The industry exhibit ’40 Sunbury Road’ has achieved a Silver Medal at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and one of the featured new plants Dwarf Mulberry Charlotte Russe from Suttons has taken the title of RHS Plant of the Year.

The garden, put together by the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) and The Association of Professional Landscapers (APL), is run in conjunction with Peter Seabrook and The Sun and is a celebration of Peter’s 40 years working at the newspaper.

APL member Bowood Landscapes have helped to build the garden, which features ideas and inspiration from a typical modest suburban back garden, and celebrates and promotes the vibrant and strong garden and landscape industry that we have in the UK with growers and suppliers providing plants and sundries.

The exhibit received a lot of interest at the press day on Monday 22 May including a Royal visit from Sophie, Countess of Wessex. Other visitors to the garden included Joan Collins, Susan George, Jerry Hall, Rupert Murdoch, Alan Titchmarsh, Deborah Meaden and Baroness Floella Benjamin.

See our gallery of photos below.

Peter Seabrook was presented with a bottle of champagne by HTA President Adam Wigglesworth and HTA Director of Operations Martin Simmons, to thank him for the work he and his team had done to help coordinate the garden.

The exhibit also saw the launch of the import substitution for oak report with HTA Head of Horticulture Raoul Curtis -Machin, HTA President Adam Wigglesworth and Kevin Hobbs from Hillier Nurseries.

The 16m x 5m plot in the Great Marquee features plants and sundries from growers and suppliers all of which are available nationwide in UK garden centres. This includes hanging baskets from Kerleys, Haskins Garden Centre, Bents Garden and Home and Aylett Nurseries, mint planted teapots grown by school children and dementia sufferers, as seen here with Robert Hillier, his wife and Peter Seabrook.

The garden features over 15 new plants including five that were entered for RHS Chelsea Plant of the Year including the winner - Dwarf Mulberry Charlotte Russe from Suttons), Pelargonium PAC Spanish Wine Rose (Cramden Nursery), Betula pendula ‘Fastigiata Joes’ (Frank P Matthews), Lilly Sunset Joy (Pinetops Nurseries) and Strawberry Just Add Cream (Thompson & Morgan) which was so tasty Deborah Meaden had to return with Susan George to taste some more.

Westland Horticulture’s ‘Rising Stars’ have created specially planted containers, with the three Rising Stars themselves (Emma Blackmore from Bents Garden & Home, Kathryn Hunt from Stewarts Garden Centre and Sarah Stewart from Klondyke, Polmont) will also be at the Show on Thursday, May 25 to tell the story of their unusual planted containers.

The garden also features the Wonderwall vertical planting system with strawberries, thyme, salad and confetti plants – demonstrating how outdoor space can effectively use height to gain impact. Perennial, working with Fiddlehead Products, provided a roof top fairy garden on the featured shed within the garden, providing added interest with plants and conifers from Gedney Bulb Plant Company and Golden Grove Nurseries.

Forest Garden provided the shed and the decibel noise reduction panels with WoodBlocX providing raised beds, Bradstone the paving and a patio cleaning equipment from Hozelock.

Companies and brands from across the industry have joined together to contribute to 40 Sunbury Road including Aylett Nurseries, Armlee Nurseries, Ball Colegrave, Barcham, Benary, Bents Garden & Home, Big,  Cramden Nursery, Dobies, Double H Nurseries,  Eden, Evi loves you!, Fleuroselect, Floranova, Forest Garden, Frank P Matthews, Genesis, Haskins Garden Centres, Hozelock,  KADO, Majestic Trees, Myerscough College,  Neudorff, Pinetops, Plants for Europe, Quantil, Rolawn,  Seiont, Stewarts Garden Centre, Suttons, The David Colegrave Foundation, Thompson & Morgan, Westland, WoodBlocX, WonderWall, Wyevale Nurseries amongst others.  Many thanks to them all.

Our Chimes of Bali. Tuned to the traditional scale of a Balinese shadow puppet play.

