Food Trends in the UK British foods have gone from being the brunt of many jokes to being one of the world's most sophisticated quality food marketers. London now boasts food from more than 60 different countries and regions. These are available in over 12,000 restaurants and cafes. We will spend two days with Dr. David Hughes who is one of the world's leading food experts. David will provide an in-depth presentation of the UK food industry and show us around some of the UK's leading food retailers and food market. The UK arguably have some of the world's best food retailers and London is one of the most competitive food markets you will find in the world, which likely explains why they are so good. You will tour what we consider to be the best retailers the UK has to offer in the various market ranges, including: Marks and Spencer Marks & Spencer is one of the UK's leading retailers of clothing, foods, home-ware and financial services, serving 15 million customers a week in over 399 UK stores. With food sales in excess of £3.5bn per annum, the popularity of M&S's food halls has never been in doubt. Marks and Spencer was the first British food retailer to introduce ready meals to their food hall. M&S prices are higher than other supermarkets, and their quality is extremely high. For more information about Marks & Spencer, visit their website: click here Sainsbury's Sainsbury's is a leading UK food retailer and one of the United Kingdom's largest supermarket chains. They operate more then 700 stores and have annual sales of £18billion. Sainsbury PLC consists of Sainsbury's Supermarkets, Sainsbury's Local, Bells Stores, Jacksons Stores and JB Beaumont, Sainsbury's to You and Sainsbury's Bank. In the 1990s, Sainsbury's took a proactive role in linking primary food producers with processors and manufacturers. For more information about Sainsbury's visit their website: click here Waitrose Waitrose is a leading UK food retailer and is considerably smaller than many of the larger retailers you will be visiting in London. This specialty retailer has been around since 1904 and has about 165 outlets throughout England and Wales. Waitrose places priority on provenance and food traceability. Their buyers spend much of their time with the farmers, growers and suppliers, building relationships. Wherever possible Waitrose buy British and are sourcing local produce from small growers and suppliers close to individual Waitrose stores. Waitrose holds a Royal Warrant with Her Majesty The Queen. For more information about Waitrose, visit their website: click here TESCO Tesco is the UK's largest grocery retailer, operating 1,982 stores in Great Britain. They employ more than 221,000 people worldwide and have annual sales in excess of £37 billion. Tesco's offers all the usual food and household product brands as well as an extensive range of private label products. They carry both economy and luxury ranges. Tesco has branched out into smaller convenience style stores that stay open later and carry fewer products at a premium. In addition to food and household products, they offer on-line shopping, communication services, and financial services, among others for more that 750,000 registered customers. For more information about Tesco, visit their website: click here Ready Meals The British are pioneers and innovators in ready meals which is now a £1.2billion a year business in the UK and growing. You will meet Charlie Bigham who is a London food entrepreneur who is taking the chilled ready meal market in by storm. Charlie's company Bighams is a supplier of chilled ready to eat meals to the supermarket chain Waitrose. He will tell how he built from scratch one of the most talked about ready meal businesses in the UK with a staff of 300 people. He managed this in a short time period, and without any background in, and little knowledge of, the food industry. He will share some of his insights into the chilled ready meal market, his philosophy when it comes to good healthy wholesome food and challenging customers to expand their culinary tastes and experiences. And, he will examine how to engage your employees and keep them motivated. Food Exporting Tips for UK & Europe The UK and Europe are highly competitive but lucrative food markets if you can gain entry. The UK with over 80 million consumers (over 30 million alone in the greater London area), and 300 million consumers throughout Europe make it a market opportunity you cannot afford to ignore. Mr. Patrick Davis, will take you through some of the key strategies you need know when it comes to exporting into the UK and Europe. Patrick is the former Chief Executive of "Food from Britain" . Food from Britain is a strategic export-marketing consultancy, which provides British companies with a comprehensive range of business and market development into most regions of the world. Mr. Davis is an expert on new product development, packaging, and to matching the product to consumer trends. He is the former managing director of Premier Teas. As managing director of Premier Teas, a 110 [pounds] million division within Hillsdown Holdings, he was responsible for such British brands as Typhoo, Ridgways, Melroses, Glengettie and London Herb and Spice. He has held senior sales and marketing positions with the then Cadbury Typhoo and Premier Brands in the UK, Ireland and South Africa.