Fruitful day at Meet the Buyer
Seeds have been sown for future business growth at Western Australia’s fourth annual Buy West Eat Best trade show, ‘Meet the Buyer’.
Decision makers and buyers from the biggest retailers including Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, IGA and Good Grocers along with chefs, sommeliers, hospitality groups, importers, distributors and educators walked the floor at Crown Perth to discover new products, networks and catch up with industry peers.
This year, in record time, Meet the Buyer was sold out and at capped at a capacity of 89 exhibitors who showcased more than 550 products.
Buy West Eat Best program manager Melissa Worthington said this year has been the most successful yet for ‘Meet the Buyer’.
“In a very short space of time – four years – Meet the Buyer has cemented itself in the food and beverage landscape as a must-attend event,” Ms Worthington said.
“The quality of delegates and the demand for exhibition space has exceeded our expectations – we already have a wait list for 2025 which is growing.”
Next year, Meet the Buyer will be held on Tuesday 21 October 2025 and expressions of interest are open.
Prendiville Group’s director of food, Russell Blaikie said ‘Meet the Buyer’ is the perfect one-stop-shop for chefs.
“I’m already thinking about how to use the freeze-dried bananas from Carnarvon Sweeter Bananas in a new dessert, and also a chilli jam that would be great with a cheese board, the freshly grown native herbs, and the Mushroom Guys, seeing all their products in one spot was really good, and I found my new favourite salami, the Toscano Salami from Mondo’s, and the list goes on.”
Holly Brindle from The Good Grocer said it was her first time at ‘Meet the Buyer’ and applauded Buy West Eat Best for the initiative.
“To have an event of this quality attracts so many producers, and retailers get behind it, it’s great,” Ms Brindle said.
“I’m super impressed with the range from the bigger brands like Catalano, Amelia Park and Linley Valley Pork, and compare that with some small artisan producers we weren’t aware of, as well as see some industry friends and catch up, it’s been great.”
Ms Brindle said she’s confident she’s found some new local products to stock in The Good Grocer stores at ‘Meet the Buyer’.
Coles Business Category Manager for Deli and Seafood Michael Fahd travelled from Melbourne to attend ‘Meet the Buyer’.
“It’s amazing to be here, so many passionate suppliers and see them exhibit their incredible products,” Mr Fahd said.
“Without these shows, suppliers might struggle to reach out to bigger corporations, we know that there aren’t that many supermarket chains in Australia, and these events are really important and critical for suppliers to showcase their products to retailers like Coles.
Mr Fahd said tomorrow the Coles team is visiting WA suppliers including Catalano’s Seafood, Brownes Cheese, and Fremantle Octopus, with a view to expanding their product range into supermarkets nationally.
The Western Australian economy is currently supported by over 1,500 food and beverage businesses, employing about 20,000 people and turning over $8.5 billion in revenue per year.
Buy West Eat Best is a voluntary food and beverage labelling and marketing initiative developed by the Western Australian Government to assist local businesses promote their products to consumers whether they be grocery shoppers or those that dine out.
Seeds have been sown for future business growth at Western Australia’s fourth annual Buy West Eat Best trade show, ‘Meet the Buyer’.
Decision makers and buyers from the biggest retailers including Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, IGA and Good Grocers along with chefs, sommeliers, hospitality groups, importers, distributors and educators walked the floor at Crown Perth to discover new products, networks and catch up with industry peers.
This year, in record time, Meet the Buyer was sold out and at capped at a capacity of 89 exhibitors who showcased more than 550 products.
Buy West Eat Best program manager Melissa Worthington said this year has been the most successful yet for ‘Meet the Buyer’.
“In a very short space of time – four years – Meet the Buyer has cemented itself in the food and beverage landscape as a must-attend event,” Ms Worthington said.
“The quality of delegates and the demand for exhibition space has exceeded our expectations – we already have a wait list for 2025 which is growing.”
Next year, Meet the Buyer will be held on Tuesday 21 October 2025 and expressions of interest are open.
Prendiville Group’s director of food, Russell Blaikie said ‘Meet the Buyer’ is the perfect one-stop-shop for chefs.
“I’m already thinking about how to use the freeze-dried bananas from Carnarvon Sweeter Bananas in a new dessert, and also a chilli jam that would be great with a cheese board, the freshly grown native herbs, and the Mushroom Guys, seeing all their products in one spot was really good, and I found my new favourite salami, the Toscano Salami from Mondo’s, and the list goes on.”
Holly Brindle from The Good Grocer said it was her first time at ‘Meet the Buyer’ and applauded Buy West Eat Best for the initiative.
“To have an event of this quality attracts so many producers, and retailers get behind it, it’s great,” Ms Brindle said.
“I’m super impressed with the range from the bigger brands like Catalano, Amelia Park and Linley Valley Pork, and compare that with some small artisan producers we weren’t aware of, as well as see some industry friends and catch up, it’s been great.”
Ms Brindle said she’s confident she’s found some new local products to stock in The Good Grocer stores at ‘Meet the Buyer’.
Coles Business Category Manager for Deli and Seafood Michael Fahd travelled from Melbourne to attend ‘Meet the Buyer’.
“It’s amazing to be here, so many passionate suppliers and see them exhibit their incredible products,” Mr Fahd said.
“Without these shows, suppliers might struggle to reach out to bigger corporations, we know that there aren’t that many supermarket chains in Australia, and these events are really important and critical for suppliers to showcase their products to retailers like Coles.
Mr Fahd said tomorrow the Coles team is visiting WA suppliers including Catalano’s Seafood, Brownes Cheese, and Fremantle Octopus, with a view to expanding their product range into supermarkets nationally.
The Western Australian economy is currently supported by over 1,500 food and beverage businesses, employing about 20,000 people and turning over $8.5 billion in revenue per year.
Buy West Eat Best is a voluntary food and beverage labelling and marketing initiative developed by the Western Australian Government to assist local businesses promote their products to consumers whether they be grocery shoppers or those that dine out.
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