The Confex Trade Show and Awards Dinner 2024, held at Cirencester De Vere Hotel, on 20th March, was a fantastic day of business and celebrations. With nearly 350 attendees, the Trade Show consisted of 85 supplier stands spanning categories across Retail, Foodservice and Non Food showcasing the breath of diversity within the Buying Group and the Membership’s requirements. From exciting NPD on offer from various suppliers, to knock out deals on the day, to the launch of Confex’s new Savings Club powered by Jisp, the exhibition area was a buzz of activity throughout the day from 10am – 4pm. In order to entice attendees to visit every stand, Jisp also ran an industry first Scan & Win competition giving delegates the opportunity to win up to £900 and a two-night break in Paris with dinner and a show at the world famous Moulin Rouge.
The trading day was followed by a bigger than ever Awards Dinner, which enabled the group to celebrate the successes of their supplier partners and Members through the 2023 Trading Year. Opening the evening, CEO Tom Gittins gave the audience an overview of the group’s achievements over the past 12 months. Now with a turnover of £3.1bn and 242 Members, the group represents an impressive 10% of UK Wholesale. He also laid out the Confex Growth Strategy which includes 4 pillars working with various partners to achieve:
1. CORE – working with Arete for Own Brand growth through ranging
2. Insight – working with TWC using data to pinpoint opportunities
3. Accelerate – working with Cerve Integrating to drive efficiencies
4. Savings Club – working with Jisp to digitalise retail execution – a wholesale industry first
Tom’s update was followed by COO Jess Douglas awarding the worthy winners below:
Service Supplier of the Year – CERVE
Digital Supplier of the Year – Nestle Professional – Martin Robinson
Non-Food Supplier of the Year – Wrapex – Matt Wright
Foodservice 2023 Supplier of the year – R H Amar – Karen Williams
Retail Supplier of the Year – Britvic – Gavin Simpson
Own Brand 2023 Supplier of the year – Caterers Choice – Sarah Booth
CORE Member of The Year – Waterside Foodservice
Social Media Member of The Year – Wow Box
Head Engagement Member of the Year – Woods
Foodservice Member of The Year – Holland Bazaar
Retail Member of the Year – Millenium Group
New Member of the Year 2023: Adams Foodservice
Green Wholesaler Award: Adams Foodservice
The Awards was followed by a 3 course dinner and then the evening entertainment of a casino kept spirits high late into the evening.
Woods Foodservice Deputy Managing Director and Confex Board Member Lana Bhika commented:
“As ever, the Confex Tradeshow and Awards was a huge success this year. A brilliant turnout of Suppliers and ,embers made the buying event extremely beneficial to business, with unmissable offers on the day. The Awards Dinner was thoroughly enjoyed by all and a great opportunity to connect and build relationships throughout the member base. Another Confex worthwhile event”
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