GroceryAid’s Barcode Festival raises over £750,000

GroceryAid said its Barcode Festival, which returned this year to a new venue, raised more than £750,000 for the charity.

The sell-out event held at Magazine London earlier this month has seen a record 75 sponsors, with many using it to launch new brands.

The summer party, now in its third year, is a flagship fundraising event for the industry charity.

“After the last 18 months, it was wonderful to bring the trade together with smiles on their faces at a unique industry event. Barcode Festival is something we are really proud to deliver for the industry. We anticipate it will sell out extremely quickly for 2022,” Steve Barnes, GroceryAid chief executive, commented.

“Not surprisingly, the demand for GroceryAid’s services has increased threefold since the pandemic began, which indicates our support is needed more than ever. The money raised by Barcode will help more colleagues in need.”

Entertainment for the evening was spread across three main stages. On the Skittles Stage guests enjoyed headline acts Rudimental with Ella Eyre, Example, Becky Hill, Scott Mills and Levi Roots.

Some of the UK’s best known celebrity chefs cooked for packed crowds from the Demo Kitchen Stage: Ainsley Harriott, Levi Roots, Briony May and Kenny Tutt all featured.

Outside, there was more entertainment to enjoy on the Volvic Variety Stage from British drag queen The Vivienne, who delighted fans with comedy cabaret.

Matt Glenn, Commercial Director UK at Campari, said: “Fantastic to see Barcode go from strength to strength and raise even more awareness of GroceryAid and the vital role it plays in supporting the industry and its colleagues. It was great to have so many of our team together, letting their hair down and having fun after such a challenging year; we can’t wait for next year”.

Barcode Festival also provides invaluable exposure for smaller brands who can access the event via ‘The Incubator’, designed to be accessible for start-up brands and provides a unique opportunity to connect and network with the UK’s top retailers and distributors.

Emily Gander, Head of Sustainability at TENZING, one of Barcode’s incubator brands said: “Barcode Festival was an epic way to get back into events after a tough 18 months for the Grocery world. We were able to showcase our lockdown innovations, network with fellow brands and lock in overdue face-time with industry contacts. We can’t wait to come back next year!”

The next Barcode Festival takes place on Thursday 7th July 2022.