Caffè Nero ’s head of food & beverage Hannah McKay, Greggs’ head of category David Ross, KFC’s innovation director for the UK and Ireland Jack Hinchcliffe, GAIL’s Bakery’s marketing director Romy Miller, Tortilla’s head of food Martyn Clover, and Pod’s head of food Aggie Morrell, are the latest high-profile additions to this year’s free Keynote line-up at lunch!.
Representing some of the UK’s biggest lunchtime operators, they’ll be appearing at the event alongside other big names from itsu, Pret, LEON, EAT, Tossed, and more, over 20-21 September, at London ExCeL.
For this year’s visitors, it’s a rare opportunity to hear from some of the UK’s most inspirational and influential food-to-go professionals (all speaking at the show for the first time) sharing their expertise and insights into the opportunities, challenges and big trends ahead.
Speaker highlights also include an exclusive Keynote by John Upton, chairman of healthy restaurant chain The Naked Deli and street food brand Mother Clucker. Up until recently he was the MD of LEON and, prior to that, a senior director at McDonald’s UK.
Drawing on his experience from his time at the top, as well as the exciting new brands he’s currently working with, he’ll be discussing practical strategies for delivering sustainable growth (from 12.45pm, in Keynote Theatre 1 on 20 September).
“lunch! combines both the future, and the practicalities of winning today, into one great tasty mouthful,” says Upton, “It’s punchy, practical, and good for profit.”
From exclusive Keynotes and interviews, to research updates and panel discussions – each session at lunch! has been tailored specifically to address the business needs of food-to-go operators and retailers (including coffee shops, cafés, food-to-go multiples, supermarkets, contract caterers, wholesalers and distributors). The initial Keynote schedule will be available on the show’s website early next month.
Previously confirmed speakers include:
Julian Metcalfe OBE, founder of itsu and co-founder of Pret A Manger – appearing in a rare live interview talking about his incredible career and his passion for fast, fresh food on the move.
Clare Clough, food & coffee director at Pret A Manger – arrive early on day two for this exclusive interview, as Clare shares insights from Pret’s journey so far and talks about what’s next for this much-loved high street brand.
Shereen Ritchie, operations director at LEON – discusses how to lead by example and create results that can exceed expectations.
Arnaud Kaziewicz, head of food at EAT – for him ‘attention to detail’ is a key ingredient to success in the food-to-go market. He’ll be speaking about this and more in the show’s first ever ‘Head of Food panel’, with Tortilla’s Martyn Clover and Pod’s Aggie Morrell.
Angelina Harrisson, food & commercial director at Tossed – explores what’s next for technology in quick service food-to-go, including how to embrace new and existing tech to drive sales and efficiency.
Richard Morris, MD of Tortilla – shares his thoughts on staying ‘authentic’ in this hugely competitive market, covering everything from innovative sourcing and customer choice to pricing and delivery opportunities.
Mark McCulloch, founder & CEO of WE ARE Spectacular – takes in-depth look at brands at the top of their game and how to replicate their success. He’s also hosting the first ever live recording of the popular Spectacular Marketing Podcast at the show (22 Sept), featuring, among others, Romy Miller from GAIL’s Bakery’s.
Beth Taubner, founder of Mercurylab – outlines strategies for UK brands looking to expand into the US, including expert analysis into selling and marketing over ‘the pond’.
Simon Stenning, strategic advisor at MCA – hosting two MCA Briefings for 2018, focusing on food-to-go trends and opportunities within the UK Sandwich Market (20 Sept) and the Coffee Shop Market (21 Sept).
Gavin Rothwell, head of food-to-go & retail safaris at IGD – shares the latest research on the top trends and innovators to watch globally.
Cyril Lavenant, executive director of foodservice UK at The NPD Group – looks back at lessons learnt from the 2008-2009 recession, and outlines the keys to survive in challenging trading times.
Informative, innovative, invaluable, inspirational, exciting, busy, diverse, fantastic, and relevant are just some of the words these speakers have used to describe the show. For them, like the thousands of visitors that regularly attend, it’s where the industry meets to do business.
“lunch! offers us a fantastic opportunity each year to learn about the latest trends and developments in both the coffee and food-to-go industries. It’s a great chance to see and hear about these exciting developments first-hand and gives us an occasion for the industry to come together!” says Rachel Chatterton, senior innovation manager EMEA at Starbucks.
Free trade registration
lunch! returns to London ExCeL on 20-21 September. To register for a free trade ticket, please visit www.lunchshow.co.uk and quote priority code LU26 (direct link: http://www.eventdata.co.uk/Forms/Default.aspx?FormRef=Lun98Visitor&TrackingCode=LU26).
