Expowest Cornwall: the trade show
Over more than four decades Expowest Cornwall has successfully established itself as the region’s one truly essential hospitality and catering show. Every year suppliers large and small use the event to showcase their latest products and services to busy trade buyers from Cornwall and beyond. Stands sold out weeks before the show in 2020. A very impressive 93% of visitors would recommend the show to colleagues or contacts within the industry, and 96% said they’ll be returning to the Royal Cornwall Showground for next year’s show. The show will have Covid-19 measures in place to ensure a safe environment for both buyers and exhibitors, and following a challenging 2020, it's the perfect opportunity to get back up to speed and kickstart your business for the year.
Taking place well before the all-important summer season kicks off the show is regarded as a cornerstone of the Cornish business calendar - an absolute must for those eager to see, touch and taste the latest products and innovations, to get a feel for the trends from afar shaping the market, and to compare and contrast a range of competing offerings all under one roof. It’s not only timely but presents an unusually broad range of product and services. These span the whole of the hospitality and catering market from foodservice to fresh produce, bakery to business services, ice cream to catering equipment, drinks to dairy, tableware to toiletries, and speciality foods to sundry supplies, plus much more besides – it really is one show that has it all, with some exclusive offers that exhibitors save especially for this show.
There’s a big focus on drinks and beverages with a dedicated feature area. Liquid is a popular gathering point for the on-trade and the off-trade alike, giving everyone a convivial space in which to network whilst also discovering new and surprising products, exciting techniques, innovative services and the coming trends. In 2021 the indications are that there will be an even greater collection of local, national and international drinks exhibitors than ever before. They’ll be showing the latest in hot, cold, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, as well all the ancillary equipment and services that your on-sales business needs. Drinks tastings will be available on almost every stand throughout this area of the show. If you want to add extra fizz and buzz to your drinks offering this is the place to sample the latest products, pick up the current vibes, get hands-on with new equipment and add fresh skills to your repertoire.
Cornwall Business Forum’s “Knowledge Hub” will be manned each day by their “Executive Members”. You can pick their brains, get access to their contacts and benefit from their wide range of valuable resources and skills – if you want help with anything from marketing to cyber security, funding to HR issues and innovation to sales training, they’ll be able to help.
The unusually broad and comprehensive range of exhibitors and features attracts a correspondingly diverse spread of buyers. You’ll meet people from hotels, restaurants, pubs, cafes, supermarkets, grocers, delis, farm shops, independent stores, holiday parks & tourist attractions, schools, colleges, universities and hospitals. The atmosphere is vibrant and friendly as people make the most of the face-to-face opportunities which are becoming so rare in today’s digital environment. In just a few hours visitors swiftly get a timely sense of which way the market is moving, what’s likely to prove most popular in 2021 and to snap up the best ideas while they’re still fresh and exciting.
If you’re involved in hospitality or catering, food or drink, with a particular focus on Cornish producers or consumers, then attending this show is mandatory. The whole Cornish business community makes a point of attending – if you're not there then you are seriously missing out on an invaluable opportunity to catch up with colleagues, suppliers and customers. When it comes to building those all-important business relationships there’s no substitute for meeting people face to face and no better time or place than at Expowest Cornwall. It’s vibrant, inspiring, fun and social but also the place where business gets done – negotiating the best possible terms and favourable service arrangements is so much easier in this environment. The Cornish economy runs on hospitality and catering so if you want to tap into the very heart of the region’s beating business heart this show is an absolute must.