Thousands of buyers from the worlds of retail, wholesale and hospitality descended on IFE for Day Two, and the energy was palpable as visitors discovered the latest food & drink innovations across the show. 

The New Products Pitching Theatre saw a busy day of sessions hosted by Chef Consultant Steve Walpole, showcasing Vegan & Plant-Based products The Mighty Kitchen, Seriously Low Carb (pictured), Meeat and Super Munchies, followed by a Bakery Snacks & Confectionery session featuring Sweet Vision, Saved and Naked Bakes.

The Theatre also saw Distributor Discovery Hours from Bidfood and Alibaba tapping into the lastest exciting trends in global cuisine. 

Across the show buyers were applauding the quality and variety of suppliers on show. Shiada Drysdale, Manager - IFE Food & Beverage - Beverage Lead at Virgin Atlantic, commented: "There’s such a diverse range of brands at IFE this year. So much variety and choice, it’s hard to know where to begin! Definitely need more than one day. The speakers and panel discussions were really insightful too."

Gohar Khan, Head of Purchasing at Nuovo Foods, added: "I would like to thank the team for consistently exceeding expectations for IFE. This fair has now turned into a necessary visit for all traders based within the UK. Keep up the amazing work."

On the show's Sustainability Stage, sponsored by Elopak, Food & Drink Federation CEO Karen Betts (pictured) kicked off a full day of content curated by the federation looking at a diverse range of topics and trends including building resiliency into our food systems, meeting evolving customer expectations and transitioning to a circular economy for plastics and packaging.

The Trends & Innovation Platform lived up to its name with insightful presentations and discussions from Fraser McKevitt, Head of Retail and Consumer Insight at Kantar, Charles Banks, Co-Founder of thefoodpeople and Stephen Minall, Co-Founder of FDReviews.com. 

Minall commented: “IFE for me is the highlight of the year for seeing innovation, spotting early trends and networking with colleagues."

Suppliers on the show floor were delighted with the quality and diversity of buyers and stakeholders on offer with David McCormick, Sales Director at Besana UK commenting: 'We've met a number of key buyers and potential customers and it's a great chance to network with past customers and meet new buyers in the flesh."

Imran Ali, Business Development Manager, Setara added: "This is our third year. IFE is a beautiful show, there so many opportunities for new buyers and new customers and we are enjoying it a lot."