The event was held at the ExCel centre in London at the end March.
In an initiative joint-funded by Business Isle of Man, four of the island’s renowned food and drink producers exhibited, with distilleries Fynoderee and Outlier exhibiting alongside Okell’s Brewery on a shared ‘Isle of Man Drinks’ stand and Isle of Man Creamery within the ‘Cheese Pavilion’.
They attracted interest and held productive conversations with many of the international buyers and thought-leaders who were among IFE’s 27,000 visitors.
In addition to attending IFE, Business Isle of Man hosted an evening reception for a group of more than 80 highly regarded buyers, journalists, chefs, and influencers to showcase food and drink from the island.
Island Seafare, Isle of Man Meats, Davison’s Ice Cream and Isle of Man Salt Co joined the four exhibitors to talk about their product range, values, and unique selling points.
Business Isle of Man said the highlight of the evening was a bespoke Manx food and drink menu created by using quality ingredients from local producers to bring a taste of our island to London.
Tim Johnston, Minister for Enterprise, who delivered a welcome address to the attendees and visited our producers at IFE, said: ‘The Isle of Man’s representation at IFE and the evening showcase provided a great platform for Manx food and drink exporters.
‘We were extremely pleased to welcome so many notable guests to our showcase and the level of interest in the island and Manx produce was both heartening and motivational for the businesses involved.’
Business Isle of Man board member and Okell’s Brewery and H&B Wholesale Ltd managing director Ollie Neale commented: ‘The food and drink export development group has taken the first step towards increasing our exports by attending IFE.
‘Coming together, we have pooled our resources to create a presence that would not have been possible for an individual exhibitor. Our strength as a sector lies in being able to share costs, ideas, and platforms. I am pleased to say that IFE was an excellent exhibition of the unique community spirit all Isle of Man businesses have in supporting each other.
‘For Okell’s Brewery, it was also a proud moment, as our alcohol free pale ale, Zero, won the award for the Best Low/No Product in the World Food Innovation Award 2024 which was announced at the show.’
Findlay Macleod, Business Isle of Man Board Member and managing director of Isle of Man Creamery, added: ‘Off-island sales continue to be a crucial element of the creamery’s annual revenue and growing these sales is strategically important.
‘As the largest event of its kind in the UK, IFE provided us with the opportunity to raise awareness of the distinctive and quality range of products we offer and to establish relationships that could become highly rewarding.
‘We are aiming to grow our food and drink exports and the extensive feedback our businesses have received as a result of these two initiatives, as well as the relationships established, will contribute considerably towards catalysing this growth.’
The new Tesco store on Victoria Road has a wide range of locally produced goods available.
Working closely with the Department for Environment, Food, and Agriculture, Business Isle of Man has assisted in ensuring that financial support schemes are in place for producers seeking to gain the health and safety accreditations Tesco and similar large retailers require.
Business Isle of Man say its confident that the variety of locally produced food and drink on sale in local Tesco stores will continue to grow over the coming months.