Café Business Expo

What Café Business Expo does

Café Business Expo is an annual B2B trade show event for the UK café, coffee, and casual dining industry, organized by Fortem Food And Drink Ltd. The two-day exhibition takes place at ExCeL London (next scheduled for 29-30 September 2026) and is positioned to convene 15,000+ industry professionals — including independent café owners (72% of attendees), fast-growing chains (19%), retailers, QSR operators, and wholesalers — with 500+ exhibitors. The event combines exhibition floor access, 200+ educational seminars and keynote sessions, and structured networking under the broader Food Service Industry Expo portfolio, with media cross-promotion via Hospitality B2B.

The underlying technology is a web-based platform supporting event registration, an exhibitor directory, and attendee information, with Supabase used for media storage and content delivery. The revenue model is event-driven and comprises three primary streams: (1) one-time exhibition stand sales to exhibiting companies (priced by booth size and location, not publicly disclosed), (2) one-time attendee registration fees (with early bird discounts offering priority access and VIP networking), and (3) conference session revenue treated as professional services. Marketing is concentrated on the company website (cafebusinessshow.co.uk), email communications, and industry partnerships. The event is operated by a lean team of approximately 6 employees with operational headquarters at Fortem International's Bristol office (The Brewhouse, Bath Street, Redcliffe, Bristol BS1 6LA) and the venue at ExCeL London (One Western Gateway, Royal Victoria Dock, London E16 1XL). The company is privately held by Fortem Food And Drink Ltd. with no disclosed external investors.

Name

Café Business Expo

Legal name

Fortem Food And Drink Ltd.

Website

https://cafebusinessshow.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2025

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Café Business Expo is a UK B2B trade show for the café, coffee, and casual dining industry, run annually at ExCeL London by Fortem Food And Drink Ltd. It connects 15,000+ attendees with 500+ exhibitors and 200+ seminars over two days.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trade Show & Exhibition Services

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)

akta.pro primary industry

Industry Trade Shows & Expos (MPAGAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Consumer & Public Shows (B2C) Organizers (THAHABAC)

Keywords

• Trade show events
• B2B exhibitions
• Cafe industry expo
• Food service events
• Hospitality conferences

Headquarters

HQ city

Bristol

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Exhibition Stand Sales: Companies book exhibition stands/booths to showcase their products and services to attendees. Pricing varies by booth location and size.
2. Attendee Registration Fees: Attendees pay registration fees to access the expo. Early bird registrations receive discounted rates with priority access to sessions and exclusive networking events.
3. Conference Sessions: 200+ educational seminars included with registration, providing knowledge transfer on trends, consumer insights, and profitability strategies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Café Business Expo is an annual two-day B2B trade show event for the café, coffee, and casual dining industry, held at ExCeL London in the United Kingdom. The event connects 500+ exhibitors with 15,000+ industry attendees and features 200+ educational seminars, keynote sessions, and structured networking opportunities for industry professionals with purchasing authority.

Product overview

Café Business Expo is a B2B trade show event for the café, coffee, and casual dining industry, operating as a single unified event rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The event comprises the core expo exhibition (featuring 500+ exhibitors), a conference program with 200+ educational seminars and keynote speaker sessions, and structured networking opportunities. These components are delivered together as an annual in-person event held at ExCeL London, rather than as separate standalone products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Food Service Industry Expo: Food Service Industry Expo - the parent event that Café Business Expo runs alongside

Products and services

• Café Business Expo Annual two-day B2B trade show event for the café, coffee, and casual dining industry held at ExCeL London, combining 500+ exhibitor showcases, 200+ educational seminars and keynote sessions, and structured networking for 15,000+ industry professionals with purchasing authority.

Quantifiable outcome

• 82% of attendees would recommend the event to an industry contact
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Fortem Food And Drink LtdcoreOthersOrganizer of the Café Business Expo event. Fortem Food And Drink Ltd (also referred to as Fortem International) manages the event operations, venue coordination, exhibitor relations, and general inquiries. Located at The Brewhouse, Bath St, Redcliffe, Bristol BS1 6LA.
• Hospitality B2BminorOthersIndustry media platform that the Café Business Expo is associated with/part of, enabling cross-promotion and audience sharing.
• 3S POSminorGTM or Marketing PartnerExhibitor at the Café Business Expo, showcasing POS solutions for café and restaurant operators at booth HT400.
• Access HospitalityminorGTM or Marketing PartnerExhibitor showcasing hospitality management solutions at booths HT800 and HT900.
• All GravyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerExhibitor at booth HT1220.
• AppDateminorGTM or Marketing PartnerExhibitor at booth RT632.
• BartecminorGTM or Marketing PartnerExhibitor at booth RP420.
• Basebetter UK LtdminorGTM or Marketing PartnerExhibitor at booth RT120.
• Belmor Solutions LtdminorGTM or Marketing PartnerExhibitor at booth RT300.
• Beths Gourmet LtdminorGTM or Marketing PartnerExhibitor at booth ST124.
• BeyondlyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerExhibitor at booth RP372.
• Bio CollectorsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerExhibitor at booth RT428, likely showcasing sustainability or waste management solutions.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Food & Drink Expo: UK trade show organized by easyFairs covering the broader food and drink manufacturing, retail, and foodservice sectors. Directly comparable as a UK-based B2B trade fair competing for the same exhibitor and attendee budgets as Café Business Expo.
• Casual Dining Show: UK trade event for the casual dining and restaurant sector. Comparable to Café Business Expo in format (annual B2B trade show with exhibitor stands and conference content) and overlapping audience of operators, QSR chains, and suppliers.
• London Coffee Festival: Major UK coffee industry consumer and trade event at The Truman Brewery, London. Directly comparable vertical focus on coffee and café professionals with similar exhibitor and attendee profiles to Café Business Expo.
• World of Coffee (SCA): Specialty Coffee Association's flagship European trade show for the specialty coffee industry. Comparable as a major specialty coffee B2B trade fair with international exhibitors and a high-quality buyer audience.
• Hotelympia: Long-running UK hospitality trade show covering hotels, restaurants, and foodservice. Directly comparable as a broad UK hospitality B2B exhibition competing for exhibitor spend with Café Business Expo.

Broad incumbents

• HostMilano: One of the largest international hospitality and foodservice trade fairs held biennially in Milan, Italy. Comparable as a leading global foodservice and hospitality exhibition, but operating at much larger international scale.
• easyFairs: International exhibition organizer running a portfolio of food, drink, and hospitality trade shows across Europe. Comparable as an established B2B trade-show organizer with overlapping event verticals and larger scale than Café Business Expo.

Regional players

• Coffee Fest: US-based specialty coffee and tea trade event serving the North American barista and café market. Comparable vertical focus and trade-show format but operates in a different geography than Café Business Expo.
• Foodservice Australia: Australia's leading café, restaurant, and foodservice trade exhibition. Comparable as a regional B2B trade fair focused on café and casual dining operators but serving the Australian market rather than the UK.

Others

• Fortem Food And Drink Ltd. Parent organizer of Café Business Expo and operator of the broader Food Service Industry Expo portfolio. Relevant as the controlling entity and strategic platform partner, providing shared infrastructure, sales, and marketing capabilities.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Café Business Expo