foodservice, and these events are crucial to support our members in their continued growth.”

The latest Meet the Member event follows the recent announcement that the collective turnover of Fairway’s members increased by 13 per cent in 2016 to £626m.

Suppliers ranged from multinational companies such as Kraft/Heinz and Unilever to successful British businesses, including seafood processor and manufacturer Havelok and Love Handmade Cakes.

Clive Simons, account manager at, Havelok, said: “It’s an invaluable date in the diary.

“As well as showing members our new innovations, we get a face-to-face reaction, which is incredibly powerful. This event allows us to kill two birds with one stone.

“We get to meet all the members on one day in one location and have one-to-one time with them. This gives the opportunity to strengthen existing relationships as well as create new ones.”

John Hervin, purchasing manager at Tyneside Foodservice, said: “There was a very good mix of existing and new suppliers, with new products available for us to view and sample.

“The event also gives us a fascinating insight into where the market is with useful information provided by the suppliers. As well as reassuring us that we are ahead of the curve, it also flags up areas for us to develop.”

Fairway will hold its next Meet the Member event on 7 and 8 March 2017 and is currently inviting applications. Organiser Richard Ellison said: “Our meetings continue to go from strength to strength and we are determined to make 2017 even bigger and better.”

Fairway Foodservice is a buying and marketing organisation, which operates on behalf of wholesalers based in the UK, Ireland and Spain. Founded in 1984 by five frozen food wholesale distribution companies, it has grown from a collective turnover of £7m in 1984 to £626m in 2015.

Alongside access to Fairway Foodservice’s extensive range of products, members benefit from collective buying power on a number of lines, significant marketing support and subscription discounts to the Erudus One product specification database.

For more information on Fairway Foodservice, follow the group on Twitter @fairwayfood or visit www.fairwayfoodservice.com.