Event series 2023
Tastes of Better partnerships
A new event concept for the ingredient sector
New for 2023, the Food Matters Live: Tastes of Better series is an opportunity for ingredient innovators to showcase first-hand their latest ingredient, flavour and colour innovations to our UK audience of brands, manufacturers, retailers, foodservice and QSRs.
Each event welcomes up to seven ingredient partners who will be able to host their own technical presentations and tastings across a curated programme throughout the day. With luxurious hospitality suites and your own dedicated private kitchen space, our exclusive venues allow you to create an unforgettable experience for your potential new customers.
A successful first event
The launch of Tastes of Better took place in March in London. All of our partners experienced fantastic audience engagement and have forged new relationships since the event.
IFF
“The engagement with the guests today was very, very positive. Having the proximity and the closeness, to be able to sit together and have more one-to-one discussions, taste food and spend quality time with them, I think it was very insightful. It helped us better understand what mattered most for all the visitors and what is important to them. We were able to showcase lots of different products, from a starter to a main course and all the drinks. This was a big highlight because it’s so difficult to single out only one product.”
Kemin
“Today has been a great day, it’s been an amazing sensation, really. It’s been face to face, you’ve been able to mix with people you’re interested to be mixing with and talk about solutions and ideas and how you can help. To sit with the audience that was here, that really are the food developers for the large and independents, we’ve shown what we can do with examples of food, highlighting how well it tastes without affecting the taste. So, it’s been a fascinating day.”
Beneo
“We presented our latest developments for five large groups of people, and it was great. It’s different, you have more direct contact. And there’s a large range of technical people, R&D people, NPD people, which is very interesting for us. They’re really looking into new product development in the future for developing products in their organisations. It’s a compact way to meet many people. If you if you had to visit them all it would get pretty complicated!”
VIP Audience and programme
An invite-only UK audience of 350 quality professionals working in food and nutrition innovation from across new product development, innovation, technical and marketing teams, together with nutrition and food science experts, innovation chefs and relevant new brands looking to experience inspiring new solutions.
Ingredient partners will connect with this audience through a programme of presentations and tastings, as well as networking opportunities throughout the day:
9.30 – 13:00: Morning tastings and technical presentations
13:00 – 14:00: Lunch (options to provide further tastings)
14:00 – 17:15: Afternoon tastings and technical presentations
17:15 onwards Drinks reception and guest speaker
Private innovation kitchens
Tastes of Better revolves around just that, Taste. Each partner will have their own private dedicated kitchen attached to their suite. Your chef(s) can create tastings throughout the day, knowing that within just a few moments these freshly prepared ingredients can be served to your VIP guests
To support your day of tastings, we also provide:
– 2 kitchen porters and 3 front of house service staff.
– Access to your private kitchen from 8am on your event day.
– Access to a separate preparation kitchen the day before the event.
Connect with the Food Matters Live audience from brands, manufacturers, retailers, foodservice and QSRs
What’s included for partners
A branded hospitality suite with access to the innovation kitchen to prepare tastings and showcase your latest applications. Includes all on-site support staff: suite manager, operations team and service staff.
A branded networking area within the central networking suite which will host lunch, evening drinks and guest speakers, allowing for further opportunities to meet our VIP audience and make meaningful connections.
A bespoke piece of branded editorial content in the form of an article or podcast, created with the support of our content editor or audio team and focussing on your tasting experience, solutions and applications.
A dedicated marketing campaign across all Food Matters Live channels (website, email, social and podcast) to announce your presence at Tastes of Better and promote your branded content across our community.
Ascot
10 and 11 October
Our October event will be hosted at the prestigious Royal Ascot. Offering fantastic suites with space, light and, most importantly, a private innovation kitchen within every suite. Located just south of London, this venue is easily accessible by train and lies in close proximity to Heathrow airport.
Future events in Ascot will happen in April and October 2024.
Image: Parade Ring Suite
Manchester
16 May & 22 November
The Manchester series will be held at the Emirates Old Trafford cricket ground, located in the centre of the city. This award-winning, sustainable venue offers six private hospitality suites and each partner will have their own executive box with private terrace, allowing for further meetings outside of the tasting sessions.
Future events in Manchester will happen in May and November 2024.
