Allegra announces first European Coffee Symposium

The research organisation Allegra has announced its first European Coffee Symposium, a major talking-shop to be held in London on 17 October.

The event will comprise a full day of speeches and presentations, from a notable collection of trade names.

Among them are Paul Ettinger, head of food and beverages for Caffe Nero, Richard Barclay, the global brand director for SSP (and a major force behind Caffe Ritazza), together with the head of cafés in Germany for McDonald's, and probably the top man from Starbucks in France.

Following them will be David Field, managing director of Nestle Foodservice, Elaine Higginson, managing director of First Choice, Harriet Lamb of the Fairtrade Foundation, and Susan Nash of Kenco.

They in turn are followed by the chief executive officer of Welcome Break, Rod McKie, then Tony Waters, managing director of Solo Cup Europe, and Barry Kither of Lavazza.

We also hear that well over a couple of hundred independent café operators responded to the Allegra survey on the independent sector. It is hoped that some valuable findings will be published in the next month or so.

For further details or to register for the event, visit the European Coffee Symposium website or send an e-mail to Allegra.

By Ian Boughton