Event preview: lunch! 2026

This September, lunch! and The National Restaurant, Pub & Bar Show will join forces with three other leading food and drink trade events for the first time as part of The London Food & Drink Festival. Taking place on 16^th and 17^th September at Excel London, the festival brings together lunch! (the national food-to-go and coffee shop event); The National Restaurant, Pub & Bar Show; London Drinks Exchange, Natural & Organic Food Show; and the Artisan Food & Drink Show into a single, free-to-attend event.

The new format has been designed to give visiting buyers and operators access to the full breadth of the food and drink industry in one visit. The co-located events will collectively feature thousands of new food and drink products, tech and equipment from over 600 exhibitors, as well as over 200 world-class speakers across eight stages. With so much innovation on display, it's shaping up to be the UK's most comprehensive food and drink trade event this autumn.

The festival will introduce a dedicated Chef Live! Stage, including world-class chefs like Tom Aikens, Cyrus Todiwala, Nikita Pathakhi and Mark Birchall, with many more to be confirmed. Other show features include start-up zones, innovation challenge galleries, live DJ sets and interactive festival features running across both days. It's less a trade show and more of a new era for events, providing a vital snapshot of where the whole industry is heading.

Chris Brazier, group event director of London Food & Drink Festival, said: “We have always been incredibly proud of our unique, high-quality events serving key verticals within the hospitality and food retail sectors, each of which have a track-record of delivering the most innovative exhibitors, the most forward-thinking buyers and the best content programme. However, the lines between sectors are becoming more blurred, with many companies operating across sectors, so this is an incredibly exciting time, offering even more value for both exhibitors and visitors.”

New innovations
The lunch! exhibitor list is the real highlight of the show. Exhibitors confirmed so far include big name brands like Oatly, Trip, Popcorn Kitchen, Deliciously Ella, Organix, Moju, Capri Sun UK, Minor Figures, Twinings, Love Corn, Graze, Yeo Valley Organic, Walkers Shortbread, Vegware, Kellogg's and many more, who will be showcasing their latest launches and existing products. The exhibitor list is a mix that spans plant-based drinks, functional snacking, sustainable packaging, trend-setting coffee, drinks and more.

As well as popular trusted brands, the show’s Start-Up Zone will feature innovative new names to enter the market, including: Morish Snacks, Slurpz Ltd, Avenite, Salami Club, All About Kombucha (Gach Rud Kombucha Teoranta), Kidnetics, Nom Kins, Matelo, Sunrise Bio (Beantastic Hummus), Asal-Karak Limited, Siren Grounds Collective, The Big Dipper, Turas Pantry and Taylor & Thorn.

World-class speakers
Six senior leaders from some of the most recognisable names in food and hospitality are included in the speaker programme. They are Pano Christou, chief executive officer of Pret A Manger; Alasdair Murdoch, CEO of Burger King; James Campbell, director of product and innovation of Sainsbury's; Annabel Mackie, marketing director of itsu; Caroline Ottoy, managing director of WatchHouse; and Alice Hutfield, director of development of KFC. Between them, these speakers cover the full spread of the food-to-go landscape: quick-service, grocery retail and specialty coffee. Christou said: “lunch! is a fantastic event showcasing world-class innovation that will help take our industry forward."

Sessions will run across three new stages for 2026 – the Food-to-Go Stage, the Coffee Shop Stage and the Retail and Convenience Stage – with formats ranging from one-on-one interviews to interactive panel discussions. For catering operators who are thinking about how to keep grab-and-go offers competitive, how coffee programmes are evolving and where footfall trends and the general industry is heading these are the conversations worth sitting in on.

Elsewhere across the festival's other stages – including the Chef Live! Stage, Pub and Bar Stage, Restaurateur Stage, Casual Dining Stage and the Natural and Organic Food Stage – the confirmed speakers include John Hutson of JD Wetherspoon, Gemma Glasson of Wahaca, Nisha Katona MBE of Mowgli Street Food, Des Gunewardena of D3 Collective, Steve Alton of the British Institute of Innkeeping, Kate Nicholls OBE of UKHospitality, Genevieve Fitch of Ocado, Cillian Cook of Joybuy and Ryan Brignall of Sysco.

Katie Tyler, event director of lunch! and lunch! North, said: "lunch! has always been about connecting the sharpest minds in food-to-go in one place, and this year's speaker line-up is shaping up to be our most exciting yet. Whether you're an independent operator or a national brand, the insight on offer across our stages will give you the tools to tackle today's challenges and the inspiration to take back to your business."

Register now
Free trade registration for The London Food & Drink Festival, including lunch!, is open now at lunchshow.co.uk (priority code VLU47) subject to verification ahead of the event.

Essential info
What? lunch! 2026
Where? Excel London
When? 16^th and 17^th September
More info: lunchshow.co.uk

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