Sydney Sell Out
Fine Food & Hotel Australia are now full. When they run next month they will feature over 1000 exhibitors for the first time.

This huge event provides food and beverage buyers with their best chance all year to see new ideas and source new suppliers.

Restaurants and chefs are particularly well served.
Not only will they see the new products they can also try out the latest hospitality equipment.

This year bakery is also a feature. For the first time there will be a full range of bakery equipment as well as ingredients and finished product.

In addition to local visitors there will be over 2000 international buyers. Austrade will be hosting a lounge for these very special guests.

This year, for the first time, there will be a free internet café on the show floor. This service is sponsored by new industry website www.ehospitality.com.au

The show runs 24-27 September at Darling Harbour.
Exhibition space is totally sold out. Free visitor registration is available at www.finefood.com.au.

Wine Seminars
Wine & Spirits Australia is fast approaching and a benchmark seminar series running on the show floor has been announced.

A line up of top Australian tastings will include a study of aromatics, sacred sites of our sunburnt country, an insight into perfecting the ‘Australian Methode’ and a tasting of 18 award-winning wines from the soleras of Rutherglen.

Looking outward trade visitors will be able to taste 'both sides of the ditch' with Bob Campbell leading the charge for NZ and Tim White representing the Aussie industry. They can then tour across Mediterranean borders with a fresh look at the ‘French Evolution’.

Wine & Spirits Australia runs for the first three days of Fine Food across the water at Wharf 8. Free shuttle buses will link the two venues. Visitors only need to register once but must represent a licensed premise. Note a small amount of exhibition space is still available.

APEC to cause disruption
The APEC global forum will be running in Sydney in early September and is expected to cause major disruption to the Sydney CBD.

APEC is the most significant gathering of international leaders ever hosted in Australia. There will be heads of 21 countries and at least 5000 delegates and media. Venues include the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre and the Sydney Opera House.

There will be significant traffic diversions in and around the city from 2-10 September. A public holiday has been declared for the Sydney metropolitan area on 7 September. The Fine Food exhibition is being held two weeks later than usual to avoid all the chaos.

Are you in the retail business?
If you run a retail store then you know how important it is to stay relevant to consumers and keep on top of your costs.

Retail Expo is an exciting event that connects you with the latest retail technology, shopfitting, security and business ideas.

The show runs in conjunction with the National Retail Forum from 14-16 August at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre.

Star in Queensland
Queensland remains one of the fastest growing regions in
Australia, and local foodservice and retail buyers are always
hungry for new ideas and contacts.

Fine Food Queensland runs in Brisbane every second year to give
buyers and sellers a chance to meet and generate new business.

The next show runs 9-11 March 2008. For the first time it will
include a live culinary challenge and a hotel managers forum.
Exhibition space is now available.

C-Store Awards
The convenience store association AACS has announced that the finalists for the Peter Jowett Industry Award who will compete at Fine Food on 25 September are Callum Henderson (Westoil Petroleum), Alisa Schache (7 Eleven), Michael Duffy (Philip Morris), Melissa Montang (Philip Morris) and Adam Clune (British American Tobacco). The winner of the final will win a trip to NACS in Atlanta in November to take part in the Global Convenience Industry Awards Finals.

Convenience has its own section within Fine Food. AACS actively support the show and will be hosting seminars, field trips and gala dinner as well as the scholarship finals.

Exhibitor tips
• Sampling can be a great way to attract buyers to your stand and engage them with your product, but make sure it does not overwhelm your staff. It is also important to speak with buyers. Sometimes it is better to restrict sampling to qualified leads.

• Fine Food attracts around 2000 international buyers. If you are interested in export then make sure you have your overseas pricing and export staff on the stand. Austrade staff will be available in the Overseas Lounge to assist exhibitors.

• Make sure all your visitors for Fine Food register on the website. It’s free and enables us to send them a badge for easy entry. This year all onsite registrations will be charged $30 to discourage low quality attendees.

• To improve your safety all venues in Australia now require exhibitors to wear a high visibility vest and closed toe shoes during the move-in period. At Diversified events you can borrow a vest at no charge but don’t forget your shoes!

• If you are looking to extend your coverage beyond the exhibition then make sure you send any press releases to the organisers before the show so they can add them to show promotion. Also consider taking an ad in the show catalogue.

New Product Awards
Each year the best new retail, foodservice and hospitality product awards are presented on the first night of Fine Food. Past winners such as Unistraw and Country Fresh Herbs have seen huge growth after winning.

The competition has now become so popular that entrants will be required to send their products or a press kit to be short listed prior to the show. Details will be sent to all finalists after the entries close on 24 August.

All exhibitors in Fine Food and Hotel Australia are eligible to enter. They need to use the form contained in their online exhibitor manual.