English

Casual Dining wins Best Trade Show Award

Report this content

Casual Dining’s organiser Diversified Communications UK is celebrating a big win at the exhibition industry’s annual AEO Excellence Awards, just four months after the show first made its debut at the Business Design Centre in London.

Over 1,000 events industry professionals attended the awards ceremony, which was hosted by comedian Jimmy Carr at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London's Mayfair on 4 July.

Casual Dining – the UK’s first dedicated trade event for the multiple and independent pub and restaurant sector – is the first launch show (UK and international) in over five years to triumph in the AEO’s hotly contested ‘Best Tradeshow Exhibition under 2,000sq.m’ category.  Previous winners of the award include Diversified UK’s lunch! show in 2010 and 2011.

Having already won widespread support from across the casual dining sector, Casual Dining can now count the AEO’s judges amongst its fans.  Impressed by the show’s highly targeted approach to its “well identified market”, the judges commented that "great marketing and strong innovative ideas resulted in very high customer satisfaction levels."

“To have the honour of Casual Dining winning Best Trade Show under 2,000sq.m is something very special,” says group event manager Chris Brazier, speaking on behalf of the Casual Dining team.  “The fact that Casual Dining was a new show that has been developed with, and supported by, pub and restaurant groups, as well as our incredible exhibiters, makes it even more special.  We share this award with them and we couldn’t be happier.

“A special mention must go to the amazing team here at Diversified Communications, who have worked so hard to deliver a much loved, sector defining event in such a short space of time,” he says.

“We really couldn’t have asked for a better endorsement for the show than this,” adds the show’s marketing manager Grace Allwright.  “A big thank you must go to the whole industry, including our valued media and association partners, for supporting the show from the very beginning and helping to make Casual Dining the show that this important sector truly deserves.”

From 118 exhibiting companies in 2014 to around 170 next year, Casual Dining’s rapid expansion mirrors the growing success of the UK’s £6.9bn casual dining market; which is now attracting an extra 47m visits each year compared to five years ago[1].  This strong market performance, combined with glowing testimonials from attendees, has seen increasing demand from new companies looking to exhibit in 2015 and has already heralded the announcement of a 45% expansion in exhibition space, taking the show up to the venue’s upper feature level for the first time.

With over 4,000 attendees from across the casual dining sector expected to attend (up from 3,655 in 2014), Lamb Weston, Gamble Food Service Equipment, Unox UK, Darta, Luscombe Organic Drinks, Nisbets, Taylors of Harrogate, UCC Coffee UK, Vivreau, Ambach UK, Catering Design Group, Stokes Coffee, Bar & Restaurant Foods, Dr. Oetker (UK), and Eden Contract Furniture are just a few of the exhibitors already confirmed.

Casual Dining (including the Design Awards and Innovation Challenge Live) will return to the Business Design Centre, Islington, London, on 25-26 February 2015.  For more information, and to stay up-to-date with all the latest news and exhibitor information, please visit www.casualdiningshow.co.uk.

###

Notes:

As in previous years, Diversified Communications UK received multiple nominations (seven in all) across five AEO Award categories.  lunch!, which won Best Trade Show at the Exhibition News Awards earlier this year, was shortlisted for ‘Best UK Tradeshow Exhibition over 2,000sq.m’ and ‘‘Best Marketing Campaign of the Year’.  Whilst office*, Nordic Organic Food Fair and its sister event Natural Products Scandinavia, were nominated alongside Casual Dining for ‘Best Tradeshow Exhibition under 2,000sq.m’ (UK & International).

High res images available upon request:

Diversified Communications UK Ltd (Diversified UK) is a fast growing trade event organiser and publisher based in Brighton, Peterborough, Leamington Spa, and Nailsworth, Glos.  Diversified UK’s portfolio includes Casual Dining; lunch!; The Natural Food Show (part of Natural & Organic Products Europe); Nordic Organic Food Fair in Malmö, Sweden (co-located with Natural Products Scandinavia); camexpo; office*; SITS – The Service Desk & IT Support Show; Natural Products magazine; the Natural Beauty Yearbook; Geo Business; Ocean Business (including Offshore Survey Conference & Ocean Careers); MARELEC Marine Electromagnetics conference in Philadelphia, USA; Euro Bus Expo; Coach and Bus Live; Best of Britain & Ireland; Route One; and Coach Monthly.

Diversified UK is part of Diversified Communications, a leading international media company providing market access, education and information through global, national and regional face-to-face events, eMedia, publications and television stations.  Diversified serves a number of industries including: seafood, food service, natural and organic, healthcare, commercial marine, and business management.  Based in Portland, Maine, USA, Diversified employs over 800 staff, with divisions in the Eastern United States, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Thailand and the United Kingdom.  For more information, visit: www.divcom.com

[1] Goodbye full service, casual dining is good enough thank you – NPD Group, 17th June 2014 (https://www.npdgroup.co.uk/wps/portal/npd/uk/news/press-releases/goodbye-full-service-casual-dining-is-good-enough-thank-you/)

Media enquiries & photography requests to:
Emma-Louise Jones, PR Manager
t: 44 (0)1273 645134  e: ejones@divcom.co.uk
Website: www.divcom.co.uk
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=5009585
Twitter: www.twitter.com/DiversifiedUK
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/DiversifiedUK

Exhibitor enquiries to:
Chris Brazier, Group Event Manager
t: 44 (0)1273 645123  e: cbrazier@divcom.co.uk
Website: www.casualdiningshow.co.uk
Twitter: www.twitter.com/CasDiningShow

Tags:

AEO Excellence Awards Diversified UK Chris Brazier Business Design Centre Exhibition News Awards hospitality industry Trade event Casual Dining branded restaurants catering supplies foodservice supplies Diversified Communications UK casual dining restaurants Grosvenor House Hotel Best Tradeshow Exhibition Award casual dining sector independent restaurants Grace Allwright pub groups AEO Awards

Media

Media

Documents & Links

Quotes

“A big thank you must go to the whole industry, including our valued media and association partners, for supporting the show from the very beginning and helping to make Casual Dining the show that this important sector truly deserves.”
Grace Allwright, marketing manager, Casual Dining
“The fact that Casual Dining was a new show that has been developed with, and supported by, pub and restaurant groups, as well as our incredible exhibiters, makes it even more special. We share this award with them and we couldn’t be happier.
Chris Brazier, group event manager, Casual Dining