• Authentic and original musically tuned windchime
• Premier quality, affordable & value priced
• Created by GRAMMY® Award-winning musician Garry Kvistad
• The choice of discerning UK customers for nearly 40 years
• Chimes are in stock and ship within 48 hours from our UK warehouse

Woodstock Chimes is committed to providing an excellent quality product at a fair price.

Excellent Quality
Woodstock Chimes maintains high standards by using premium grade materials such as top grade aluminium and North American hardwood as well as by enforcing exacting specifications for elements like tube thickness, clapper placement, placement of tube string holes, windcatcher weight, and stringing methodology.

Weather testing is conducted on every product produced. Product is hung outside year-round to ensure that all elements, including wood, tubes, color and string, can withstand being exposed to the sun, wind, rain, snow and whatever Mother Nature throws at it (and us!).

Reasonable Prices
Woodstock Chimes offers a wide variety of styles and price points; there’s sure to be one that’s just right for each of your customers. Woodstock Chimes come in a variety of shapes, sizes and prices, from the small, colourful Gem Drop Chimes to the massive, resonant Windsinger Chimes of King David™, and everything in between.

Our Encore® Collection Chimes share the superior quality standards of the rest of our products, yet they are our value line. How do we keep the prices low? All Encore Collection Chimes share a distinct look and come in a selection of striking colour combinations. They also have the same enchanting tuning that sounds out of this world in any size. Because Encore Collection Chimes have these things in common, they are economical to produce and offer the high value of Woodstock Chimes at a lower cost.

Excellent Products, Excellent Service
The Woodstock Chimes commitment to excellence goes far beyond our product. Woodstock Chimes offers superior customer service and maintains product stock levels so shipments are quick and complete. All orders ship promptly from our Chichester warehouse. It’s exceptional all the way around!
Hearing a Woodstock Chime is like listening to a
perfectly tuned musical instrument, played by the wind.

See all the Woodstock Chimes UK products here

Our Chimes of Mozart is tuned to the opening intervals of the Andante movement from Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major.

www.woodstock-chimes.co.uk

White Pebble International
Unit 2, Plot 11, Terminus Road
Chichester PO198 TX UK
Tel +44(0)1243 780501
Fax +44(0)1243 839332
info@whitepebbleint.com

• Garden Products - down 37%
• Veg-2-Gro - down 8%
• Growing Media - down 3%
• All Plants Index - down 21%
• All Items Index - down 15%

The global lighting market is growing steadily and is expected to achieve a market size of over £100 Billion by the year 2020.  No doubt, many of you are seeing this demand grow in your own segment of the market.



Evergreen Enterprises offers dozens of lighted products throughout its various brands, with glow in the dark, LED battery powered and solar color-changing features to help you capture this opportunity.



The 2017 Fall Holiday range includes lighted items from Lanterns to Mobiles to String Lights and more, under the category Night Garden. These high quality, beautifully designed pieces help your customers to create an inviting home scape and have provided a significant increase in sales since their introduction.



Evergreen Enterprises continues to strive to learn from you and your consumers, and offer those items that continue to keep your consumers coming back.

See these and many more of Evergreen’s  fresh, innovative, quality products by visiting their stand at GLEE, or by contacting them at:

White Pebble International
Unit 2, Plot 11, Terminus Road
Chichester PO198 TX UK
Tel +44(0)1243 780501
Fax +44(0)1243 839332
info@whitepebbleint.com

• Salvia Little Kiss a new bi-colour salvia.
• Scabious Kudo White an extremely floriferous new white flowering scabious perfect for patios offering colour from May until frosts.
• Hydrangea ‘LA Dreamin’ a new bicoloured Hydrangea that produces pink and blue flowers on the same plant.
• Hydrangea ‘Doppio Bianco’ a beautiful new white double flowering Hydrangea that opens as a lacecap but fills out into a mophead.
• Lavender ‘The Princess’ a fantastic new hardy French lavender. Bright, fat, vibrant deep pink flags and is a true garden performer.

