Coventry and Warwickshire partnership launches new event to boost business for hospitality sector suppliers

Coventry and Warwickshire’s diverse range of hospitality sector suppliers will have a chance to boost their business at a new region-wide event.

The Coventry & Warwickshire Food and Drink Showcase will be held on Tuesday, September 24 at Warwick Racecourse, and aims to encourage businesses to discover and use local suppliers.

It’s the second major event to be organised by the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP).

It will provide opportunities for exhibitors to meet buyers and decision makers from hotels, venues, attractions and other industry suppliers.

More than 35 exhibitors are set to feature, including a range of independent food and drink producers; from distillers, vineyards and breweries, to beekeepers and chocolatiers.

Many are also all part of the growing Coventry and Warwickshire Food and Drink Producers Network. The collaboration supports this important sector, through the creation of strong local peer support networks, industry events and business support.

Experts will also be exhibiting and highlighting services that can help to grow and develop hospitality businesses, including marketing companies, AV suppliers and business support services.

It is a hybrid event, with the morning a closed event for business-to-business networking, sales and peer-to-peer support. There will be workshops and talks from experts, including Mark Farr from Purple Planet Packaging, and food demonstrations on a live stage.

The showcase is being hosted on the day of the Grand Season Opener at Warwick Racecourse. From 1pm it will switch to a public event giving producers the opportunity to sell to hundreds of racegoers.

The Food and Drink Showcase is hosted by Destination Coventry, Shakespeare’s England, Warwickshire County Council and Coventry City Council.

Business support advisors will be present throughout the day to help signpost hospitality businesses to funding and support available.

This event merges the Coventry & Warwickshire Food & Drink Showcase and the Coventry & Warwickshire Meet the Supplier Event.

Colleen Muldoon-Taylor, Business Development Manager at Destination Coventry, said: “Hospitality businesses across our region are always searching for local hero products to help their offer stand out from the crowd.

“We are proud to be collaborating with our partners to host an event which will cultivate and enable further partnership working across Coventry and Warwickshire.

“At the last Meet the Supplier event, one hospitality business made connections with four food and drink producers. Their products now feature across the operator’s venues.

“The hybrid nature means that exhibitors will get the chance to showcase their products to two distinct audiences, creating meaningful connections and building business leads in the morning, and then the opportunity to sell direct to the public in the afternoon.”

Darren Tosh, Operations and Marketing Director at south Warwickshire’s tourism board Shakespeare’s England, added: “South Warwickshire is blessed with an array of independent and award-winning food and drink businesses who are well known among consumers locally and from afar – and this event provides a fantastic opportunity for them to expand even further with corporate partnerships.

“Consumers are seeking memorable experiences, which presents a real opportunity for hospitality suppliers to shout about the story and uniqueness of their products - whether it is inspired by history, made in a unique way or is adopting a new approach.

“We are excited at the prospect of hospitality firms from across the wider Coventry and Warwickshire patch collaborating so that our region’s products – and the local economy – can reach new heights.”

Launched in 2022, and supported by VisitEngland, the Coventry & Warwickshire LVEP sees the region’s two leading tourism bodies and local authority stakeholders work in partnership to promote and support tourism businesses.

Councillor Jim O’Boyle, cabinet member for jobs, regeneration and climate change at Coventry City Council, said: “The hospitality and food and drink sector is really important in Coventry and across the wider region and it supports a range of jobs directly and in the supply chain.

“Events like this are a great opportunity for businesses to showcase what they do and in a double opportunity here they get to do this to the trade and to members of the public. It really is a win, win. I wish everyone a really successful event, and I am pleased that we are working so closely with Warwickshire County Council to help ensure this sector thrives and grows.”

Councillor Martin Watson, portfolio holder for Economy at Warwickshire County Council, said: “The food and drink showcase is a great opportunity for local suppliers to demonstrate their range of produce, knowledge and expertise in this field. It’s great to see a local Warwickshire venue working with our partners to deliver this great event.

“As a region we have an excellent range of suppliers of food and drink, and they are vital towards our economic growth. The showcase event is a great opportunity to raise the profile of what Coventry and Warwickshire has to offer across this important sector, helping to support our local economy.

“The work with our partners at Coventry City Council to develop the Coventry and Warwickshire Producers Network has proved invaluable in helping suppliers connect, collaborate, access business support services and grow.”

Members of the public seeking to attend the showcase in the afternoon will need to be ticket holders for the Grand Season Opener at Warwick Racecourse.