Australian gourmet food producers will be given the opportunity to expand into a new market following an announcement from Gift & Homewares Australia (GHA) that the July Home & Giving Fair will include a gourmet food feature.GHA Chief Executive, Alby Taylor, said that the July Fair would offer gourmet food suppliers with access to a hungry new market that they may not have previously considered viable.

“The gift and homewares industry is home to a myriad of product categories – with the notion of a gift being anything that can be given and received. The Home & Giving Fairs have, for some time, provided a range of food suppliers with access to an entire new market of buyers – generating orders and sales leads right there on the exhibition floor,” Taylor said.

Gourmet food products are a natural tie-in with the gift and homewares industry, offering a diverse range of price points in the retail space and endless opportunities for merchandising.

“Specialty food products tap into several lifestyle trends that drive consumer spending – stylish packaging, quick and convenient gifts as well as products offering ethnic and cultural diversity. Gift and homewares retailers looking to increase sales would be well advised to diversify their merchandise with gourmet food products,” Taylor said.

Gourmet food producer, Sassy Foods, started exhibiting at the Home & Giving Fairs to attract a new type of buyer – seeking to push their product lines into gift stores, hamper companies and retail chains.

Kristen Papay of Sassy Foods said that the Home & Giving Fairs provide unrivaled access to sales and contacts and offer an opportunity to expand the brand into a larger customer base.

Lisa McKinna of Eventful Foods & Gifts agreed that the Home & Giving Fairs were the optimum place for building a new network of customers and writing sales orders.

“There simply is no comparison to the Home & Giving Fairs. We also exhibit at the food-specific shows, but we spend most of our time handing out samples. At the Home & Giving Fairs we stay just as busy – not handing out goodies but writing orders. Lots of orders,” Ms McKinna said.

The Home & Giving July Fair offers suppliers an opportunity to introduce new products to retailers and ensure customers are well stocked in time for the vital end-of-year sales period. With yearly procurement cycles speeding up and occurring earlier in the year, the July Fair is an ideal fit and the only gift and homewares fair in Sydney in July.

In addition to the selection of gourmet food exhibitors at the July Fair, GHA will include a variety of gourmet food related seminars on the exhibition floor.”Retailers are always keen to diversify their offering – but sometimes unsure of how best to do it. Part of our gourmet food feature at the July Fair will be a series of seminars from food industry experts who will educate visitors on the value of adding gourmet food to their product mix,” Taylor said.

With the Christmas period traditionally driven by all things food, the July Home & Giving Fair will offer gourmet food suppliers a chance to showcase their products to thousands of customers stocking up for Christmas. The fair will provide unparalleled access to buyers including hamper companies, gift shops, homewares stores, online retailers, specialty food retailers, major retail chains and any retail outlet seeking to offer gourmet food products.

Home & Giving July Fair will take place at Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park, Saturday 3 – Tuesday 6 July, 2010.

Interested parties should contact the trade fair team on 02 9763 3222 to discuss the advantages of being a part of the gourmet food feature at the Home & Giving July Fair.

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