London ExCeL food event celebrates record-breaking attendance

Nearly 7,000 attendees - including all the UK’s major coffee shop and food-to-go operators and retailers - were out in force at lunch! last week (September 20-21).

The UK’s biggest food-to-go showcase of the year, lunch! enjoyed another successive record turnout, with total attendance up nine per cent on 2017’s figures and a significant 16 per cent up since it moved to London ExCeL.

The visitor list also included over 1,820 independent cafés, coffee shops, sandwich shops, tea rooms, bakeries and delis, plus contract and travel caterers, distributors, wholesalers, venues, attractions, and universities.

Cathy Port, head of category at Costa Coffee, said: “It’s great to meet with new and old suppliers at lunch!, I visit every year and always get to see new and different innovations - it has a brilliant vibe at ExCeL too.”

lunch! hit a record attendance of 6,882, to a record number of exhibitors on site. Stand space has already been reserved for 2019, too.

“lunch! 2018 was simply our best yet. We really couldn’t be happier,” says Chris Brazier, lunch!’s group event director. “There was a fantastic buzz across the show floor from the moment doors opened, and it was a very busy, valuable and productive two days.

“lunch! is the only UK event that annually attracts so many innovators, influencers, trailblazers and decision makers from across the food-to-go sector together in one place at one time. And it just keeps getting bigger and better every year.”

Hundreds of this year’s exhibitors will be back at the show when it returns to ExCeL on September 19-20, 2019. Many have already opted for bigger stands to maximise their brand presence.

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