• Phormium Chocomint is a distinct two tone Phormium with chocolate midribs and mint edges.
• Scabious Kudo Pink is an extremely floriferous pink flowering scabious perfect for patios offering colour from May until frosts.
• Antirrhinum ‘Pretty in Pink’ is the first of its kind perennial Antirrhinum, which provides a spectacular show of vivid pink tubular flowers from early summer through to the first frosts.
• Viburnum ‘Kilimanjaro Sunrise’ is a stunning shrub with elegant white lacecap flowers that cover the distinctive, tiered branches of this upright shrub. It was as a previous plant of the year award winner in 2015.

The Kelling Estate has acquired the business and assets of EMCY Garden & Leisure from Mike and Caroline Crane.

It will be business as usual with a seamless transition planned.

EMCY is a Garden Centre situated in 5 acres on the North Norfolk Coast with extensive parking on Holgate Hill in Kelling NR25 7ER under 2 miles from Holt.

Mike and Caroline Crane, EMCY, said: “Because of our loyal and supporting customers and suppliers, Caroline, myself and the team have worked passionately to try and provide a garden centre that we could all be proud of and in the main we believe that this has been achieved based on all the lovely feedback we have enjoyed over the years.

"Caroline and I see it as simply passing the baton on to new owners who will continue to improve and create a centre that will constantly evolve into a better and more complete business.

"Our time at EMCY has been incredible, our team has become our family our customers our friends.

"Although long hours and hard work we have enjoyed building EMCY and we feel we can retire with the knowledge that our work is done and it’s the perfect time to hand the reigns to the Kelling Estate.

"As they say 'watch this space' you are going to be amazed.”

Gary and Beverley Widdowson. Kelling Estate, said: “We would like to thank Mike and Caroline Crane for the opportunity to acquire the business and we welcome the EMCY team to Kelling Estate.

"We very much look forward to continuing the high levels of customer service that Mike and Caroline have delivered over the past 27 years.”

Alexander Mackie Associates acted on behalf of the Kelling Estate in the purchase of EMCY.

Sarah Stewart – Klondyke Garden Centre in Falkirk, Scotland

“I will be using a kettle barbeque as the container with a mini garden inside. This will be planted with a selection of alpines, ferns and grasses, some lovely pebbles to give it a landscaped look and some bunting to give a real sense of celebration.”

Emma Blackmore – Bents Garden Centre in Glazebury, Warrington

“I’ve created my container in a toy car which we have in our children’s Boutique at Bents. It’s planted with some really bright and colourful bedding plants. I got inspiration from my daughter who spends so much time exploring and playing outside but doesn’t tidy up after herself, so you’re sure to find some sort of toy lying around.”

Keith Nicholson, Marketing Director for Westland Horticulture, sponsors of the Rising Stars Programme, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for the Rising Stars and their garden centres to exhibit at the prestigious RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

“Not only will they have the opportunity to experience another element of the horticulture industry, but they will also be able to be part of the most important horticultural event in the world.”

As we approach peak season for growing media and plant food sales, we talk to Manos Kanellos, Sales & Marketing Manager at leading manufacturer Growth Technology about the increasing popularity of orchids.

GTN: Manos, Growth Technology products make regular appearances in GTN’s Bestsellers Top 50, against stiff competition from other leading brands. How have sales been this year so far?

MK: Simply put, beyond expectations. Our sales grow steadily every year and in March we reached a new record. 2017 promises to be our best year by far.

GTN: What is it about the quality of Growth Technology products that makes them special?

MK: We focus on plants for unparalleled quality. We don’t cut any corners and we go the extra mile to create truly excellent products. For example our fertilisers are urea free, and they contain all of the 14 nutrients plants need. Our Orchid Focus Repotting Mix is simply graded bark for the best results with orchids. In turn our products enjoy a great reputation and a loyal following with the public.

GTN: Persuading consumers that your products are the best is a big challenge. What’s the best way to help garden centres get that message across?

MK: Our product design and packaging conveys quality, and people respond to that, but we also try to educate garden centre staff and customers with talks. Information leaflets, online tutorials and talks all help to convey the message.

GTN: What kind of service can stockists expect from Growth Technology?

