Who's in the team?
The Food from Britain exhibitions and events team is headed by Sandra Sullivan who has worked at FFB for more than 20 years, half of which time has been spent as head of exhibitions and events. Her colleagues are Melanie Campey, Lucy Randolph and Sarah Briones who are all exhibitions and events executives, exhibitions and events assistant Dawn Sadler and international marketing executive Kelly-Jane Haley. Campey, Randolph and Briones all have a background in exhibitions and conferences, while Sadler has worked as a member of the crew for the television programme Hell's Kitchen.
What are they currently working on?
The team organises British pavilions at international food and drink shows. This, says Sullivan, makes up at least 70% of their workload. This week they were in Bangkok, Thailand, at the International Food & Hospitality Show, and next month will be jetting off to Paris for SIAL. "Our work does not just involve setting up the pavilions," says Sullivan. "It also includes booking places, arranging technical meetings, holding one-to-one meetings with producers and being on hand to answer queries."
What are the team's plans for 2006 and beyond?
Sullivan says they will be holding a seminar this year on the back of research into European foodservice markets. Next year, they will also be completing a study into this sector in the Middle East and Asia. Haley is working on promotions in Singapore with foodservice operators and hopes to follow this up with an event in October where the local trade will be invited to sample British products. The team is also working on possible promotions with Carrefour in Singapore. "The level of interest in the Middle East is very high and we are hoping to run visits to shows and introduce the market there," adds Sullivan.
How does the team work together?
"It's a tough schedule and the team work hard," says Sullivan. She adds that the team works on around 15 shows a year, resulting in them travelling together for at least 130 days a year. Although one executive could be leading the work on a particular show, they will all work together to get the job done. "We've got a work hard, play hard attitude," says Sullivan.
No comments yet