Top brands gear up for food festival season

The nation’s inner foodie will be fed with a feast of festivals around the country this summer.

Drinks brands, chefs and restaurants are all lending their support to these events, not just to celebrate the UK’s culinary renaissance, but also fully aware of that fact that these events offer a means of connecting with thousands of potential new customers.

Now in its fourth year, Foodies Festivals alone will be hosting five gourmet events in Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Oxford and Hampton Court, just outside London.

There’s also Taste of London and its sister event up north, Taste of Edinburgh, to look forward to, while the London Restaurant Festival is looking to build on the success of its 2009 launch.

Veuve Clicquot will be hosting a Champagne tent at each of the Foodies Festivals, while the Glasgow event will feature a Whisky Theatre as part of its celebration of Scotland’s finest produce.

Meanwhile, Laurent-Perrier will be using a masterclass at Taste of London to showcase its Ultra Brut Champagne. Daniel Brennan, head of marketing for Laurent-Perrier UK, highlights the opportunity this event presents for the house “to educate the epicurean consumer that will attend of the versatility of this style of Champagne with food pairings.”

According to audience profiling carried out by the organisers of Foodies Festivals, these events give extensive access to the very demographic so many top end brands are keen to connect with: young professionals with a high disposable income.

Foodies Festivals calculates that 89% of its audience is made up of ABC1 adults, with the gender split weighted marginally in favour of women, who make up 58% of those attending.

As it prepares for the 2010 season, Foodies Festivals director Sue Hitchen explains: “Foodies brings together a passionate and discerning audience with Britain’s finest producers, connoisseurs and top chefs.”

It will be no surprise to see other drinks brands unveiling their own activities in the coming months as the seek to seize a share of the pie from this flourishing development within the UK’s events calendar.

For more information on dates and how to get involved, visit:
www.foodiesfestival.com
www.tastefestivals.com
www.visitlondon.com/londonrestaurantfestival

Gabriel Savage, 09.03.2010