15 March 2010, 14:48 PM

A series of cutting-edge debates, featuring leading figures from across the grocery industry, are promising to make this month’s Food & Drink Expo the most essential retail trade event of 2010.

Food & Drink Expo takes place 21 – 24 March 2010 NEC Birmingham.

Food & Drink Expo’s Business Briefing Theatre will be the setting for six lively panel discussion sessions tackling a range of topical issues in the retail sector, from the impact of digital media on the industry to the legacy of the recession on the way consumers shop and eat.

As the focus on the future of global food supplies intensifies, the Business Briefing Theatre will stage a major debate entitled: ‘Countdown to starvation - Is the world going to run out of food?’ Taking part in this debate will be Ross Warburton, executive director of bread giant Warburtons and current president of the Food & Drink Federation. Ross will be joined by other key decision makers, including Oxfam head of policy Sam Bickersteth and BRC director of food policy Andrew Opie.
With the show set to take place just a few weeks before the General Election, a cross-section of business leaders will gather to make their case for the policies they would like the next Government implement. The session, entitled ‘Party Time – What should the next Government do for the food industry?’, will feature, among others, Federation of Wholesale Distributors CEO James Bielby and British Soft Drinks Association director general Jill Ardagh.

The importance of a company’s personnel to its success will be under the spotlight in a debate featuring Therese Edmonds, training manager at northern supermarket chain Booths. Independent retailers, meanwhile, will be able to pick up tips a plenty in a discussion featuring Nisa-Today’s board member Kishor Patel and Association of Convenience Stores boss James Lowman. Full details of the Business Brief Theatre follow at the end of this press release.

Elsewhere at Food & Drink Expo, the Tasting Theatre will offer a unique opportunity for visitors to compare and contrast fine food products with knowledgeable product experts and sommeliers, helping retail buyers identify innovations and new ranges that will help boost their sales.

“The quality and range of live events at Food & Drink Expo really set the show apart,” said Jack Halliday, group sales manager for Food & Drink Expo. “Nowhere else enables retail buyers to come into contact with so many key industry figures. And with more than 600 individual exhibitors presenting thousands of new products, Food & Drink Expo really is not a show to be missed.”
Food & Drink Expo runs from 21 to 24 March 2010 at the NEC in Birmingham. A showcase for the very latest developments in food and drink products, the exhibition will run simultaneously with seven other shows:  Foodex, Baking Industry Exhibition, Convenience Retailing Show, International Forecourt & Fuel Equipment Show, Café+, Off Licence Show and Food & Drink Logistics Show.

For information about exhibiting at Food & Drink Expo 2010, contact Jack Halliday, group sales manager. Email: jack.halliday@william-reed.co.uk. Tel: 01293 610352. To register as a visitor, or for general information about the show, click on www.foodanddrinkexpo.co.uk.