The FEA Industry Conference is back bigger and bolder for 2024

Owing to the success of last year’s FEA Industry Conference and the demand for delegate places we have moved to a new, larger location.

This year’s FEA Industry Conference will be taking place at the Leonardo Hotel, Hinckley Island, on Wednesday 20th and Thursday 21st November.

Wednesday 20th November 2024

We look forward to welcoming FEA members for the FEA AGM on Wednesday afternoon.

Following the AGM, the conference festivities begin in the evening with the FEA Opening Dinner and the presentation of the FEA Charitable Endeavour Awards.

This event is open to members and non-members alike. The evening also plays host to the Charity Raffle where we have some amazing prizes to be won, all donated by our generous conference attendees.

Thursday 21st November 2024

The FEA Industry Conference programme begins on Thursday morning.

Yet again, we have a stellar line-up of speakers and content specially curated for the foodservice sector. You’ll hear about the latest innovations in the sector; the future of foodservice; the shape of the economy; AI in practice; what can be achieved through sustainable market practices; how the industry is attracting new talent; all topped off with a keynote session from Spencer Kelly.

FEA Industry Conference 2024 - confirmed speakers

Simon Stenning, Conference Facilitator and Foodservice Sector Economic Expert

With 30+ years’ experience of working in, developing, analysing, and commentating on the UK foodservice and hospitality industry, Simon is expertly placed to advise on what will happen in the future.

Acknowledged as the leading analyst of the market today and recognised as an expert in making sense out of all the data and insight available, Simon is now making sense of the future.

Kitchen Curiosity: Live, with Radford Chancellor

Kitchen Curiosity is a podcast for the foodservice market presented by Radford Chancellor of Macintosh Foodservice Consultants, a design consultancy for the hospitality sector. The podcast has heard from the some of the industry’s top chefs, consultancy leaders, trade association board members, equipment suppliers and manufacturers, and covers everything from menu planning to business planning, from equipment to cocktails.

Tim Radcliffe, NHS England Tim will be speaking about the NHS’ journey towards Net Zero and the issues faced, how they have dealt with them, and how they intend to mitigate potential bumps in the road when implementing the Net Zero strategy.

Pierre-Yves Palier, co-founder of Notpla

Notpla are revolutionising the food packing market with their disappearing food packaging. Where conventional containers have petrol-based coatings that stick around forever, Notpla’s have a 100% natural seaweed coating. Once finished, the whole package can be composted and disappears without a trace—just like a fruit peel.

In 2022, the London-based start-up won the Earthshot Prize in the ‘Build a Waste-Free World’ category, with its plastic-free consumer packaging products made from seaweed and plants. The Earthshot Prize, founded by Prince William, searches the globe for game-changing innovations that will help us repair our planet, awarding the very best five solutions each year with £1 million to scale their work.

Notpla has replaced 4.4m units of plastic with Notpla products in 2023. Its packaging is the first and only material worldwide to have been recognised as being plastic-free under the European Single Use Plastics Directive. Commercial partnerships are growing in number too. The company is working with Bidfood UK, has partnered with Just Eat in Spain and Belgium and supplied products to dozens of sporting events.

Peter Russell, Chief Technology Officer, Russell Partnership

Peter has been working globally with the Marriot group of hotels amongst other clients on the application and implementation of AI solutions. He will share what they have done, what they have learnt and particularly what it means for a commercial kitchen of now and the future.

Spencer Kelly, Keynote Speaker

Spencer has been hosting conferences, chairing panels, and presenting keynotes on tech around the world for almost 20 years. He has interviewed some of the biggest names in the business, including Bill Gates, Steve Wozniak, director James Cameron, Vint Cerf, Tim Berners-Lee, music legends Paul McCartney, Will.I.Am and Brian Eno, security threats Edward Snowden and Julian Assange, national treasures David Attenborough and Stephen Fry, and even talked tech with HM The Queen.

Keep an eye on our socials for more speaker announcements.

Save money on your booking by making the most of our Early Bird booking offer

We have a limited number of FEA Industry Conference Early Bird tickets available. To qualify for our Early Bird rate, you need to purchase your conference delegate package before 30th August or before they sell out, whichever comes first.

You can select your package on the bookings page.

Showcase your brand at the FEA Industry Conference

If you would like to showcase your brand and products at the FEA Industry Conference, one of the sector’s leading annual events, then please speak to adam.lawrence@fea.org.uk

We have several exciting and engaging packages available. We are also happy to discuss new and innovative ways that we can promote your brand to the FEA Industry Conference audience.

Foodservice Equipment Association

The Foodservice Equipment Association (FEA) is the independent, authoritative voice of the foodservice equipment industry, representing 175 companies who supply, service and maintain all types of commercial catering equipment - from utensils to full kitchen schemes.  For more information on FEA visit fea.org.uk

Connect with the FEA team

📲 John Cunningham, Chief Executive

📲 Andy Threlfall C.F.S.P. MInstR, Technical and Policy Director

📲 Jocelyn Shawyer C.F.S.P., Events and Membership Manager

📲 Adam Lawrence CFSP, Marketing Manager

📲 Sarah-Jane Campbell, Administration Executive

Speak to the FEA

If you like to join the FEA but are unsure where your company would fit in please have a look at our Product Group Forums. We are an open and inclusive trade association that comprises of a community of like minded businesses of all sizes.