The New Product Showcase and Glee Awards

The New Product Display is the place to head to see the most innovative, unique and commercial products from the hundreds of suppliers at Glee. The competition sees new designs and products perfectly displayed for your consideration with the best of each category receiving the accolade of a ‘Glee Award.’ Show visitors can also cast their vote for their favourite, awarding one lucky entrant with the title of ‘Retailers Choice Award’.

Food & Catering Zone, in exclusive partnership with Catering Design Group

Focused on one of the fastest growing profit opportunities for garden retailers, the Glee Food & Catering Zone - now in its fourth year - is designed to give garden retailers an unrivalled opportunity to gather best practice examples, advice, contacts and products to help them initiate or improve their catering offering. 

This year The Food & Catering Zone seminar content will focus on key themes such as ’how to grow your restaurant successfully’, 'how to take inspiration from and compete with the high street', and 'how to increase revenue and profit'. There will also be a special session on ‘How to use your café as your USP, and a way to generate loyalty, PR and differentiation’.

Knowledge Hub, in association with The HTA

Business guidance is at the heart of the show’s dedicated education and learning centre, ‘The Knowledge Hub’.  With a raft of seminars designed to help you improve and grow your business for the year ahead, this area is the perfect place to relax and learn during your time at Glee. 

The Garden Industry Marketing Board

The Garden Industry Marketing Board will be showcasing unique garden leisure designs for small spaces that will appeal to 30-45 year olds that want to do more in their gardens and outlining ideas for a 2016 industry wide campaign. Through seminars in the Hub there will also be the opportunity to hear about the latest consumer research which highlights the wants and needs of these younger gardeners and, importantly the key hooks for getting them into their gardens and garden centres.

Glee Innovators Zone

Launched in 2009, the Glee Innovators Zone has already helped more than 150 companies break into the garden retail market.  This special area is designed to help nurture valuable grass-roots product development and one-off design ideas, whilst also bridging the gap between market-ready new product launches from established companies and pre-commercial product ideas.  This year Glee’s Innovators Zone will be home to over 30 brand new companies.

GIMA Business Village

The GIMA Business Village is home to a great selection of up and coming companies exhibiting with the support of GIMA.  Glee is also pleased to present the GIMA Business Lounge, an ideal place to take a break, arrange meetings and catch up with key suppliers. It is also home to the “Buyers Connect” speed networking sessions which will see selected exhibitors meet with show visitors for 10 minute slots for a power-networking session.

International Buyers Centre

International visitors will find the UKTI International Buyers Centre (IBC) in partnership with Gardenex a useful resource.  Located in Hall 18, the IBC will be led by the team at Gardenex, who will be on hand to provide support and advice as well as translation services.  The International Buyers Centre will also be home to “International Buyers Connect”, a special speed-networking event. 

Visit the UKTI International Business Zone

To really find out how you can export to build your business just head for the UKTI stand, where International Trade Advisers (ITAs) will be on hand to discuss every aspect of what it means to export, where and how. There will also be case studies from businesses that have already succeeded, and you’ll have the opportunity to ask questions and discover more about the options available. A range of seminars from UKTI and UK businesses will also be hosted on the stand, and by joining these you can learn about the support available to you and some vital advice from those that have already successfully started exporting overseas.