From all of us here at Friars Pride, we would like to extend a HUGE thank you to everyone that attended FRY I.T. 2017 at the Westpoint Arena, Exeter.
Without all of our fantastic loyal customers and the interest of new customers, we wouldn't be able to put on exhibitions like this. We hope that everyone managed to reap the rewards with all of the great on-the-day promotions, seminars and free food sampling! From Donuts to Drywite and Fish to face painting, FRY I.T. 2017 had it all!
The show kicked off with people arriving and registering before the doors had even opened at 10am! The new venue at Westpoint, Exeter, was certainly a hit with the customers as jaws dropped at the fantastic array of exhibitors and products on offer as soon as they entered the exhibition hall. Although this doesn't come as any surprise; the sights and smells of the freshly cooked food were enough to make any mouth water and this could all be washed down by the selection of soft drinks coming from companies such as AG Barr, Cott Beverages, Vimto and Montgomery Spring.
FRY I.T. was as much as a feast for the eyes, with impressive looking stands from signage and point of sales suppliers BD Signs and ZPos, whilst vehicles took center stage in the form of Kraft Heinz, American Chip Spice and Catering Units/Kingfisher all bringing expertly polished vans to dazzle the customers; Not forgetting the stunning Friars Pride truck which was also on display.
There was as much fun to be had by the children as there was the parents, with a fantastic balloon modeller, face painter and magician all entertaining whilst the children enjoyed milkshakes and ice slushes from the vendors exhibiting at the show.
There were also representatives from JFK Gadus, Atlantika Ocean Trawlers, Rammi and the MS Leinebris fishing vessels at the show to talk about the fish that they offer as well as the sustainable methods of catching them and the boats themselves.
Everyone that attended FRY I.T. was a winner in their own right, with fantastic food and promotions to take advantage of, although there were other opportunities to win big on top of that! There was a live social media competition draw at the Innovate Foods stand at 3pm where two lucky entrants won a fantastic bundle of innovate foods goods, as well as a raffle at the Fishermen's Mission stand, where all proceeds went to the Fishermen's Mission charity. Furthermore, there is still a prize draw yet to be held for anyone that pre-registered for the exhibition, with the opportunity to win an Apple iPad- So watch this space!
With loads of bargains already bagged, visitors could also sink their teeth into the free live seminars run in conjunction with the Friars Pride Marketing Club. The four seminars contained many helpful facts and chunks of knowledge on topics relevant to anyone in the fish frying industry. Seafish presented 'the National Fish & Chip Awards' seminar, with Matthew Worsnop of Henry Colbeck's presentation being based around the Lite-BITE box and 'How to maximise revenues and margins through offering alternative size portions' which was also filmed so you'll be able to watch it on our website soon!
The Drywite young Fish Frier of the Year, George Papadamou, also gave a great talk about his personal journey and why the award is so important for young fish friers to be involved in, with Pete Fraser of the award winning Harbour Lights Fish & Chip Shop speaking about how to upscale to multiple shops successfully.
Whether the aim of your day was to find innovative new products, get great promotional prices on your favourites or to find a great network of suppliers all under one roof, FRY I.T. 2017 had it all and we were glad to play host to both the exhibitors and visitors that joined us at the Westpoint Arena.
Keep a lookout for information in regards to FRY I.T. 2018, we hope to see you all again!
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