MK: We are a good company to do business with. We always try to go the extra mile for customers. We have a wide range of products, a minimum carriage paid order of just £200 and we normally dispatch within one to two days. We supply product stands where required and we help stockists increase sales with events aiming to educate customers on how best to care for orchids. We have helped stockists organise more than 60 events this year so far with excellent feedback from stores and customers.

GTN: What happens at Growth Technology’s ‘Orchid Day’ events?

MK: The format is flexible but an orchid day normally consists of two talks about orchid care, each followed by a plant clinic. People are encouraged to bring their own plants for an MOT and possibly repotting if needed. We have had people bring as many as ten plants for repotting. The average audience is 40 to 50 people with talks often attracting over 70 orchid enthusiasts. These talks are a great way for garden centres to differentiate their offer from other outlets. We have been helping garden centres organise such events for over eight years now and they are growing more popular every year.

Our team of orchid experts include Peter White (President of the Orchid Society of Great Britain), Chris Channon (retired orchid grower), Ian Parsons (Vice-President of the British Orchid Council) and myself, a plant scientist by training. The calibre of people who are involved in these talks is a testament to the quality of our products. They are long days but very rewarding. It is a great feeling to share our enthusiasm about plants and help people grow better orchids.

GTN: Do you have any tips for stockists on how to merchandise your product range to maximise sales?

MK: A brand specific stand in the houseplant area seems to increase sales especially where we attach a TV showing how to best use the products and how to repot an orchid. We are looking to increase the quantity of video clips with tips on how to care for and repot other plants.

GTN: Does the market you operate in have potential for further growth?

MK: Absolutely. Houseplants and orchids always brighten our homes. As the average house and garden gets smaller houseplants satisfy a basic need to have plants and beautiful flowers around us. And let's not forget we also manufacture and sell products for a wide range of plants from palms and olives to tomatoes and chillies.

GTN: Finally, do you have plans for new products or projects that you can share with us?

MK: We have a number of new products in the pipeline but as one of my favourite TV characters says: “I couldn’t possibly comment...”

What garden centres are saying about Growth Technology’s Orchid Days

Jo Dales, marketing manager, Tong Garden Centre: It was an extremely successful event in store that we are keen to repeat. It generated lots of interest and customer feedback was excellent. We saw an increase in both the sale of orchids and orchid-related products.

Katrina Holford, Parker’s Garden Company: Our orchid day was a huge success with over 80 people attending the talks. Houseplants and sundries sales were much increased as a result. Thank you for an extremely interesting and informative orchid day.

Hannah Powell, Perrywood Garden Centre: We have run Orchid Days with Growth Technology for several years now, and they are always well attended. Saturday is always more popular than Sunday. The talks from Peter White and Manos are very informative (although we have to be on hand to stop them talking, they are so passionate!) and the re-potting service is extremely popular, with some people bringing in their entire collections. The main benefit for us is the opportunity to buy in a larger range of orchids for two weeks, and to showcase these stunning plants. Customers keen on orchids know that it's the best time of the year to come in and buy at Perrywood and are delighted when we have something a bit different for sale. Sales of products and orchids do increase as well, and the extra footfall drives sales in the rest of the garden centre and coffee shop.

Daryl Pollard, Sunshine Garden Centre: We have hosted several Orchid Days over the past couple of years. They are usually held twice a year, spring and autumn. Attendance is usually between 20-30. The event is advertised with flyers and posters provided by Growth Technology. Manos gives talks on a host of orchid species and fields all sorts of queries. He also runs a repotting clinic where customers can bring in an orchid for a health check and a repot, resulting in a sale for pots and compost. Customers usually ask when the next one is.

To find out more about Growth Technology Orchid Days and the full product range, go to the website, call 01823 325291 or email

Last week (Friday 12th May), the GIMA team were over the moon to win silver at the inaugural Awards Awards ceremony. This exciting accolade was awarded to the GIMA team for their continued efforts in delivering the annual GIMA Awards, with the event scooping silver in the ‘Best Event - less than 500 attendees’ category.  

