POST SHOW REPORT 2012 KING S HALL, BELFAST. Northern Ireland s PREMIER food, drink, retail and hospitality event.

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1 KING S HALL, BELFAST Northern Ireland s PREMIER food, drink, retail and hospitality event POST SHOW REPORT 2012 From a supplier viewpoint, we find that as a food, drink, retail and hospitality event, IFEX cannot be rivalled. The show is busy across the three days while the visitor quality is high, bringing us directly face-to-face with key decision makers across a range of sectors. We very much look forward to IFEX see you there! Paul Ruegg, Sales and Marketing Co-ordinator, Flogas PRINCIPAL MEDIA PARTNERS SUPPORTED BY

2 ADVERTISING & PROMOTION Companies exhibiting at IFEX benefit from an extensive marketing campaign, which was extended and enhanced in 2012 to cover even more inserts and advertising than ever before! Here s a breakdown of the IFEX 2012 marketing campaign: Advertising campaigns and inserts in: Business Month Licensed & Catering News Neighbourhood Retailer Ireland s Forecourt & Convenience Retailer Hotel & Catering Review Radio & outdoor campaigns: Cool FM Downtown Radio U105 Banner outside the King s Hall Online advertising via: IFEX event website NI Good Food Northern Ireland Hotels Federation Hotel & Catering Review Federation of Small Businesses s and e-newsletter promotion to the following databases: IFEX previous visitors and prospect database NI Good Food Northern Ireland Hotels Federation Hotel & Catering Review Service Menupages Catering Equipment Association Federation of Small Businesses Vital Nutrition Omagh Council King s Hall PLUS: A dedicated PR campaign, featuring editorial in the key industry press A targeted telemarketing campaign, to the IFEX database and exhibitors key prospects Comprehensive coverage on social media channels, through IFEX s Facebook and Twitter, as well as promotion through partners social media groups

3 EDITORIAL Freshwater, IFEX s dedicated PR agency, conducts a comprehensive and wide-reaching PR campaign to supplement the show s advertising campaign and engage with the readers of both the core and peripheral industry press as well as national and broadcast media. PRESS RELEASES Titles included: IFEX set to shake up Northern Ireland IFEX backed by big brands A pure exhibitionist Value of face-to-face gives us food for thought Budding Ulster chef turns up the heat ahead of 2012 cooking competition Chef challenge heats up Chefs are cooking up a storm at IFEX launch Food firms bite into new scheme Facing up to big business Cooking up a storm at IFEX A recipe for success Chefs to showcase skills at IFEX 2012 IFEX: Showcasing local produce Serving up new exhibitors at IFEX 2012 Brighter future anticipated for hospitality, catering & retail sectors Speakers named for IFEX seminars Sizzling HOT speakers confirmed for IFEX 2012 Scan Coin at IFEX Gearing up for province s big trade event the streat founder offers IFEX insight All the ingredients for a big year in catering What s cooking at IFEX 2012? PRINT EDITORIAL Neighbourhood Retailer Irish News Daily Mirror Newsletter Ireland s Forecourt & Convenience Retailer Hotel & Catering Review WEB EDITORIAL NI Good Food Buy NI Food Food Belfast Print advertorial value - 132,325 Print editorial value - 393,614 IFEX SHOW SUPPORTERS IFEX is proud to be supported by a number of key industry associations, institutions and media. The 2012 show supporters are listed below, with more to come on board for 2014! PRINCIPAL MEDIA PARTNERS SUPPORTED BY

4 VISITOR INFORMATION IFEX attracts active buyers, business owners and influencers who are looking for new inspiration and sources for the latest products in the market. Visitors prime reason to attend is to see what exhibitors have to offer, which ensures that IFEX is the vital show for food, drink and systems providers to the market. Here s a snapshot of the type of visitors that attended in JOB FUNCTION Top 5 job functions attending IFEX 2012: Chef 27% Owner/proprietor 19% Manager 18% Director 14% Sales Manager 9% ANNUAL BUDGET 0-100,000 48% 100, ,000 21% 250, ,000 12% 500,001-1m 8% Over 1m 11% NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES % % % % % Over 500 8% Absolutely fantastic event, very professionally organised. Lisa McMaster, Office Manager, NIIRTA As a launch-pad for our new ice-cream range IFEX has proved to be a major success with a number of high quality contacts during the 3 days. Ian Laithwaite, Key Account Manager, Fivemiletown Creamery

