Visitors and exhibitors were left encouraged and very satisfied as the doors closed on the second Baking Industry Exhibition at the NEC, Birmingham (March 21-24 2010).
A record number of visitors attended BIE and its co-located shows, and the value of the co-location with seven other food industry events was highlighted by the number of crossover visitors as well as comments from the aisles. Christopher Freeman, director, Dunn's Bakery summed up this view, "The link with other exhibitions on at the same time was very useful and gave a real insight into other aspects of the food industry."
Another visitor, Graham Duckworth, product development manager at British Bakeries (Hovis) commented, "The show suits British baking and is good for everyone from craft to plant. I can source new ingredients, seek out innovative trends and find new ideas that I can implement in the business."
Exhibiting companies were also pleased with both the number and quality of leads generated. "Fantastic! We have seen the right people and have very good quality enquiries," exclaimed Ilan Amazallag, UK manager for FoodTools.
"Some of our customers are in Food & Drink Expo so that is an added bonus. We don't exhibit at any other UK exhibition as BIE is most relevant to our business," explained Larent Valbret, managing director, Creeds.
The California Raisins Future Baker of the Year Competition gave some interesting 'theatre' to the show. "It focused a lot of attention and action on the next generation of bakers, who are, after all, its future," stated Dominique Homo, founder of L'Ecole du Pain.
Other well attended sessions and demonstrations in The Theatre were hosted by some of the best in the business including: Mike Holling of Birds Confectioners showing how to get involved in Craft Bakers Week, Wayne Caddy of The Essential Baker demonstrating how to produce Mexican Concha Buns, Stephen Hallam of Dickenson and Morris showing how to make the perfect Pork Pie and Jane Hatton of Jane2Train demonstrating techniques on decorating cupcakes and cookies.
The UK heat of the Louis Lesaffre Cup also proved a hit. "It provided us with lots of opportunities to demonstrate and promote different types of bread," explained Wayne Caddy, The Essential Baker.
BIE proved to be particularly effective for small to medium businesses. The Craft Bakers Shops were buzzing for the whole show and the new products and exhibitors provided many visitors with fresh ideas. "I visit to look at new product lines and see demonstrations," said Harriott Heffy a confectioner from Crumbs Bakery in Liverpool. "It is definitely useful for my business to pick up new ideas and see suppliers in one place," she added.
Daren Rose-Neale, show manager for BIE commented "William Reed Business Media is delighted that the show has already become recognised after only the second event as the number one event for the UK baking and confectionery sector. There are many unique aspects to the British baking industry compared with other countries and we have worked hard to cover every aspect at this year's event. We look forward to building on this success in the future" (429)
BIE 2012 takes place at the NEC, Birmingham 25-28 March 2012