The Awards Awards - a brand new spin-off event from GCN, the team behind the Conference Awards and the Association Excellence Awards – were launched in 2017 to celebrate the best events from across all industries and product sectors. With 15 categories, the awards cover everything from award teams and suppliers, to judging processes and supporting websites. The GIMA team entered the GIMA Awards into several award categories, with the event being recognised for its unrivalled value, industry support and continued growth within the ‘Best Event – less than 500 attendees’ category. 

Speaking about this ‘win’, GIMA Director Vicky Nuttall said: “I am so pleased to be able to confirm that the GIMA Awards have been recognised in this way. This is the first time that we have put the awards out there beyond our industry, and to receive such an accolade from experienced and passionate event professionals works to further boost our enthusiasm for the event. We have always known it’s a great event, but it’s always great to have this echoed by others. Of course, the awards are nothing without the continued support of our sponsors, all those that enter and, obviously, all those who attend, helping to create a real night to remember. This award is yours also.” 

To find out more about the Awards Awards please visit http://awardsawards.co.uk/finalists-summaries/#overs. Full details about GIMA and the GIMA Awards 2017 can be found at www.gima.org.uk

• Alex Vick - Senior Executive Director and Finance Director
• Anne Clark -Director of Human Resources
• Martin Simmons - Director of Operations
• Raoul Curtis-Machin - Director of Horticulture

• Smart Solar Eureka! Lightbulb Lantern was the highest climber.
• Gardman Hanging Basket Coco Liner was the highest re-entry.

• Quantil Runner Bean White Emergo Strips clung on to the top spot.
• Quantil Tomato Alicante 8cm was th highest re-entry at No 12.
• Sweet Pepper Yellow Bell 8cm was the highest climber, jumping 24 places to No 19.
• W D Smith Strawberry 10cm was the highest new entry.

• Scotts Levington Multipurpose + John Innes (56 litres) stayed on top of the chart.
• Scotts Levington Multipurpose Compost (56 litres) was the highest climber, moving up 20 places to No 21.
• Westland Ericaceous + John Innes (30 litres) was the highest re-entry at No 35.

• Bedding Geraniums (Pelargoniums) accounted for 10% of all plants sold last week.
• The Top 10 plant genus groupings provided a third of plant sales.
• Chrysanthemums saw the biggest percentage growth, up over 200%.

Every week GTN receives and analyses epos data from a number of UK garden centres to produce the GTN Bestsellers charts and weekly bestsellers sales tips.

The full charts which provide useful insight into product sales peaks, new trends and new link sales opportunities are published in the weekly GTN Xtra printed newsletter.

As the year goes on we give sales volume comparisons with 2014 as well as 2015 to allow your teams to see variations over a three year period.

Access is by subscription only.  For £195.00 per year you and your team can have access to the most up-to-date gardening sales analysis that has already helped many UK garden centres increase their sales.  To subscribe call 01733 775700, e-mail karen.pfeiffer@tgcmc.co.uk or buy on-line using this link.

Highlights of the GTN Garden Products Bestsellers chart for this week are here

Highlights of the GTN Garden Plants Bestsellers chart for this week are here

Highlights of the GTN Veg-2-Gro Bestsellers chart for this week are here

Highlights of the GTN Growing Media Bestsellers chart for this week are here

WARNING the GTN Bestsellers Charts seriously improve the business of our subscribers.  Invest 15 minutes each week in improving your sales using the GTN Bestsellers charts and your turnover and customer satisfaction will improve too.

The Cinnamon Collection's executive chef and founder Vivek Singh has been confirmed for a headline Keynote Q&A at Commercial Kitchen 2017.

The UK’s only dedicated event for catering equipment buyers and suppliers returns to the NEC Birmingham next month, on 6-7 June.

Singh’s ‘in conversation’ session, with fellow chef and restaurant consultant Jay Morjaria, is set to reveal exclusive insights into the inner workings of the kitchens and kit at the heart of his top London restaurants; including The Cinnamon Club (launched in 2001 and now considered a benchmark for fine dining Indian restaurants around the world), Cinnamon Kitchen, Cinnamon Soho, and Cinnamon Bazaar.

