An unmissable event for our industry
Whether you're a fresh-faced start-up or an established industry leader, join us for a day of enlightenment and an evening of celebration, as we raise a toast to the past year's achievements and ignite the flames of innovation for years to come.
Please note, this event is in place of our usual Spring Conference and September Excellence Awards.
Buy your tickets for The Excellence Summit.
Submit your entry for The Excellence Awards.
Success Strategies for Sustainable Growth – Your Industry Conference
During the day, we’ve ramped up our conference agenda and introduced a new format, so you can get the most out of the sessions on offer. This year, we’ll be focused on discussing success strategies for sustainable growth.
Engage with dynamic sessions covering economic insights, innovation, consumer trends, sustainability, branding, and growth strategies. What makes Scotland Food & Drink unique is our work in uncovering, creating, and enabling market opportunities. Join us as we bring together expert panels and speakers to share with you valuable insight and advice to bring to your business no matter where you are in your growth journey.
The Excellence Awards
As the sun sets, we come together again to celebrate the best of Scotland’s exceptional food, drink and people behind the products.
For over two decades, the coveted Excellence Awards has brought together the finest Scottish producers with key decision makers and influencers across the industry. Underpinned by people, passion, and perseverance, it is an opportunity to toast to our industry’s fantastic achievements of the past year.
With 14 tasted awards and 7 business categories, there will be an Award right for you. Hear from previous winners as they discuss what their award means to them here.
Find out more The Excellence Awards, including categories, judging and sponsors here.
Arrival at 18.00pm, carriages at 12.30am.
Submit your entry to the Excellence Awards now.
Tickets
Combined tickets can be bought for both events or you can purchase individual tickets for the conference only or the Excellence Awards only.
| Early Bird Price | Standard Price | |
| Member Conference and Awards Ticket | £190 + VAT | £200 + VAT |
| Member Conference Only Ticket | £50 + VAT | £60 + VAT |
| Member Awards Only Ticket | N/A | £150 + VAT |
| Non-Member Conference and Awards Ticket | N/A | £420 + VAT |
| Non-Member Conference Only Ticket | N/A | £190 + VAT |
| Non-Member Awards Only Ticket | N/A | £250 + VAT |
Please note organisations can purchase a maximum of 4 tickets for the conference. Additional tickets to the Excellence Awards can be purchased if required.
Conference Agenda
9.30am: Arrival and Coffees
10.15am: Welcome
10.30am: Headline Speaker - details coming soon.
11.00am: The Economic Landscape and Market Outlook
An update on the current economic landscape, and advice on how to cope and anticipate strategic change brought on by economic changes and pressures.
11.30am: Fuelling Innovation
We recently undertook some research with businesses around the blockages and opportunities relating to innovation in their businesses. This session will explore why innovation and NPD is key for meeting customer demands and securing new business. We’ll discuss available support avenues for nurturing creativity and new product development.
11.50am: Turning Insights into Action
This session will showcase the Provenance in the Out of Home market commissioned by The Knowledge Bank. Anne-Laure Farrar (Insights Manager) will introduce the research and the key learnings gleaned and then invite 4 of those interviewed as part of the research to join the discussion.
12.15pm: Lunch and Networking Time with Delegates and our Exhibitors
13.15 - 13.45pm: Choose from the following two sessions:
Sustainability Matters
We’ll delve into the most prevalent trend of them all: net zero. We'll be joined by Helen Wallace (UK Market Development Manager at Scotland Food & Drink) and Iain Clunie (Director of the Scotland Food & Drink Partnership Net Zero Commitment). With such commercial significance and benefit of environmental credentials for suppliers, this session is key for those looking to advance their net zero credentials and uncover where the most valuable changes can be made.
Exporting: The World is Your Oyster
Our industry exports are worth £8bn, and we believe this value can grow by over £2bn in the next 4-5 years. So how can you join that journey? Hear about our industry’s export strategy, useful resources you can access, and a comprehensive analysis of the export market.
13.45 - 14.15pm: Choose from the following two sessions:
Why Markets Matter, Peer Perspectives
How do you put all this insight learned into action? Hear first-hand from successful Scottish businesses as they share their inspirational yet pragmatic growth journeys through their regional, UK and international markets. Gain insights into channel tapping, overcoming challenges, and achieving tangible success.
How to Fail
We hear from businesses who have “made it,” and how the journey to success is never linear. Speakers discuss the mistakes they made along the way and what they learned from them.
14.15pm: Coffee and networking break
14.35pm: Our Headline Sponsor, Asda
14.50pm: Investment for Growth
On the back of unprecedented market challenges which have meant increased operating costs and a squeeze on margins and which places significant pressure on businesses ability to operate sustainably as well as preventing investment in workforces, infrastructure market development and innovation. This also effects the speed at which businesses can scale up and achieve that next level of growth. This session will explore what we mean by Investment for Growth, prod into what investors are looking for when they invest in food and drink and from an investee experience, what securing external investment has meant for them.
15.10pm: Closing remarks
Please note, these timings are subject to change.
Keep an eye out for our ongoing speaker announcements.
Our Headline Sponsor
We're delighted to announce that Asda is our headline sponsor for The Excellence Summit. Asda have sponsored our Excellence Awards for over 10 years, and we look forward to working together again to deliver this powerhouse event, that will bring together our annual industry conference and Excellence Awards.
Want to find out more about sponsoring The Excellence Summit? Get in touch.