A UK Coffee Summit will be held in London on 19 May, the day before the beverage trade’s annual exhibition, Caffe Culture.
The Summit will be run by Allegra Strategies, the research organisation which held last year’s European Coffee Symposium.
Jeffery Young of Allegra, now established as the beverage trade’s leading researcher, has said that the high-profile summit will enable catering operators to learn, discuss and debate with the most influential thought-leaders in the beverage industry.
The list of speakers includes some trade players known to have strong opinions. The UK MD of Starbucks, Darcy Wilson-Rymer, will make an appearance, which is likely to be highly-anticipated as the chain does not address many public conferences.
From within the supply chain for the beverage market, speakers will include Marco Arrigo of Eurofoodbrands, one of the men who led the drive of the iconic Italian espresso brand in Britain.
He will be joined by Gary McGann, formerly the managing director of one of the café trade’s major wholesaler’s, Espresso Warehouse, and now commercial director of the other major wholesaler, Beyond the Bean. McGann has vast experience in beverage-management, and is expected to make important points about profitability in hard trading times.
Other speakers will include directors from Pret a Manger and Huhtamaki, the takeaway-cup company. The only Briton to win the title of World Barista Champion, James Hoffmann, will also be speaking.
The MC for the event will be Barry Kither, marketing director at Lavazza UK. He was the final speaker at Allegra’s Coffee Symposium last year – Coffee House magazine has observed that this time, he gets promoted to both open and close the event!
All event participants will also receive a complimentary copy of Allegra's latest Executive Insight Report on the UK coffee shop market.
By Ian Boughton