The author of five cookbooks (his sixth – Indian Festival Feasts, is set to be published next month), a regular face on the BBC’s Saturday Kitchen and MasterChef, and often featured in the national press, Singh is renowned as one of the most innovative Indian food chefs of his generation.  Much is known about his signature culinary style, which blends authentic, modern Indian flavours with Western techniques.  Much less so about the kitchen designs, equipment, training and practices that have helped steer his restaurants to success.  He’ll be talking about all that and more in this highly-anticipated session, starting at 11am on the show’s opening day (6 June).

"Commercial Kitchen is an important trade event, as it shows chefs the latest innovations and possibilities for their kitchens,” says Singh.  “I'm really passionate about the equipment that makes our kitchens work for our teams and customers, and I look forward to seeing my colleagues and peers at this inspiring industry event."

Singh isn’t the only professional chef lending his specialist expertise to speaker duties at Commercial Kitchen.  Previously confirmed big names include world-renowned pastry chef Claire Clark MBE – the first person in the UK, and only female recipient, to be awarded the Master of Culinary Arts for outstanding craftsmanship (formerly known as the ‘Meilleur Ouvrier de la Grande Bretagne’); Chris Knights, group executive chef at Young’s Pubs and Geronimo Inns; Kumour Uddin, group executive chef at Anglian Country Inns; and Robert Quehan, formerly of The Ivy and now head chef at The Redwood Bistro at Bishopstoke Park (the UK’s first retirement village to be awarded an AA Rosette for its food).

“Commercial Kitchen is the ideal place to source the most up-to date kitchen equipment on the market today.  Your kitchen will benefit from all the latest technology here – helping you run an effective and efficient kitchen, saving both time and money,” says Claire Clark MBE, owner and director of Pretty Sweet and The Claire Clark Academy for Patisserie Excellence.

Other new speakers, announced today, include James Douglas, co-founder and director at Red’s True Barbecue, Adele Hing, development manager (kitchen, equipment & food operations) at Nando's UK & Ireland, and Chris Webb, catering operations manager at Punch Taverns.  Douglas and Hing will be appearing in the ‘Multi-site restaurant kitchen panel’ alongside MEATliquor’s MD Scott Collins and, session chair, Peter Martin, VP of CGA Peach.  While Webb, who heads up the team responsible for menu development, kitchen design and menu implementation across Punch’s estate – joins Knights and Uddin in ‘The pub kitchen panel’, which is to be chaired by Steve Dann, director at Fleet Street Communications.

Graeme Loudon, commercial director at insights firm CGA Strategy, will also be making his show debut.  His session will give an overview of the current challenges facing operators across the market and how they are adjusting their offer and plans in response to the continued fallout from the Brexit vote.  He’ll also be revealing the key trends to watch and their potential impact on the size and shape of the market in the months to come (3.30pm, 6 June).

The Foodservice Consultants Society International (FCSI) are a new association partner for Commercial Kitchen 2017.  They are set to host an exclusive panel featuring five of the country’s leading foodservice consultants.  Chaired by Michael Jones, editor of FCSI’s Foodservice Consultant Magazine, the session will offer some great insight into best practices, standards and the tangible things that even the best consultants can do to become even better partners to their clients (1.15pm, 7 June).

FCSI panellists include Julian Edwards, chairman of FCSI (UK&I) and owner of GY5; Paul Arnold, project director at Tricon Foodservice Consultants; Roz Burgess, owner of Intelligent Catering; Duncan Hepburn, principal consultant at Hepburn Associates; and Radford Chancellor, director of Radford Chancellor

“With such a wide choice of innovative equipment under one roof, and leading industry keynotes from across all sectors of the foodservice industry, it’s a must attend event for consultants and end-users looking to stay ahead of the latest innovations and trends in this dynamic industry,” says Edwards.

“Commercial Kitchen offers the industry something unique, not only commercial catering equipment but also excellent, relevant seminars.  Our consultants, and a number of our clients, are looking forward to attending this exciting show,” says Chancellor.

