Ludlow Marches Food & Drink Festival

What Ludlow Marches Food & Drink Festival does

Ludlow Marches Food & Drink is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee (registered in England and Wales, no. 4230963) founded in 1994 and headquartered in Ludlow, Shropshire, UK. The organization produces three annual events serving the Marches region (Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire): the flagship Ludlow Food Festival held each September at Ludlow Castle, the Ludlow Spring Festival held each May, and the Ludlow Magnalonga, an August eight-mile walking food event. The core customer base is a long tail of independent UK food and drink producers seeking direct access to engaged consumers, alongside culinary tourists and local food enthusiasts.

Revenue is generated through three streams: ticket sales (individual day tickets priced £16–17, multi-day passes up to £42, and add-on experiences from £3.50 to £45), exhibitor fees from 100+ producers at the flagship event, and corporate sponsorship packages (including Radnor Hills, Kadai, Marsh Commercial, and Lanyon Bowdler). Operations run on a skeleton staff of one full-time event coordinator supplemented by over 100 volunteers and a volunteer board of directors. The technology stack is minimal — Stripe for ticketing, Google Analytics for web analytics, reCAPTCHA, and a content blog called "The Daily Dish" — with no proprietary software. Distribution is primarily digital (Instagram, email newsletter, The Daily Dish blog) supplemented by earned coverage in regional and food press.

In April 2024 the organization rebranded from "Ludlow Food Festival" to "Ludlow Marches Food & Drink," consolidating its three events under a unified identity. The 2024 season also introduced the British Live Fire Cooking Championships as a new competitive format qualifying for world food championships. Strategic positioning emphasizes authenticity, regional provenance, and producer-direct access rather than scale or technology differentiation.

Name

Ludlow Marches Food & Drink Festival

Legal name

Ludlow Marches Food & Drink Festival

Website

https://foodfestival.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Not-for-profit organization producing three annual food and drink festivals in the UK's Marches region, serving independent UK food and drink producers seeking direct consumer access and culinary enthusiasts seeking regional produce experiences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Culinary Events & Food Festivals

NAICS

Caterers (72232)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Festivals & Culinary Events (Ticketed Tastings, Pop-ups) (THAJAGAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Food, Drink & Culinary Community Festivals (Community-Led) (MPAGAEAF), Food, Wine & Beverage Festivals/Expos (MPAGAFAE), Culinary Walking & Market Tours (THAJAGAA)

Keywords

• Food festival events
• Culinary events
• Regional food promotion
• Drink festival exhibitions
• Artisan food showcases

Headquarters

HQ city

Ludlow

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Festival Ticket Sales: Primary revenue stream from selling tickets to three annual events: Ludlow Food Festival (September), Ludlow Spring Festival (May), and Ludlow Magnalonga (August). Tickets available for individual days, multi-day passes, and special experiences.
2. Exhibitor Fees: Fees collected from food and drink producers exhibiting at festival events.
3. Sponsorship: Corporate sponsors pay for brand visibility and association with the festival. Multiple sponsorship packages available at various levels.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Ludlow Marches Food & Drink Festival operates three annual consumer food and drink events — the Ludlow Food Festival (September, held at Ludlow Castle), the Ludlow Spring Festival (May, held at Ludlow Rugby Club), and the Ludlow Magnalonga (August, an ~8-mile walking food-and-drink ramble). The organization provides a curated platform for independent growers, food and drink producers, and makers from the Marches region to showcase and sell their products to festival visitors, and sells a range of paid add-on experiences including cooking workshops, brewery tours, the Slow Food Feast, the Ludlow Pub Trail, and food photography workshops.

