Source: Meet the Buyer
Exhibitor space at the fifth Buy West Eat Best annual trade show, Meet the Buyer™ held on 21 October at Crown Perth is officially sold out.
Hosted by the State Government’s Buy West Eat Best program, Meet the Buyer™ is Western Australia’s only dedicated food and beverage industry trade show exhibition and networking forum.
This year is billed the largest to date with a sold-out trade floor. It will showcase more than 500 products, ingredients, businesses and brands from across the State, with every region represented.
Melissa Worthington, program manager of Buy West Eat Best at Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, said Meet the Buyer™ is an important platform for WA producers and suppliers.
“The local producers who have secured an exhibition space this year will have the floor to promote their business and produce, connect with buyers and distributors, with a view to securing commercial outcomes across domestic and international markets, all under one roof and all in one day,” Ms Worthington said.
“The rapid growth in reputation of Meet the Buyer as WA’s only dedicated food and beverage exhibition trade show and premier networking event attracts delegates from around the state, across the country and from overseas.”
Delegates include major supermarket retailers, independent gourmet grocers, chefs, restauranteurs, hospitality groups, sommeliers, importers as well as media and educators.
“The relaxed and collaborative atmosphere of the tradeshow is deliberate, to meet the expectations of trade and industry delegates, foster meaningful conversations and, as we have determined in previous years, often leads to unexpected partnerships,” Ms Worthington said.
“For delegates, it’s a day of opportunity, finding new suppliers and new ingredients to showcase on a menu or on in stores, but importantly, a chance to actually meet the people behind the business.
“As a facilitator of Meet the Buyer, it’s extremely rewarding to watch Western Australian businesses go from strength to strength, make meaningful business connections, innovate through collaboration and potentially expand their supply range or scale their business, leading to greater growth and employment across the state within the sector.
“Over the past four years, we’ve seen many success stories as a result of business done at Meet the Buyer – it’s where business connections are made and opportunities grow.”
Independent feedback of previous Meet the Buyer™ events shows strong commercial outcomes for WA businesses with 67 percent of participants reporting they connected with new buyers or business contacts previously inaccessible, 54 percent secured commercial value through partnerships, new market access or business growth, and 83 percent discovered new products, brands or businesses.
The WA food and beverage sector, valued at $9.6 billion, is a significant contributor to the State’s economy supporting 1,555 businesses and 20,000 jobs.
Combined with the food service sector, the broader industry supports over 100,000 jobs across 8,000 businesses, generating approximately $17.6 billion in annual turnover.
Buy West Eat Best is a voluntary food labelling and marketing initiative developed by the Western Australian Government to assist local food and beverage producers to promote their products to consumers whether they be grocery shoppers or those that dine out.
For more information about Meet the Buyer™, visit meetthebuyer.com.au.
NOTES
YouTube highlights: https://youtu.be/m5YmaaxQ00c
About Buy West Eat Best
The Buy West Eat Best program is a voluntary food and beverage labelling and marketing initiative developed by the Western Australian Government to assist local producers to promote their products to grocery shoppers and those that dine out.
Buy West Eat Best works with members to support and promote the buy local message, highlight the importance of seasonality and champion delicious, fresh ranges of fruits and vegetables that grocery shoppers can seek out, particularly as new seasons commence.
The program works across the supply chain, from producers, processors, retail, and foodservice businesses; providing a critical conduit to strengthen the resilience and sustainability of businesses and identify source of origin for consumers. There is a vast and diverse range of local businesses and brands that are members of the Buy West Eat Best community.
When you see the distinctive Buy West Eat Best bite mark logo you can be assured that you are choosing food and beverage that has been grown, farmed, fished, processed, prepared and served right here in WA.
The program has matured, and it is vitally important to the State from an economic and employment perspective – the food and drink industry or agrifood sector is the second largest export sector to mining and resources and critical to the diversification and sustainability of local communities across the State.
The Buy West Eat Best logo is a registered trademark owned by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), administered by government and championed by business and supported by industry.
