Food and Agribusiness Network’s (FAN) annual Meet the Makers (MTM) event is set to return to the Sunshine Coast on 2 May, with record numbers attracting quality growers, manufacturers and producers.
Now in its fifth year, buyers and industry members from all over Australia, producers from the Sunshine Coast, Noosa, Gympie, Moreton Bay and beyond will unveil their latest food and beverage offerings. In 2022, the event showcased 95 food and beverage businesses and their products.
The Queensland food and agribusiness sector makes up one-third of Australia’s primary produce and demand for local produce, and products continues to grow.
FAN acting CEO, Nicole McNaughton said as the region’s only dedicated food and beverage trade event, the opportunities and connections MTM creates cannot be underestimated.
“The value of this kind of exposure cannot be underestimated and we have seen many of our exhibitor's products picked up by major retailers as a result.
“Meet the Makers provides valuable commercial connections and opportunities for our members and allows them to connect with members from the wider food and beverage industry which is important in terms of being able to benchmark their own growth journey and potentially look at future collaborations,” said McNaughton.
Featured in last year’s June edition of Food & Drink Business magazine, Brigid Woolnough from Kokopod was introduced to FAN in 2016, and says both FAN and MTM events were instrumental in Kokopod’s growth.
“Five years later have a commercial building and a team of eight. We have our own online store and wholesale to 300 stockists across Australia, as well as hotels, five-star lodges, gourmet IGAs and grocery stores, and gift stores,” Woolnough said.
Janessa Rutter from Bask and Co. said attending MTM with her granola business was ‘the. Best decision she could have made.’
“It was clear that the buyers were there to buy. They genuinely wanted to learn about you, your business and your products. I doubled my retail stockists as a result of the event and my products are now stocked by a number of new outlets including IGA and Drakes Supermarkets.
“These connections have continued to help grow my business over the last 12 months – it was an event that, for me, has delivered significant return on investment,” Rutter said.
Local retailer, Roz White who, together with husband Michael White, owns six White’s IGA’s stores across the Sunshine Coast is an Official Event Ambassador who is passionate about championing local producers through her ‘Locavore’ program.
“It is smart business to support local producers. Our customers love buying local produce and products because the trust the quality and they feel like they are supporting the region. And as we have such incredible products available right across SEQ it makes it an easy thing to do,” White said.
