New team, new features for NFS – South East Farmer – Jonathan Blackman
The core team behind the Marden Fruit Show Society (MFSS) has been expanded as planning begins for this year’s 88th National Fruit Show ...
New Team
NFS will be held at the Kent Exhibition Centre in Detling, opening on 20 October.
With Sarah Calcutt confirmed in the new position of executive chair, MFSS has named Laura Larkin as exhibition manager and Norma Tompsett as competition manager. New to the trustee board are Edward Newling of Newling Fruit Growers and Jonathan Blackman of Hutchinsons, representing the East and West Midlands respectively, and Claire Seymour of NP Seymour representing exhibitors.
With pandemic restrictions expected to be a thing of the past by October, MFSS is planning a physical event that promises to be “a celebration of the outstanding work of growers in keeping the nation fed, as well as a showcase for innovation and production excellence”.
Jonathan Blackman
New features
Following the success of the ‘Love Cider’ Competition in 2020, this year’s show will include a wider range of products and an enhanced PR campaign to get the public to vote for their favourites.
MFSS believes the competition “highlights the importance of cider as a national favourite and encourages producers to interact directly with their fans on social media”.
The society, which ran a successful online event last year, has said the evolution of the cider competition is part of a changing approach as the National Fruit Show develops its strategy towards its centenary show.
That strategy “includes novel crops not traditionally grown in the UK, identifying new opportunities for producers in processing, alcohol and beyond, and helping growers find innovative ways to reduce crop wastage,” MFSS said as it launched the 2021 show.
“This is a very exciting time for the industry and we are expanding and evolving the show to reflect the opportunities facing British fruit growers today,” said Sarah Calcutt. “We want to help them fulfil the huge potential in the marketplace and boost consumption of fruit and fruit products across the country.”
In a further new development, Worldwide Fruit has been confirmed as one of the four platinum sponsors of the National Fruit Show for the first time.
“We are delighted to welcome Worldwide Fruit as one of our lead sponsors,” Sarah said. “It’s a business with wonderful growers and an international heritage.” The National Fruit Show will once again feature a challenging and thought-provoking conference programme to run alongside this year’s show.
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