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Laura Roberts
FOUNDER, LAURA'S LARDER
After working for 21 years in marketing and PR for media and tech companies, Laura made the cliché move of chasing her dream. Laura’s Larder was born in 2020 and she’s never looked back. A deli is more than food, it’s part of a community and Laura’s Larder works hard to be just that.
John Gill
HEAD OF TRADING AND SUPPLY, BOOTHS
John Gill is Head of Trading and Supply at Booths, with extensive experience selecting, procuring and retailing food and drink. Passionate about discovering great food and drink brands, he has built his career around developing ranges that meet both customer and business needs, while fostering strong and fair relationships with suppliers.
MANAGING DIRECTOR, GUILD OF FINE FOOD
John Farrand is managing director of the Guild of Fine Food, the organisation behind Great Taste and the World Cheese Awards. Like many of its members and audience, the Guild is a small business, focussing on supporting independent and artisanal retailers and producers throughout the UK and across the globe. For forty years, the Guild has championed the production of worthy food and drink and helped educate consumers on why supporting small businesses is good for the economy, our health, and the planet. John also represents these businesses at a governmental level, sitting on the Food and Drink Sector Council, the Agri-Food Chain Directorate within DEFRA, he also sits on the Independent Retailers Confederation’s steering group, and is an active member of the Food and Drink Export Association. John’s world has always revolved around food production, starting with an education in Agriculture & Food Industry Management from Wye College, University of London.
SUPPLIER RELATIONSHIP MANAGER, OCADO RETAIL
Genevieve Fitch is a Supplier Relationship and Partnerships Manager with over 10 years of experience shaping commercial strategy, operational frameworks, and partner growth across the FMCG and retail sectors.
Currently leading challenger brand strategy and supplier relationship initiatives at Ocado Retail, Genevieve designed and executed the framework for Ocado Roots, an incubation and growth programme for emerging founders and brands. Her tenure at Ocado also includes roles in data partnership and commercial insights, building on nearly eight years of key account and commercial management experience at Majestic Wine.
Genevieve specialises in bridging the gap between strategic vision and day-to-day execution, focusing on cross-functional stakeholder alignment, digital retail media integration, and managing high-impact corporate events.
Andrew Goodacre
CEO, BIRA
Andrew Goodacre has been the CEO of Bira since 2018 and is passionate about working with the high street and supporting small businesses. Mr Goodacre has a strong background in retail and hospitality, and since taking up the role, has been integral in pushing forward independent retailers and showcasing their importance of them being at the very heart of every good high street throughout the UK and a vital part of life and the economy within local communities. He started his career in hospitality, spending 25 years working in the retail divisions of national breweries and pub companies. Andrew was also formerly a member of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) before becoming the CEO of the Residential Landlords Association in 2013.
Mecca Ibrahim
CO-FOUNDER, WOMEN IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY
Mex Ibrahim is a gender equality advocate and co-founder of Women in the Food Industry, a non-profit social enterprise advancing inclusion, leadership, and empowerment across the sector. With expertise in sustainability, entrepreneurship, and ethical eating, she is a trustee of the charity School Food Matters, a member of The Guild of Food Writers, and an advisory board member at New Food Magazine. She also runs a successful digital strategy business. She was named Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Champion at the 2025 Speciality & Fine Food Fair Awards and voted The Staff Canteen’s Hospitality Hero in 2025. Earlier in 2026 she won Women of The Year – Sales and Communications in the inaugural Women in Food & Drink Awards.
Mark Wiltshire
CO-FOUNDER & DIRECTOR, DIVERSE FINE FOOD
Mark Wiltshire is Co-Founder and Director of Diverse Fine Food, with more than 30 years’ experience working with brands, manufacturers and the food and drink industry. Having built Diverse around a belief that exceptional products deserve exceptional routes to market, Mark has spent more than two decades discovering, championing and helping grow distinctive food and drink brands within the UK’s premium independent retail sector.
His eye for what makes a product stand out has also made him a respected industry judge, with experience across the Great Taste Awards, Nourish Awards and Farm Shop & Deli Product Awards.
A New Zealander, Ironman and lifelong sports enthusiast, Mark brings the same energy and determination to business – always curious, always looking ahead and, most importantly, always searching for something exceptional. For Mark, great food is about more than taste. It’s about the people, provenance and stories that make a product worth discovering.
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Vhari Russell
FOUNDER, THE FOOD MARKETING EXPERTS
Vhari Russell is the Founder and Managing Director of The Food Marketing Experts (TFME), a UK food and drink marketing agency that connects strategy to sales.
With more than 20 years' experience in marketing, PR and social media, Vhari began her career at Winterbotham Darby developing products for the multiples, before moving into sales and account management, working with Harrods, Ocado, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Waitrose and Boots. That retail insight shapes everything TFME does for its clients.
Her agency work has included brands such as Warner's Gin and Seggiano, as well as international government bodies, and most recently the launch of the Thai Shop on Ocado.
Vhari is also the founder of Grub Club Events, a multi-award-winning food and drink networking group, and of Creating Nature's Corridors, a registered charity planting native trees and hedgerows across the UK and Ireland.
Matthew Hopkins
FOUNDER & CEO, IND!E COLLECTION
Matthew Hopkins is the Founder and CEO of IND!E Collection, a business dedicated to discovering, supporting and scaling exciting independent brands. With over 20 years’ experience in retail and entrepreneurship, Matthew has built a network of over 25,000 brands, connecting them with leading UK retailers including Ocado, Waitrose, John Lewis, Selfridges and ASDA. He is also the founder of IND!E, an innovative digital platform connecting independent brands directly with retail buyers.
Matthew is passionate about championing challenger brands, breaking down barriers to retail and helping great products reach more customers.
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Jeremy Bowen
JB FOODIE SOLUTIONS
Jeremy's back room noise is food in all its commercial joy, and JB Food Solutions walk & talk it. He loathes the word 'consultant' but takes pride in the word 'trader', as him (and his awesome team) trade their knowledge and experience in this commercial space that is food.
They make things happen, put money in the till and delight in helping their portfolio of customers propel. You won't find a website or landing page for JB Food Solutions as they work on personal recommendation only.
JB Food Solutions is heading towards its 10th anniversary proving that its all about kind commercial consideration, truth and measurable success.
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From 2027, Speciality & Fine Food Fair will take place 5 – 7 April at Excel London, as part of Food, Drink & Hospitality Week to be the UK’s largest food & drink trade event.
This exciting move will connect our incredible community of speciality producers and buyers with 25,000+ verified trade visitors, creating even more opportunities for products to be discovered, tasted and stocked by buyers across retail, hospitality, wholesale and foodservice.