Highlights From The Source Trade Show 2020
If there’s anything to get you back into the beat of food and drink at the start of the new year, it’s a good old trade show. Some of the HRA Global team attended The Source Trade show at Westpoint Exeter that has really helped to revitalise us for the year ahead. With a perfect mix of food producers, and those working in hospitality and foodservice, it was a great opportunity to bump into some familiar faces and some new ones.
HEALTH BOOST
It’s always great to see how health trends transcend into food and drink products, and it’s no surprise we saw a variety of brands elevating the quality of health-related products at Source last week.
Loving Foods Ltd produce raw organic fermented food and drink. Just a few of their products include a turmeric & black pepper kimchi, a spicy cortido kraut, a jun-kombucha in hibiscus & lime, and an apple cider vinegar. All of which are organic. Hamish, an avid kombucha fermenter in the office, had the chance to discuss the expansion of the category from home brewing to it holding a substantial amount of space on supermarket shelves.
If you’re looking to incorporate more vitamins into your lifestyle without having to remember to take supplements every morning, you should check out Get More Vits. For those on the go Get More Vits have created an array of flavoured waters and sparkling drinks that contain specific vitamins your body is craving. For instance, Still Pink Grapefruit contains the B12 vitamin to help combat tiredness and fatigue, or the can of Sparkling Mango & Passionfruit that contains vitamin D to support bone strength. The impressive variety of flavours and formats certainly gives this tired vitamins category a refreshing boost of energy it needs.
The Precious Pea are here to heighten your tastes buds with their organic hummus. With 7 flavours, including smoked, turmeric, red pepper and beetroot, Precious Pea pride themselves in sourcing the very best organic ingredients and allowing enough time to test the small batches they make to ensure customers are only getting the best houmous money can buy.
BAKED GOODNESS
As veganism and gut health predominate various categories in recent years, this has not stopped within baked goods either. These following brands have not let such trends hinder their ability to create innovative and great tasting products at a high quality for their customers.
The Exploding Bakery had one of the most enticing stands showcasing their finest bakes including their lemon polenta & pistachio tray-bake and almond brownie. Since starting up in 2011, the Exploding Bakery has now expanded the size of their café knocking through neighbouring walls and have opened a wholesale production kitchen close by. If you’re looking for coffee after you step off the train at Exeter, we wouldn’t recommend anywhere else.
Honeybuns Ltd, based in Dorset, since 1998 have continued to make delicious cakes to cater to those seeking gluten free, dairy free and vegan friendly bakes. Their new flavour ‘oaty raspberry’ shows it is possible to create free from bakes that don’t lose their gorgeous taste, and to continue to develop recipes to cater to a growing number of consumers looking to eat free from bakes out of preference rather than their solely dietary needs.
Stocked across Devon and Cornwall, Baker Toms Bread have a delicious range of organic and unique speciality breads to traditional tin loaves and rye and spelt flour varieties. Recognising the growing demand for high quality goods at convenience, Baker Toms also provides loaves for the food box scheme, Cornish Food Box. The sample croissants were nothing of short buttery deliciousness.
SWEET TREATS
As vegan food choices become ever so more entrenched in our menus and diets it’s no surprise sorbet options are not just a bonus on dessert menus anymore.
I was lucky enough to try a spoonful of the hazelnut sorbet from Baboo Gelato. Interested to learn more about the brand I’ve discovered they source their 100% pure hazelnut paste from Savarino Rapulino’s farm from near Geneva, Italy. Very impressive.
Marshfield Farm Ice Cream had a great stand with a small selection of their 30 ice cream flavours, accompanied by their dairy-free ice cream and infamous dog ice cream that HRA’s office dog adores.
If you’re looking to create gin at an event in eight minutes, get in touch with Devon Distillery. Based in Dartington, the Distillery produce their award winning Dappa, Devoncello, and Gin made from using grapes from only the finest UK grape vineyards including Sharpham and Biddenden. The team gave us an insight into how the mobile distilling apparatus can create four different blends of gin at one time.
We’re looking forward to finding out who will be at the first Source Road Show in Bristol this June.
You might be interested in…
- Speciality and Fine Foods Fair 2019 Review
- Our breadth of category expertise across the FMCG industry
