FEATURE meet the buyer

PHOTOGRAPHY  Buy West Eat Best

With the exhibition floor for Meet the Buyer™ 2025 selling out in record time, Western Australia’s only dedicated food and beverage trade show promised to be the most successful yet.

Words Julie Hosking

AND the buzz generated on the day more than lived up to that promise. Now in its fifth year, the event drew more than 85 exhibitors from across the State to Crown Perth on October 21 to present more than 570 products to almost 400 delegates — another record.

Presented by Buy West Eat Best, Australia’s longest-running state-of-origin food labelling program, the trade show brings local food and drink producers together with buyers looking for delicious products to share with customers in WA, interstate and overseas.

Interested buyers include chefs, representatives from hotels, supermarkets, independent retailers and speciality stores, importers and distributors, as well as the aged care sector.

This year’s event also boasted its first international delegation, thanks to a collaboration between Taste WA agencies, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) and Buy West Eat Best.

Twenty-two buyers from 12 countries tasted their way around a dazzling array of stalls, sampling everything from avocado oil to lupin flakes, chocolate-coated freeze-dried bananas to gin lovingly crafted from fruit waste.

Tucker Bush founder Mark Tucek was delighted by the delegation’s response to the native food specialist’s range of dried and fresh herbs, including Jambinu Zest and Cinnamon Myrtle.

“They were fascinated — one said to me ‘I’ll have two tonnes of whatever you’ve got tomorrow, and hurry up’,” he said with a laugh. “It’s a wonderful opportunity that I’m not ready for yet but at least I’m on the radar now.”

Minister for Agriculture and Food Jackie Jarvis told attendees that Meet the Buyer™ was one of her favourite events of the year.

“Meet the Buyer™ is a strategic investment for WA producers — there is lots of exposure and growth opportunities.”

Opportunity was knocking across the exhibition floor, with stall holders finding plenty of interest not just from eager buyers but other exhibitors.

The networking is another reason regular exhibitors are quick to book their spot at Meet the Buyer™ each year, with conversations often leading to successful collaborations.

Brownes Dairy was proudly offering samples of its truffle cheese, developed with Great Southern Truffles, to delighted buyers. Showcasing the quality of two local products, it is one of many reminders of the strength and ingenuity of Western Australia’s agrifood community.

First-time exhibitor Lisa Wright, from Ocean Gold, could not believe the interest in the oil she is making with WA lobster, “the caviar of the ocean”.

“It is absolutely overwhelming, I have met so many contacts that are going to help me define my business,” she said. “And I’ve been asked to collaborate with other producers, too, who want to use my ingredient.”

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), WA’s food and beverage manufacturing turnover rose 12.3 per cent to $9.61 billion in 2023–24. Meet the Buyer™ has become an essential platform for sharing the quality of the sector across the regions, from the Great Southern to the Kimberley.