Now in its sixth year, Caffè Culture, the UK’s most comprehensive resource for the UK café and coffee bar market, took place in the National Hall, Olympia on 18th & 19th May 2011. On Friday 20th May the show also won the award for UK’s Best Trade Event at the prestigious Exhibition News Awards for Caffè Culture 2010.
Caffè Culture was once again a resounding success with 4,433 visitors and over 200 exhibitors attending over the two days.
Following the huge success of the 2010 event, as it played host to the World Barista Championships, the 2011 event presented a specific set of challenges. Elliot Gard, Event Director, comments: “Last year’s Caffè Culture was a fantastic celebration for our industry, but it was also an anomaly. We were hosting a huge series of competitions that attracted a phenomenal international attendance of baristas and coffee tourists, it was three days of intense activities and the whole event most certainly had coffee at its heart. In 2011 we needed to return to Caffè Culture’s roots and provide an event that truly delivered for exhibitors and visitors alike.”
Gard continues: “We developed a number of different initiatives this year to provide the core audience of café bar owners and managers with the business support needed to ensure they continue to survive and thrive despite tough trading conditions on the high street. From the fantastic feedback we have had we are delighted to know that Caffè Culture continues to play a pivotal role in the industry’s calendar, providing a much needed opportunity for the whole community to come together to network, share ideas and do business.”
Visitors who came to this year’s event met with suppliers of thousands of products and services specifically designed for the café bar market, as well as enjoying free access to a first-class programme of seminars with the Caffè Theatre and, new for 2011, one-to-one consultations with a host of industry experts within the Caffè Clinic. In addition there were four streams of paid for workshops looking at everything from managing the finances and marketing of a business, through to offering training in basic and advanced barista skills and latte art.
Commenting on the return to the traditional Caffè Culture event format, Roger Shuttleworth, Head of Marketing at Jura, said: “A welcome return to the tried and tested format of a two day show – smaller and better. As our main show case for Jura Coffee machines each year we are delighted with the number of people we met at the show, both new customers and old contacts looking at expanding their operations.”
Paul Freeman, Marketing Director, Douwe Egberts, adds: “We took the decision to exhibit at Caffè Culture this year to showcase a unique bean-to-cup solution, designed to make great coffee easy. We were immediately impressed with the quality of visitors on the opening day and hope that this will translate into many business opportunities and new relationships.”
Organised by Upper Street Events, Caffè Culture 2012 will take place at Olympia, London on 16 & 17 May. For further information of the event visit www.caffeculture.com.
