Weather Doesn’t Dampen Spirits At Scotland’s Speciality Food & Drink Show

The wind may blow and the rain may fall, but nothing can dampen the spirits at Scotland’s Speciality Food & Drink Show which took place this week at the SEC, Glasgow. Business was brisk over the three day Show with many exhibitors reporting a raft of new leads and orders made.

Despite not just one but two storms over the Show which led to terrible travel disruption, many buyers braved the elements and placed orders, tasted and sourced new stock and networked with suppliers. The overall mood of the Show was one of optimism as the quality of the retailers attending outweighed the expected reduction in footfall.

Neil Chalmers from Walkers Shortbread said: “It’s been wonderful to re-connect with our existing customers and to pick up quite a few new orders. It’s a vital Show for us and it’s been a great few days.”

Food and drink companies from across Scotland and beyond tempted buyers from farm shops, delis, hotels and tourist outlets to sample their produce. The three large regional stands from Orkney, East Lothian and Food from Argyll were particular hot spots, as was the Launch Gallery with its array of drinks, cocktails, chocolates and coffee.

Ben Dale from Cairn Lodge, part of the Westmorland Group said: “This Show is the best event of the buying calendar for food and drink by a mile. It is so nice to see so many producers who really know their products and are brimming with innovation.”

Best Product Awards were judged on Sunday morning by Catherine Cobb from Cobbs, Geraldine Bruce from Sainsburys, Linda McLean from Kintyre Larder and Jonathan Macdonald from Ox & Finch and Ka Pao restaurants. The winning entries displayed quality, innovation and commercial acumen. (The winners are listed below.)

Catherine Cameron from Cobbs said: “All the award entries were of a very high standard from flavour to packaging – all worthy of being winners. The outright winners in each category were not an easy choice for any of us to make but the winners went that extra mile with taste, packaging, provenance and quality making them just that bit more special.”

Alastair Gower from The Chocolate Tree in East Lothian won a Gold Award and said: “Winning the award brought people to my stand so it has been vital for interest and to be able to show endorsement by food experts.”

Beyond the aisles, there was a busy programme of talks, panels discussions and masterclasses on all aspects of retailing and business from a range of experts. This was well received as visitors looked to gain some nuggets of wisdom to help develop their business. The Scottish Minister for Small Business, Innovation, Tourism & Trade also toured the Show and spoke in one of the Scottish Tourism Alliance Spotlight Sessions.

A highly entertaining Nessie’s Den allowed four new companies to pitch their products to three retail expert Nessies in a light hearted session.

Mark Saunders, Show Director added: “The positivity and optimism that abounded at the Show was heartening and bodes well for 2025. The weather was hugely disappointing as it undoubtedly affected the attendance. Whilst much of the business will be picked up in the next few weeks it is a great shame that the forging of new accounts and enquiries will have to wait for another day. The quality and provenance of the products on display improves each year and we were delighted to showcase some of the best that Scotland has to offer in the food and drink market.”