As previously announced, CEDA – the show’s lead partner, will feature prominently in the seminar line-up.  The CEDA panel (12.30pm, 6 June) sees five of the association’s former chairs appearing together for the first time (including Mark Drazen, MD of Caterware; Nick Howe, MD of Court Catering Equipment; Peter Kitchin, MD of C&C Catering Equipment; Iain Munro, MD of ScoMac Catering Equipment; and Jack Sharkey MSc, MD of Vision Commercial Kitchens).

CEDA’s Foodservice Kitchen Design Panel (2pm, 6 June), also led by Clare Nicholls, editor of Catering Insight, unites the CEDA Grand Prix Award winners of Best Small, Best Medium and Best Large Projects – Clive Groom, MD of CNG Foodservice Equipment, Paul Gilhooly, head of sales at Gratte Brothers Catering Equipment, and Nick Howe, MD of Court Catering Equipment (respectively) – to discuss their cutting edge commercial kitchen design and execution.

While Adam Mason, CEDA’s director general, will also be appearing alongside senior representatives from The ALMR (Kate Nicholls), FCSI (Julian Edwards), and HCA (Philip Shelley) in a joint association panel discussion at 3.30pm on 7 June.

Commercial Kitchen will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, 6-7 June at the NEC Birmingham.  Show features include a free two-day seminar programme, the Innovation Challenge Awards, and CEDA Awards Gallery.

The event was recently shortlisted for two national awards – ‘Best Tradeshow Launch’ and ‘Best Tradeshow under 2,000sqm’ by the Association of Event Organisers.

To register for a free trade pass, please visit www.commercialkitchenshow.co.uk and enter priority code CK10 (direct link: https://registration.n200.com/survey/3d80hw89gt3j0?actioncode=CK10).

As the industry prepares for the biggest trading period of the year, fine food distributor, Cotswold Fayre, is offering retailers the chance to preview the latest festive products at its Christmas Roadshows.  

Cotswold Fayre’s Christmas Roadshows are taking place between 18^th May and 6^th July at 15 locations across the UK. This year’s Christmas range has doubled since last year and now includes more than 800 products from 180 suppliers. 

Among the new confectionery brands being showcased are Milkboy Chocolate Bars; Sorini Festive Chocolates; Torron Vicens’ nougat; Cocoba and Indeal Bonbon.  

Other products new to this year’s Cotswold Fayre’s Christmas range include sparkling wine from Alder Ridge; fine quality crisps from Snackgold; Paul & Pippa’s sweet biscuits; Georgie Porgie’s puddings; and traditional and gluten free Christmas puddings from Lillypuds.

The roadshows have proven to be a great opportunity for retailers to meet suppliers face to face.  They also offer an exclusive opportunity to try the full range of products in preparation for stocking up for the Christmas period. 

Exclusive offers will also be available for those who place an order with Cotswold Fayre at the roadshows.  Register to attend your chosen location now by visiting www.cotswoldfayre.co.uk. 

London, 18 - May, Opens: 11:00am, Last Entry: 15:30pm  

East Sussex, 23 - May, Opens: 10:00am, Last Entry: 16:00pm  

Surrey, 24 - May, Opens: 10:00am, Last Entry: 16:00pm  

West Sussex, 25 - May, Opens: 10:00am, Last Entry: 16:00pm

West Midlands, 08 - June, Opens: 10:00am, Last Entry: 16:00pm

N.East Midlands, 12 - June, Opens: 10:00am, Last Entry: 16:00pm

North East, 13 - June, Opens: 10:00am, Last Entry: 15:30pm  

North West (Lancashire), 14 - June, Opens: 10:00am, Last Entry: 16:00pm

North West (Cheshire), 15 - June, Opens: 10:00am, Last Entry: 16:00pm  

Essex, 20 - June, Opens: 10:00am, Last Entry: 16:00pm  

Cambridgeshire, 21 - June, Opens: 10:00am, Last Entry: 16:00pm  

Oxfordshire, 27 - June, Opens: 10:00am, Last Entry: 16:00pm  

Hampshire, 28 - June, Opens: 10:00am, Last Entry: 16:00pm  

South West, 29 - June, Opens: 10:00am, Last Entry: 16:00pm

London, 06 - July, Opens: 10:00am, Last Entry: 15:30pm