Over £2 million in orders were generated for visiting suppliers from the buying group’s 12 members during the exhibition with a whole host of food and drink products sampled and brought to life through interactive demonstrations.
Following the exhibition, a special conference session took place with commercial director Martin Ward and head of marketing Emma Holden delivering presentations that shared the Group’s strategy and key focus areas.
The event was the ‘perfect opportunity’ for the CRG member wholesalers to come together to celebrate the Group’s 30th anniversary. The conference was rounded off by guest speaker and former England rugby player Phil Vickery.
Ward said: “It’s been a very difficult few years for the foodservice industry and events like these are vital in helping our suppliers showcase their varied, unique and wonderful products to our members. After missing a few years of our annual exhibition due to Covid restrictions, it was fantastic to be back in Telford and see so many friendly faces come together for the day.
“A huge amount of money in orders was raised for our visiting suppliers, which made it all the more worthwhile, and the special gala dinner and masquerade themed ball in the evening were the perfect setting to celebrate our 30th anniversary.”
In the evening, there was a masquerade ball which was hosted by Brian Conley, a three-course dinner and raffle, which raised over £5,000 for Hospitality Action. This total will be matched by CRG resulting in a total donation of £10,000. In line with the Group’s focus on sustainability they worked with FareShare who redistributed the surplus food from the exhibition.