5 OUR VISITORS Visitors come from all over Ireland, spanning a wide range of retail and foodservice sectors; they all have the common aim of sourcing new produce, discovering new ideas, and gaining inspiration to drive new custom for their business. The show attracts the vital mix of both high profile and smaller companies to ensure that it has the right level of contact for your business. Here is a sample of some of the companies that visited IFEX in 2012: Armagh City Hotel Atlantis Hotel Bar and Grill Austins Bacardi Brown Forman Brands Benedict s Hotel Botanic Inn Coca Cola Compass Group Costcutter Supermarket Group Dunnes Stores Eclipse Cinema Downpatrick Glenavon House Hotel Harold McCauley House John Dory s Malone Lodge Hotel McKeever Hotels Mintel Ireland Oasis Retail Services PepsiCo UK & Ireland Pizza Hut Portstewart Golf Club Ramada Plaza Hotel Belfast Shenanigans Complex Stepping Stones NI The Dundrum Inn The Merchant Hotel The Mount Charles Group HOW WE ATTRACT VISITORS TO THE EVENT Visitors not only attend to source the essential and latest products and services on offer from exhibitors, but are also encouraged to visit and extend their stay through the show features. In 2012, these included: FREE learnshops seminar programme Featuring the who s who of Northern Irish foodservice and retail personalities, this free programme of informative and inspiring seminars ensured that visitors not only gained new contacts and products, but also go away armed with the knowledge and inspiration provided by others to make a difference in their business. Speakers this year included: Michael Deane, Deanes Restaurants; Adrian McLaughlin, The Merchant Hotel; Chris Fearon, Queens and The Great British Menu; Andy Rea, Mourne Seafood Bar; Michael McQuillan, the streat; and Simon Stenson, Cherry Blossom Bakery. ChefSkills Supported by DELNI and City & Guilds, ChefSkills is a high profile culinary competition in Northern Ireland, which recognises and discovers the industry s most promising chefs in a series of competitions and awards. La Parade des Chefs Rival teams went head-to-head at La Parade to serve 50 covers daily in a real time restaurant. A highlight of day three was the Titanic themed lunch, which was accompanied by a harpist. Product of the Show Awards Judged by an independent panel of industry experts, the Product of the Show Awards highlighted the best products, services and business solutions in industry today. Giving the exhibitors a chance to show off their latest and finest products, the Awards enable visitors to see the best the industry has to offer.

6 IFEX 2012 RESULTS IFEX commissions an independent researcher to survey both visitors and exhibitors to provide a true picture of what they really thought about the event! Here s a glance at some of the results: VISITORS 94% found the exhibition to be very worthwhile or worthwhile 100% indicated that they were likely to attend the event in % have full purchasing authority or influence purchasing decisions 73% identified new suppliers "IFEX provides an ideal opportunity to showcase the world class agri-food companies that we have on our doorstep to promote the tremendous potential for future development of the sector." Michelle O Neill, Agriculture Minister, DARD NI IFEX is a very informative show, in today s climate everybody is looking for value for money. Sharon Wright, Restaurant Manager, Dobbies Lisburn This is a good opportunity to meet companies face to face and to sample and handle products. Eugene McKeever, Managing Director, McKeever Hotels 10 out of 10, very wide range on display. Mrs McKay, B&B Proprietor Very good range of product, excellent to keep abreast of what s happening in the industry. Angie Elliot, Chef, Ryman Inns Ltd Good selection of exhibitors and products we may be able to use in our business. Malachy Toney, General Manager, Wellington Park Hotels This is an excellent, well attended show. Victor Rock, Managing Director, Capital Foods Ltd Very happy with the range of stands and the organisation of the events. Gerry Maguire, Customer Account Manager, Britvic Very impressed with range, exhibitors very approachable and excellent product knowledge. Peter Swan, Spice Fusion This is an excellent opportunity for young chefs to network within the industry and gain new skills. It s a great opportunity to challenge young chefs through the competitions. Anne Murray, Hospitality Lecturer, Southern Regional College Newry There is an excellent variety of products and services available. Brendan McNally, Catering Assistant, Orchardville Society Excellent opportunity for young chefs to showcase their skills. Christina Orr, Catering Manager, Belfast Metropolitan College