Product overview

Ludlow Marches Food & Drink Festival is a not-for-profit organization that operates three annual food and drink events: Ludlow Food Festival (September, held at Ludlow Castle), Ludlow Spring Festival (May at Ludlow Rugby Club), and Ludlow Magnalonga (August walking event). The organization also offers add-on experiences including workshops (Vegify Asian cooking, photography), brewery tours, the Slow Food Feast, Ludlow Pub Trail, and Fire Stage live cooking demonstrations. The festival champions local and seasonal food and drink from the Marches region, providing a platform for independent growers, producers, and makers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ludlow Food Festival Three-day flagship food festival held annually in September at Ludlow Castle, showcasing over 100 handpicked independent food and drink producers from the Marches region with talks, demonstrations, tastings, and immersive experiences including the Fire Stage, Sausage Trail, brewery tours, and workshops. Targeted at food and drink enthusiasts.
• Ludlow Spring Festival Three-day May festival combining real ale (SIBA beer festival with cask and keg beers), live music, talks, food and drink, classic cars via the Marches Transport Festival (including the Leominster Run), and children's activities. Held at Ludlow Rugby Club.
• Ludlow Magnalonga An approximately 8-mile food and drink walking event adapted from Ludlow's Italian twin town's tradition, ramble through rolling countryside surrounding Ludlow with tastings from regional producers at multiple stops along the route. Held in August.
• Slow Food Feast Six-course evening dining experience in the Beacon Rooms at Ludlow Castle during the Food Festival, featuring sustainable and surplus-food cuisine prepared by Slow Food England Cook of the Year Steve Guy. Sold as an add-on ticket.
• Vegify Asian Inspired Hands-on Workshops Asian-inspired cooking workshops (including Japanese Veggie Gyozas and Vietnamese Summer Rolls) offered as paid add-on experiences during the Food Festival, with vegetarian options available.
• Brewery Tours Guided brewery tours of Ludlow Brewing Co at The Railway Shed, Station Drive, Ludlow, offered across multiple time slots during the Food Festival weekend as a paid add-on.
• Ludlow Pub Trail Pub trail experience in which participants visit participating pubs around Ludlow, collecting leaflets from the Festival Welcome Point. Sold as a paid add-on.
• Food & Drink Photography Workshops Six one-hour photography workshops covering topics such as crafting images, basic skills, product showcasing, working with liquid and light, food styling, and social media photography, offered as paid add-ons during the Food Festival.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100+ exhibitors at Food Festival
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Radnor HillscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerLong-standing sponsor of Ludlow Food Festival. Produces Heartsease Farm premium sparkling pressés featured at festival. Celebrating 35 years of business in 2025.
• KadaicoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of the Fire Stage at Ludlow Food Festival. Provides authentic barbecue firebowls for live fire cooking demonstrations. Hosts British Live Fire Cooking Championships.
• Marsh CommercialminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCommunity-focused business insurance brokers in Ludlow providing sponsorship support.
• Lanyon BowdlerminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLegal services firm working together to make a difference to people in communities.
• Dinham Weir House & Redford Farm BarnscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerLuxury self-catering accommodation sponsors that support the festival and host pop-up dining experiences. Jude and Rupert Hunt are long-term festival supporters.
• DHJHminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAccountants based in Tenbury Wells supporting over 700 clients. Registered office provider for Ludlow Marches Food & Drink.
• Frank P MatthewsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerOne of the largest tree growing nurseries in the UK, growing over one million fruit and ornamental trees annually.
• Netherton FoundrycoreGTM or Marketing PartnerFamily business designing and making quality traditional cookware from Shropshire materials. Sponsors tent in Castle Gardens for food education.
• Food and TravelminorGTM or Marketing PartnerWorld's leading gastronomic travel magazine, now in its 27th year, serving as sole magazine sponsor.
• House of CharcoalminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCurates collective of UK-based artisan charcoal producers for sustainable fire cooking fuel.
• Ludlow CastlecoreOthersProvides venue for Ludlow Food Festival inside the historic castle grounds. Used by kind permission of The Earl of Powis and Trustees of Powis Estate.
• SIBA (Society of Independent Brewers)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerIndependent brewer association running the real ale bar at Spring Festival and Food Festival. Hosts SIBA Indie Beer competition.
• Slow FoodcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational food movement aligned with festival values around good, clean, fair food. Hosts Slow Food Garden and Slow Food Feast at festival.
• Ludlow and District Chamber of Trade and CommerceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal chamber providing operational support to the not-for-profit festival organization.
• Ludlow BrewingminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal brewery hosting brewery tours during Food Festival at The Railway Shed, Station Drive, Ludlow.
• Hobsons BreweryminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal Shropshire brewery whose products are featured at festivals and in local food establishments.
• BBC Radio ShropshireminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal radio station providing media support and coverage for festival events.
• Shropshire StarminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal newspaper providing media coverage and support for festival.
• BBC Good Food ShowminorGTM or Marketing PartnerExhibition at NEC where festival maintains a stand. Volunteers man the stand in exchange for free entry.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Foodies Festival: UK-wide touring food festival series held in multiple cities throughout summer. Comparable as a ticketed public food festival featuring exhibitor stalls, demonstrations, and workshops, though operating at much larger scale and across multiple geographies.
• Abergavenny Food Festival: One of the UK's leading food festivals, held annually in the Welsh market town of Abergavenny. Directly comparable as a regional UK food festival with a similar producer- and consumer-facing model, ticket sales, and exhibitor/sponsor revenue mix.
• Hampton Court Food Festival: Food festival held at Hampton Court Palace, comparable to Ludlow's castle venue positioning. Operates with a heritage-venue anchor, ticketed entry, and producer/exhibitor mix, though at a different geography and likely larger scale.
• Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival: Annual food and drink festival on the Suffolk coast. Comparable as a ticketed regional UK food festival with a producer-led model, premium experiences, and a strong local/regional identity, though operating in a different geography.
• York Food Festival: Annual food festival held in York city centre over a multi-day period. Comparable as a regional UK food festival with ticketed events, producer stalls, and demonstrations, with a similar scale and community-led operating model.
• Real Food Festival: Independent UK food festival producer that ran events such as the BBC Good Food Show and Real Food festivals. Comparable as a festival operator with a producer-focused model and similar revenue mix of tickets and exhibitor fees.

Broad incumbents

• BBC Good Food Show: The UK's flagship consumer food exhibition held at the NEC and other major venues. Comparable as a ticketed food and drink consumer exhibition with exhibitor and sponsorship revenue, but operates at significantly larger scale and as part of a broader media portfolio.
• Taste of London: Premium London food festival operated by Taste Festivals. Comparable as a ticketed food festival experience with chef demonstrations, exhibitor restaurants, and premium pricing, but concentrated in London and at a higher price point.

Emerging players

• Stroud Farmers' Market and Food Festival: Regular West Country food market and festival showcasing local producers. Comparable in its emphasis on local, independent producers and the regional Cotswolds/Gloucestershire audience, though smaller in scale and shorter in duration.

Regional players

• Shrewsbury Food Festival: Annual food festival in Shrewsbury, also in Shropshire. Comparable as a regional West Midlands food festival with overlapping producer and sponsor pools in the same county, but positioned slightly differently on scale and consumer offering.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/ludlowfood
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ludlow-marches-food-&-drink-festival

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

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 Ludlow Marches Food & Drink Festival