This year we are proud to continue our partnership with IFE (International Food & Drink Event) and the QFA (Quality Food Awards) team were delighted to be invited to exhibit at this year’s show from the 20th - 22nd March at ExCel London. Over 1,500 national and international suppliers attended the event, and they welcomed 25,000 visitors across the three days.

On Monday 20th March we opened for entries and this coincided perfectly with IFE as we met a number of suppliers who were excited to discover us on stand 1973 and find out more about the awards. It was fantastic to see so many familiar faces from past entrants and winners, sponsors and judges - a number of our judges held keynotes and seminars including:

• Steve Walpole - Professional Chef Consultant, Steve Walpole Limited
• Stephen Minall - Founder, FDReviews.com
• Kelly Dowson - Managing Director, FIS Group
• Peter Naylor - Director, Facilit8 & Flourish Ltd
• Gavin McLean - Founder & CEO, Titan Brands

You can find out more about our judges here.

We attended a number of sessions across the three days, and have collated our key takeaways from IFE in case you missed it! The two sessions that we obtained the majority of this information from were the Distributor Discovery Hour - Bidfood Trends Showcase and Future food trend tracker 2023, hosted by QFA judges Charles Banks and Kelly Dowson.

So here it is - what we learnt from IFE 2023:

People are looking for something different

It seems that consumers in the UK are feeling a little more adventurous this year and moving away from foods which are considered more mainstream, so we’re seeing a willingness to be more experimental and adventurous. During the Bidfood Trends Showcase we learnt that there are trends emerging for pan-African cuisine, Sri Lankan cuisine and fusions of food from different cultures. The Bidfoods session featured a number of their new products and chef Martin, from the Bidfoods team, cooked up a number of delicious flavoursome dishes - the highlight of which was a superb Sri Lankan chickpea curry.

Food from specific regions

Instead of referring to products as simply “Indian” or “Chinese”, there is now a demand for authentic regional food because consumers are looking for authenticity. It seems that there is a decreasing appetite for Anglo-Indian food, such as Chicken Tikka Masalas. Instead of jars of curry sauces, we can expect to see a more eclectic mix of spices and also recipe kits offering region-specific meal options.

Small plates

Although tapas and mezze dishes have been popular here in the UK for a number of years, there are definitely an increasing number of pub and restaurant menus promoting “sharing plates”, and supermarket fridges and freezers are also reflecting this rising trend. Perhaps because of the pandemic, we all missed getting stuck into food we could share, or perhaps because it means we can sample many different flavours and dishes in one meal!

More vegetables and vegetarian options

There has been a significant drop in the number of people engaging with the “Veganuary” trend as we see a shift in the vegan diet being a choice for one month of the year and becoming a lifestyle for many. According to the Bidfood’s research team, 70% of people here in the UK feel that restaurants are lacking vegetarian options; many meat eaters are looking to reduce their meat consumption and so offering multiple vegetarian options on menus is expected now.

We have many vegan and vegetarian categories for this year's Quality Food Awards, including:

• Dairy Free: Alternatives to dairy products e.g. dairy-free cheese, alternative milks', ice cream etc.
• Vegan Desserts and Sweet Treats: Any vegan sweet items e.g. cakes, mousse pots, desserts
• Food To Go – Vegan: Any vegan food to go option e.g. Falafel Salads, tofu wraps etc.
• Vegan Meal Centres: Products created to imitate the taste and/or texture of meat or fish e.g. meat-free burgers, soya or mycoprotein sausages, wellingtons, chicken-style nuggets etc or products created to replace meat or fish but not taste like it e.g. vegetable sausages, beetroot burgers etc.
• Vegan Pasta, Pastry and Pizza: Vegan pizzas, pastry and pastas specifically targeting the vegan consumer e.g. jackfruit pizza, vegan pie, vegan sausage rolls etc.
• Vegan Ready Meals: Any vegan ready meal requiring reheating at home e.g. curry, chilli etc.
• Vegan Snacking: Any sweet or savoury snacks created to specifically be vegan e.g. chocolate bars and biscuits, wholefood bars etc.
• Vegan Starters and Side Dishes: Products specifically developed to be meat or dairy alternatives e.g. no-duck spring rolls, samosa etc.
• Vegan Store Cupboard: Products specifically created as a vegan alternative e.g. tofu, vegan mayo, sauces and dressings, nutritional yeast

All our award categories can be found here.

Sustainability

This next one probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise - but there was a very big focus on sustainability at IFE. There was even a Sustainability Stage, where a number of topics around this subject were discussed, including What does sustainability mean for the frozen food industry?, Sustainability: What are the barriers to success? and Reasons to invest in wholesale: A sustainable channel. As well as there being a clear demand for more sustainably sourced ingredients, consumers are also looking for eco-friendly packaging. A great example of this is one of our previous winners, Zingiberi Bakery, who joined us on our stand at IFE, as the packaging of their crackers is made from wood pulp.

Foraging has become increasingly popular over the last few years, and wild garlic is now in season! Chef Martin, again from the Bidfoods team, cooked up a delicious meal with Wild Garlic Pesto which was delicious.

An appetite for in-person events

The turnout for IFE was phenomenal this year; after the turbulent few years we’ve been through with the pandemic, which obviously hit the hospitality industry hard, it was brilliant to see that so many producers adapted to survive and that people were excited to meet face-to-face again.

Being an event celebrating international cuisine, there were a huge number of producers exhibiting at IFE from all over the world, and so the appetite for in-person events clearly spans beyond the UK. Coincidentally, IFE are sponsoring our International Producer award, which is a fantastic opportunity to boost your exposure to consumers and retailers alike.

Following discussions with our judges, previous entrants, the QFA team and IFA attendees in regards to whether to hold this year’s awards ceremony online or in an in-person event, the responses were unanimous - everyone wanted us to return to an in-person event, so that’s what we will do! Watch this space for more details…

Entries are now open for the UK Quality Food Awards 2023. If you produce an exceptional product, that is available for consumers to purchase here in the UK, then we would love to hear from you!

Take a look at our full list of categories here, and don't hesitate to get in touch with our team if you have any questions. Good luck!