Zest 4 Leisure, a leading trade supplier of quality timber garden products including furniture, arches, arbours and fencing, is celebrating another successful year at Glee 2018.

The trade show season for 2018 is gearing up and promises to be a lucrative time for garden centre traders, with sales to make and people to meet. Here, we look at a selection of the big trade shows and highlight the speakers and exhibitors which we think are must-sees. We at Garden Trade Specialist also look forward to meeting you at some of the shows!

Award-winning Zest 4 Leisure, which manufactures and sources FSC® Certified timber garden furniture, fencing, trellis, gazebos, arches and a wide range of planters, is celebrating its best Glee yet.

The company showcased new products for 2020 at the recent garden and outdoor living trade show which were designed by the in-house design team in response to customer feedback, and based upon current and future market trends.

Power of One is a new initiative being adopted by Glee to highlight the impact we each have on the environment. Supporting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, the campaign seeks to demonstrate how a combination of small, individual changes can create a more sustainable future for all.

At Glee, exhibitors and visitors will be encouraged to make a pledge, committing to making one small conscious change to reduce their impact upon the environment and the world in which we live. Pledges could include anything from promising to recycle more, choosing bio-degradable alternatives, or refraining from using single use plastics. Together these singular commitments add up to a much bigger and stronger impact; one that can help lead a positive change.

With catering and food sales continuing to offer major add-on profit opportunities for garden centres, leading garden trade show Glee (10th – 12th September, NEC Birmingham), will be offering retailers extensive inspiration at the newly introducedTaste Village.   

This new Taste Village will provide food and catering suppliers - particularly smaller brands, niche suppliers and start-ups - with the opportunity to participate and exhibit as part of a larger group. 

Offering exclusive exhibition packages, exhibitors within the Taste Village will be able to enjoy an enhanced shell stand exhibition space, a listing within the Glee website and the show’s dedicated preview and catalogue. The close proximity of the Taste Village to the show’s leading feature, the Retail Lab, will also mean great footfall from a range of buyers and key decision makers from a wide range of independent and multiple garden centres.

If you have a team of willing participants and a weekend spare, then the inaugural Greenfingers Glee to Monte-Carlo Banger Rally could be just what you are looking for.

This exciting new event will see teams from across the industry pitch themselves against each other to travel from Glee at the NEC Birmingham, to the world-famous Monte-Carlo on the French Riviera. But to make it even more exciting, each team must complete the 1,000mile course, commit to raising at least £1000 all in a car worth no more than £500! 

The rally won’t be about speed, but instead teams will be faced with exciting challenges and adventure along the way, all with the aim of putting the FUN into FUNdraising.

As the leading trade show for the garden and outdoor leisure sector, Glee is a key date in the calendar. With just five months to go until the doors open on the 2019 event (10th – 12th September, NEC Birmingham), the show’s organisers confirm that this year’s exhibition will be a bigger and more vibrant showcase of the best the industry has to offer.

Glee prides itself on delivering a format for business growth, be that through locating new product innovation, sourcing new supply partners or simply through unrivalled networking and educational opportunities. The 2019 show will continue to build on this success, with the richest selection of content available at any garden retail exhibition. 

Each year the show delivers in excess of 7,000 UK and international visitors, with a strong focus on senior level management and decision makers. At the 2018 event, over 60% of visitors had direct purchasing power, and over 70% placed orders either at the show, or post-event. This level of purchasing power is expected to increase as garden retailers continue to find a point of difference for their product offering ahead of the 2020 season.

The beating heart of Glee, the Glee New Product Showcase provides a one-stop-shop for all the latest product innovations from around the show. Each year 11 products are selected as winners by a panel made up of leading industry figures and gardening experts. Six months have now passed since the 2018 winners were crowned, making it the perfect time to catch up with some of the brands to find out how the award has helped grow business, and to see what 2019 has in store.  

Glee is always a key event in the calendar for Westland Horticulture. Not only is a prime opportunity to speak to existing retailers while recruiting new stockists, it is also the chance to showcase new products and unveil months of product development for the first time.  At the 2018 exhibition, the company launched two new products - the Squirrel Proof Suet Pellets from Peckish and the New Rodenticides Range from Deadfast, both of which were awarded best new product awards in their individual categories.

One of the world’s leading pet product suppliers, the German based Trixie, has confirmed it will be exhibiting at Pets at Glee in 2019, further cementing the show’s value for pet and garden retailers.

Bringing with it over 40 years’ experience, world-wide knowledge of the pet market thanks to its penetration in over 80 countries, and access to over 6,500 product lines for dogs, cats, birds, small animals, fish and reptiles, Trixie represents one of the biggest pet product suppliers active today. Making its debut at Glee in 2019, Trixie’s presence at Glee marks an exciting development for the dedicated pet sector.

Ines Fanslau, Trixie Sales UK/Ireland, said: “At Trixie we pride ourselves on bringing to market the widest selection of product innovation; products that tap into the latest consumer trends and ensure pet owners are confident that they are making the best possible purchasing decisions for their much-loved pets.

Introducing the Grip smartphone application to optimise retailer and manufacturer presence at Glee 2019

In 2019, Glee joins the digital revolution with the launch of its new exhibition smartphone app, designed to provide an unrivalled matchmaking solution to help suppliers and retailers to get the most out of their time at the show.

Developed in response to the industry’s desire for such a tool, the new AI-powered event ‘matchmaking’ solution - from market-leading experts, Grip - will offer benefits for both exhibitors and retailers, utilising a platform that has already proved its worth at many leading events across the globe.