As the restaurant, pub and bar sector looks forward to “the most important Casual Dining show yet” (Steve Holmes, CEO, Azzurri Group), the organisers have revealed an exhibitor list to match.
With over 95% of stands already sold, the show has confirmed an impressive list of brands who have signed up to exhibit for the first time, including: Brioche Pasquier, Fourth, GCL Food Ingredients, iiko UK & Europe, Kepak Foodservice, Nespresso Professional, The Sausage Man UK, The Vegetarian Butcher, THIS, Treasury Wine Estates, Twinings, Unilever Food Solutions, and Mondelez with two of its brands, Cadbury and Philadelphia.
Industry-leading companies returning to the show include AAK Foodservice, Arla Pro, Ascentia FSE, Coca-Cola European Partners, Diageo, Harri, McCain Foodservice Solutions, Meatless Farm, Molson Coors Beverage Company, Moving Mountains, Panasonic, Rude Health, Tevalis and Yumpingo.
Alongside innovations from first-time and return exhibitors, visitors can also look forward to new products in the Innovation Challenge, which is set to be the biggest to date.
Response to the show’s return suggests that brands and buyers alike are seeing it as key to getting back to business, with Nicola Mills of Billington Foodservice saying that “Casual Dining 2021 will be more important than ever to reunite with our customers and industry, we can’t wait to exhibit.”
This year Casual Dining will host three dedicated alcohol pavilions, including a new area for 2021, The Vineyard, featuring brands including HUNWines, The Emissary Prosecco, Unity Wines and Kiss of Wine. Exhibitors in The Artisan Spirits Lounge include Pinkster Gin, The Spirit of Manchester Distillery, Conker Spirit, Pure Vodka, Tarsier Spirit, Sweet Potato Spirit Company, Faith & Sons.
Among the many product innovations coming out of this sector are Strawbar, who are showcasing a unique Eau De Vie produced from single-origin strawberries sourced in Greece.
The Taphouse, dedicated to the best independent beer and cider brands in the industry, features Big Smoke Brew Co., Orbit Beers, Hop Kettle Brew Co., Celtic Marches Beverages, Wild Beer, The Five Points Brewing Co. and ShinDigger Craft Beer. As in previous years, one exhibitor in this zone will be crowned Taphouse Champion in a competition judged by VIP visitors. The last winner, Big Drop Brewing Co., won for its Citra Four Hop (0.5%) Pale Ale, and they are returning for Casual Dining 2021.
Reflecting the vibrancy of this ever-evolving market, visitors can expect to find a healthy offering of no and low alcohol brands across these three areas, including Sea Arch Not Gin, Caleño Drinks, LUXLO Spirits, Lucky Saint, Freestar, Big Drop Brewing Co, Small Beer Brew Co and Binary Botanical.
This year’s Casual Dining is co-located with its sister shows lunch! and Commercial Kitchen, making it an unmissable industry event, set to be “the most important catalyst of the year, bringing ideas and people together, making our industry as strong as ever” (Duncan McEwan, Executive Development Chef, The Big Table Group).
Mia Perese from Yumpingo, who are sponsoring the show’s three Keynote Theatres, recently said: “We’re so excited to be exhibiting at the Casual Dining show again! Getting face-to-face with key buyers from across the industry is more important than ever before. We want to show our support and help the industry get back on its feet, and to do so we all need to pull together.”
The ever-expanding exhibitor list also features 3S POS, Belvoir Fruit Farms, Biff's Kitchen, Bloody Drinks, Britvic, Canopies UK, Carlsberg UK, Cawston Press, Craftis , Dalston's Soda Co, Delice de France , Deliverect, Dr Oetker Professional, Essential Cuisine, La Tua Pasta, LavAzza Coffee, Lemonaid & ChariTea, Love Oggs, LoveSeitan, Lutosa, Major, Mast-Jaegermeister UK, Molson Coors Beverage Company, Nix & Kix, Northern Bloc, Notes Coffee, OpenTable, Pip Organic, Sauce Shop, Sea Products International, Trail App and Yapster