The 2023 Buy West Eat Best’s Meet the Buyer trade exhibition will be held on 24 October at Crown Perth next month. As the event returns for its third year it promises to be the most significant gathering of the $8 billion WA food and beverage sector.
More than 600 visitors, from suppliers, producers, buyers and importers, chefs, and sommeliers through to media and educators will come together to discover a range of quality products that have been grown, farmed, fished, processed, prepared and served in Western Australia.
The trade exhibition will offer attendees a chance to experience the breadth and range of WA local produce in one central location and provide opportunity for WA food and beverage businesses to display, showcase and feature their products alongside everyone from small specialty local producers to industry leaders already taking advantage of global supply chains.
Meet the Buyer 2023 will showcase the strength and resilience of the WA food and beverage sector and serve as a connector between producers and new business opportunities, ultimately benefiting the State’s economy.
Buy West Eat Best Manager Food Industry Development Deborah Pett says: “Our food and beverage industries are vitally important to the WA economy and Meet the Buyer supports these industries by enabling producers to showcase their products to a highly-engaged, commercial and influential audience who attend with the intention to discover new brands and products and walk away with fresh business opportunities.
“Exhibitors, attendees, and the WA economy benefits as a whole from Meet the Buyer and this year’s show will deliver an array of opportunities not to be missed.”
Now in its third year, previous Meet the Buyer trade expos have proven fruitful for exhibitors with over 60% seeing a positive commercial outcome for their business, and over 70% saying they felt the trade show provided an opportunity to engage with a buyer or business contact they had not previously been able to, according to Ms Pett.
The benefits are shared with attendees, with over 65% of attendees reportedly meeting a new buyer or business contact.
The Western Australian economy is currently supported by over 1500 food and beverage businesses, employing over 19,000 people and turning over $8 billion in revenue per year. “The Buy West Eat Best program membership currently represents 18.5% of this,” Ms Pett said.
Food represents around 12% by value of WA’s manufacturing industry, with the food service sector employing in excess of 85,000 people across approximately 8000 businesses. Combined, the food and beverage manufacturing and foodservice sectors in WA employs over 100,000 people with an annual turnover of $16 billion.
“Considering a wholistic fiscal supply chain view to food and beverage, the cafe, restaurant and catering sectors are vital to the Australian national economy, generating over $45 billion in retail turnover pre-Covid per year as well as employing 550,000 people, with nearly 31,500 being from WA. Critically, over 93% of businesses in the cafe, restaurant and catering sector are small businesses and employ 19 people or less.”