7 IFEX 2012 RESULTS IFEX commissions an independent researcher to survey both visitors and exhibitors to provide a true picture of what they really thought about the event! Here s a glance at some of the results: EXHIBITORS 91% found the exhibition met or exceeded their expectations 82% found the exhibition to be very worthwhile or worthwhile 88% are planning to exhibit at IFEX 2014 Excellent event as always. Congratulations to Sean Owens and the IFEX team. Joe Beggan, Technical Sales Engineer, Flogas IFEX 2012 has been a very successful event in terms of meeting new customers and supporting existing customers, looking forward to 2014 already! Karen Graham, Manager, Greer Publications I m very glad we decided to invest in a stand at IFEX 2012 a marked improvement on 2010 and hopefully we will exhibit again in Elaine Donaghy, Communications Manager, Food Standards Agency This event was a great success; we increased brand awareness and launched products. We won product of the show award for North & South! Anna Taggert, Owner, Yummy Bakes This is our first ever trade show and we are absolutely delighted that our brand and product received recognition for the best product packaging and overall product of the show 2012 looking forward to great PR from it. Leona Kane, Director, Broighter Gold Rapeseed Oil As recruitment partner for IFEX 2012, we have been privileged to be part of this exciting, worthwhile event. June Wilson, Recruitment Director, Sales Placement Contract People Ltd Great event for building relationships with the food industry and introducing a media partnership with various local companies. Raymond O Hara, Newspaper Sales Manager, Johnston Press The staff have been excellent with dealing with everything, very happy exhibitor! Henry Anstey, Director, EcopureWaters Ireland Very professional, polite organisers made exhibiting much easier. Philip Milli, Sales Director, Johnsons Coffee IFEX provided us with a great platform to launch our new Facebook solution into the Irish market. Ciaran Gallagher, Marketing, Kelsius

8 Northern Ireland s PREMIER food, drink, retail and hospitality event BOOK EARLY FOR: The best rates Prime stand positions Over two years exposure in the searchable online product listings Maximum coverage in our PR & marketing campaign Contact Caroline McGuinness, Sales Manager: Tel: +44 (0) Caroline.McGuinness@easyFairs.com Or book online at HAVE YOU CONSIDERED A BOOSTER PACK? Did you know? Statistics demonstrate that exhibitors that take a Booster Pack receive over 4 times more visitors to their online profile. And not only that, but our surveys indicate these exhibitors get up to 43% extra visitors! Why? Because boosted exhibitors receive more pre-show visibility, more onsite visibility, and are easier for visitors to recognise and when they visit the show. IFEX 2014 OFFICIAL MEDIA PARTNERS: IFEX 2014 SUPPORTED BY: Have you thought about exhibiting at SHOP 2012? Building on the success of the IFEX, its sister retail and hospitality exhibition SHOP 2012 is filling up with exhibitors fast! Taking place on September 2012 at the RDS Simmonscourt, Dublin, SHOP will play host to thousands of Irish buyers ready to do business and source the very latest products and services to improve their retail or hospitality business. BOOK NOW on or Caroline.McGuinness@easyFairs.com ABOUT EASYFAIRS easyfairs events are trade shows for people who simply want to do business. We make it easy on your time and on your budget, and bring the visitors to your stand. The end result is a professional but stress-free environment where buyers can find suppliers, and suppliers can make sales. For more information, visit easyfairs UK Ltd 8 Oak Lane, Twickenham, TW1 3PA Tel: +44 (0) Fax: +44 (0)