Both the food and beauty market take some negotiating for the some 30 million people who suffer with allergies, intolerances, eczema or coeliac disease, and who actively look to avoid an assortment of potentially lethal ingredients. Making such navigation that bit easier, The Allergy and Free From Shows are dedicated to showcasing just what’s available in the way of allergen-free products across industries.
The northern edition of the event is held, this year, at the BT Exhibition Centre in Liverpool and looks set to be the organisation’s most successful to date. Having earned industry repute, The Allergy and Free From Show North has attracted a record-breaking number of exhibitors, each looking to capitalise on the 9000-strong affluent buying audience the show has accumulated over the past three years. With the list reading much like a who’s who in the sector, there’s ample opportunity to both taste incredible food and try gorgeous skin and hair care, and fill up your bag with goodies.
Keen to stimulate a vibrant and educational environment in which consumers have the opportunity to check out the latest products, and companies the chance to market just how they’re attending to customers’ concerns, the show comprises both the exhibition and various cooking classes, talks, expert advice and children’s activities.
It’s sponsored by Europe’s biggest gluten-free retailer, Schlar, this year, and partnered by key players in the sector, including specialist manufacturers and suppliers of free-from foods – most principally, Sainsbury’s. The supermarket has got on board and, with its acute understanding of the sector – as evidenced by its extensive free-from food range, is encouraging attendees to share their favourite recipes and holding a cook-off type event led by free-from culinary experts. Dubbed Sainsbury’s Kitchen, the event stretches across the two days and features live demonstrations of festive-inspired recipes. With Christmas being amongst the most excessive days for food consumption, and often featuring the most decadent of recipes which are simply inaccessible to those with very particular dietary requirements, the likes of paleo mince pies, and gluten, milk and wheat-free Yorkshire puddings are sure to be big winners.
A host of charitable associations campaigning for awareness and change in the food and beauty industry and a clinical partnership with the NHS provides this event the credentials to make a wider impact on the industry as a whole. Gold partners, Allergy UK, Coeliac UK, The Anaphylaxis Campaign and the National Ezcema Society are on hand to provide advice and guidance to event-goers, presenting a series of talks detailing developments in treatments for suffers.
As day one draws to a close, it’s the last opportunity to make your way to the biggest free-from food event of the year. Providing a lively insight into the multimillion pound market, and giving consumers helpful advice and knowledge with to inform their purchasing habits, The Allergy and Free From Show North is one not to be missed.
