The Wholesale Group heralds success of its first ever trade show

The Wholesale Group has just held its first trade show since its launch in January 2025, which saw supplier partners and members come together to plan for future growth.

Held at Cheltenham Racecourse last Thursday (20 March), the event saw more than 190 supplier partners meet with more than 180 wholesale members.

Jess Douglas, joint managing director, said: “The show exceeded all our expectations and was a fantastic success with incredibly high levels of attendance.

“To see so many members and suppliers come together to discuss plans for the coming months, share the latest product innovation and take advantage of our on-the-day deals was wonderful. The energy throughout the day and evening was incredible and a great way to cement our plans for the group moving forwards.”

 “Events like this really are invaluable,” said Kate Robinson, regional account manager, Unilever Food Solutions UK. “This industry thrives on face-to-face interaction and meeting with members in person to plan for the future and share our latest product development always provides critical insight.”

Meanwhile Dan Dunster, national account manager at Coca-Cola Euro-Pacific Partners, said: “What a fantastic event and an excellent venue. We were able to have several good business discussions with members and for me as account manager for The Wholesale Group, it’s so effective to be face to face. This is such a valuable use of our time as both the day and the evening were great opportunities to build on relationships.”

Celebrating success

Following the trade show, The Wholesale Group held a formal black-tie dinner where it presented awards to suppliers and members in recognition of engagement and performance with Confex during 2024.