Thomas Ridley celebrates trade show success

Thomas Ridley celebrates trade show success

In September, we held our first ‘eat. with Thomas Ridley’ trade show at Ipswich Town Football Club. The first event of its kind, it was a great way to bringi customers and suppliers together; celebrating the East Anglian foodservice industry.

With more than 100 different food and drink trade stands spread out over three floors of the football ground, customers were treated to a relaxed and friendly atmosphere where they could chat to Thomas Ridley staff, try products, explore new lines and menu solutions and understand more about what each supplier could offer them - both in terms of range and provenance.

Showcasing Suffolk produce

Championing local, independent producers, customers were treated to artisan coffee upon arrival from Stowmarket-based Good Vibes Coffee, brewed up in a converted 1977 Peugeot J7 van, and a wide range of East-Anglian-based suppliers, including; Arnold’s produce, The Suffolk Salami Company, Savoursmiths artisan crisps, Munchy Seeds healthy snacks, Scarlett and Mustard condiments and preserves and Maynard’s House juices, produced just a few miles away from our head office in Rougham.

Popular NPD on the day - Redefine Meat and Pip Organic

One of the highlights of the show’s NPD offering was Redefine Meat; which promises the same sensory experience of meat (texture, aromas and flavor profiles) while being made from a sustainable and healthy mixture of either pea, wheat or soy proteins.

Also peaking lots of customer’s interest was Pip Organic and their wide variety of popular children’s drinks, which are now available in a range of formats and pack sizes for the foodservice industry.

Representing British farm to fork at its best, Yorkshire-based Bannisters Farm potatoes caught a lot of attention with their variety of healthy and convenient frozen jacket potatoes, filled potatoes skins and delicious roast potatoes; providing a great showcase for Thomas Ridley’s independent regional producers.

Thanks to our sponsors!

The event was well supported by 13 key sponsors;

Aspall, Stokes, Adnams, Bridor, Heinz, Nestle Professional, Mars Wrigley, Premier Foods, Unilever Away From Home, Pladis, Pidy, Yarde Farm and The Caterfood Collection – the new own-brand private label offering available from Thomas Ridley, which is now part of the Caterfood Buying Group.

Reflecting on the event, Jon Matthews, Sales Director of Thomas Ridley Foodservice, said:

“The eat. with Thomas Ridley trade show was a great day and we were really pleased to see so many local customers, and many potential customers, take the time to come along and join us at this brand new event.

“We know that everyone working in the industry is extremely busy and very few people can make the time to travel to the bigger food and drink shows, so we wanted to bring a vibrant, local trade show to our customers.

And actually, we found that a couple of hours here at the football ground with so many wonderful and knowledgeable suppliers, and, of course, Thomas Ridley staff members on hand to help provide solutions for their business and answer questions, is exactly what the customer needs to get the most out of a trade show like this.

“There were a lot of happy people walking away from eat. with tangible insights and inspirations which they can quickly action to revamp their offering, reduce costs and stay ahead of the game when it comes to maintaining what their customers want to see on menus – and importantly making that offering at an affordable price for the current climate."

Jon Matthews continued: "Here at Thomas Ridley, we’re focused on being a partner for our customers and we’re invested in doing everything that we can to help them succeed and delight their customers; we’re all passionate about food and foodservice and providing a great customer experience.

“The whole event had a great buzz about it and we’re already looking forward to making plans to hold the event again next year. The last few years have been really tough on the food and drink sector, so this has been a great way to bring existing customers, potential customers, students and suppliers together, under one roof, to really celebrate working in foodservice, share ideas and feel good about working in the industry. And, of course, championing our fantastic local producers and helping them to form better relationships with the end customers!”

Eat with Thomas Ridley was a brand-new event and offered plenty of opportunities to try new products, network with industry peers and experts - take advantage of exclusive offers which were only available on the day – and to get to know more about working with Thomas Ridley, the 200-year-old Suffolk company which was acquired by the Caterfood Group earlier this year.