Nigerian food enthusiasts have converged on Lagos for the 4th edition of the Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) food and drink festival, which begins today in Lagos.
The annual food exhibition and sales event aims to project the diverse angles of the food industry by connecting various small businesses involved in the food and drinks value-chain, starting with the production stage to the final consumers of food-related products.
The four day event which includes 15 masterclasses to educate local food vendors on how to scale their businesses up to meet internationally accepted standard, and exhibitions that will help increase brand visibility and boost sales by opening the small food vendors to other markets as they showcase the latest products, trends and innovation in the Nigerian food industry.
The food and drink fair provides a platform for small food vendors to improve their culinary to international standard. Also, it is an avenue to celebrate Nigeria’s vibrant food culture and in turn promote enterprise in the small business sector of the food industry.
Oyinade Adegite, head of communications and external affairs, Guaranty Trust Bank, said the vision behind the food and drink initiative is to promote enterprise by focusing on small businesses in the food industry. “As an organisation we believe that banking and the way we do banking as changed; and so, this is one initiative where we think about the value proposition for our customers and stakeholders,” she said.
She further said that the carefully selected small food businesses will offer the best culinary experiences for the Lagos food fair. According to her, the 4-day event is free for all to attend and provides small businesses with a free and vibrant platform to connect with a wider segment of their target markets as well as experts in the food and drink industry.
According to Adegite, the goodwill that comes with initiatives like the food and drink fair has been the sustaining faction for the fair since it started, hence the need to scale up to four days. She however said the bank will continue to put measures in place to help moderate prices, even though vendors are expected to react to demand and supply.
This year, the GTBank Food and Drink Fair will feature series of masterclasses in the art and business of food and drink whilst treating attendees to a host of live cooking demonstrations of their favourite delicacies by renowned international and indigenous chefs.
The 2019 GTBank food and drink festival which started today Sunday 28 April, in Lagos will feature a special kids arena dedicated to family bonding that will give children at the fair opportunity to engage with educational activities whist having fun, and is expected to end on Wednesday, May 1.
SEYI JOHN SALAU
