Source 2018 was even bigger than before – again! It just keeps growing! There were more exhibitors than ever before, and visitor numbers were up too. With all the food & drink on offer, and the chefs cooking up a storm in the demo kitchen, it was busy, bustling, and smelled good too!
It’s great to see the Source growing year on year, and to meet so many lovely people there. Putting on the show may be hard work for us, but it almost doesn’t feel like it, with two such enjoyable days every year. However we know that a great show this year doesn’t guarantee the same next year, so we surveyed our exhibitors and visitors to see what they thought, and if there’s anything we can improve.
This year’s post-show survey revealed that 96% of visitors would recommend the show to colleagues or contacts within the industry, and 96% will be back next year – presumably that’s the same people! It’s probably not surprising, seeing as 90% of visitors found new suppliers at the show, with 66% of them finding found 3 or more:
“Everything under one roof displayed nicely offering a worthwhile time out of my own business”.
“It’s a fantastic way to meet new people in the South West food and drink scene. I would attend a third day if there were a third day!”
“The show always seems to introduce new suppliers and producers and subsequently new products. Really enjoyed the demonstration kitchen”.
“All our regular suppliers under one roof and plenty of interesting new potential suppliers”.
“The show highlights new products and suppliers. It allows us to compare suppliers easily and talk to them directly. The best thing this year was the number of suppliers and their quality”
As well as enjoying the show and the chef demos, 62% of our visitors placed orders at the show or shortly afterwards, which is great news for our exhibitors:
“Great show this year; we’ve made some fantastic contacts in both wholesale and direct. It’s been great to meet up with some fantastic chefs and restaurateurs as well as some superb suppliers“. Tom Bonn, Mevalco.
“Unbelievable success. Small enough to know you’re seeing everyone, big enough to attract major buying power. 10/10“. Stu, Manilife.
“This was our first ever Hale Events show. The venue at Westpoint is superb, the event is clean, tidy and very well organised. We met a wide mix of attendees over the two days, from sole traders to multi-nationals. Very, very pleased; would definitely exhibit again“. Nick Good, Dorset Ginger.
All the visitors who completed our survey were entered into a prize draw, and we’d like to congratulate Jacqui Blenkinsopp from Aveland House in Babbacombe, who was the lucky winner of a £50 John Lewis/Waitrose voucher. It’s in the post as we speak!
It’s always good to hear what you think of the show, so if you were there and have anything to add, please do leave us a comment here. If you weren’t, why not come and see what the show is like in 2019? Next year the show is on Wednesday 6th and Thursday 7th February. The 10 month countdown starts here!
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