As food and hospitality continue to reshape the future of modern garden retail, Glee 2026 has announced a major evolution of its food offering with the introduction of two brand-new dedicated sectors for 2026 – Food Hall and Food & Beverage.
Taking place from 8th – 10th September 2026 at the NEC Birmingham, the UK’s leading garden retail trade exhibition is responding directly to the changing commercial landscape of the industry, recognising that food is no longer simply an additional category within garden retail. Instead, it is now one of its most significant growth drivers.
The move comes at a time when food and hospitality are becoming increasingly central to the success of modern garden retail businesses. According to the HTA, catering is now the second-largest category by turnover within UK garden centres, accounting for an average of 17% of total turnover across the sector between 2022 and 2024, with some leading operators reporting figures as high as 30%.
This growth shows little sign of slowing. Recent HTA market insight revealed that cafés, restaurants, catering and food retail within garden centres increased turnover by 15% year-on-year, whilst garden centre cafés and restaurants are now estimated to attract around 148 million visits annually across the UK.
The Garden Centre Association has also consistently highlighted the important role that cafés, restaurants and food retail now play in driving footfall, increasing dwell time and supporting commercial resilience, particularly during periods when weather conditions impact traditional gardening sales.
Recognising the scale and diversity of these opportunities, Glee has evolved its food proposition for 2026 with the creation of two standalone sectors that better reflect the distinct needs of buyers, suppliers and operators working across both speciality retail and hospitality operations.
Introducing Food Hall
Designed to celebrate the growing influence of premium food and drink within garden retail, Food Hall will bring together brands and producers across 11 specialist sub-categories, including chocolate and confectionery, hot drinks, snacks, wine, beer and spirits, artisanal foods, soft drinks, fresh produce, frozen food solutions, and condiments, oils and preserves.
The new destination acknowledges the increasingly important role that food halls, farm shop-style retailing and premium gifting now play within modern garden centres, many of which are evolving into full lifestyle destinations rather than purely horticultural retail environments. Positioned at a crucial point in the retail buying calendar, Food Hall will provide buyers with the opportunity to source new products, discover emerging brands and finalise seasonal ranges ahead of the important autumn and Christmas trading period.
Exhibitors already confirmed within Food Hall include Beanworks Coffee Roasters, Datekins, Birchall Tea, Farmhouse Biscuits, Easy Joe Coffee Roasters, Blue Cap Coffee and Smoked Bishop.
Food & Beverage – supporting the hospitality boom
Alongside Food Hall, Glee 2026 will also debut a dedicated Food & Beverage sector focused specifically on the operational and hospitality side of garden retail.
As hospitality becomes increasingly central to the success of many garden retail businesses, retailers are actively seeking specialist suppliers capable of supporting everything from new café concepts and kitchen refurbishments through to drinks solutions and customer experience enhancements. The new Food & Beverage sector – which will cover seven specialist sub-categories – Catering Equipment & Suppliers, Café & Restaurant Design, Catering Services, Cooking & Dining, Kitchen Equipment, Drinks Equipment and Catering Vendors – will place these suppliers directly in front of owner-operators, catering managers, hospitality teams and buying groups actively investing in future growth.
Europe’s biggest buying moment
The launch of the two new sectors also comes as Glee 2026 prepares to co-locate once again with Autumn Fair 2026 on 8th and 9th September, together creating what is set to become Europe’s biggest buying moment for the second half of the retail calendar.
By bringing together buyers from garden retail, home, gift, lifestyle, food and hospitality under one roof, the co-location creates unrivalled commercial opportunities for exhibitors whilst enabling retailers to source across multiple complementary categories within a single visit.
For brands operating within food, drink and hospitality, the combined audience represents a particularly compelling opportunity, extending reach beyond traditional garden retail into wider destination retail, gifting and lifestyle sectors.
A show floor shaped by the changing market
Matthew Mein, Event Director for Glee 2026 and Autumn Fair said: “The way garden retailers approach food and hospitality has changed dramatically in recent years. What was once considered an added extra has become a major commercial driver for many businesses, influencing everything from footfall and dwell time through to customer loyalty and overall revenue. At the same time, these categories have become far more sophisticated and diverse. Retailers are not only expanding speciality food and drink ranges; they are also investing heavily into cafés, restaurants and wider hospitality experiences that rival premium lifestyle destinations and farm shops.
“That shift is exactly why we’ve evolved the offering at Glee for 2026. By introducing dedicated Food Hall and Food & Beverage sectors, we’re creating clearer destinations that better reflect how buyers source products, services and solutions for very different parts of their businesses. It also allows us to curate a much stronger experience for both exhibitors and visitors. Buyers will be able to navigate the sectors far more intuitively, discover specialist suppliers more easily and explore opportunities tailored specifically to their commercial objectives. When combined with the co-location alongside Autumn Fair, it creates an incredibly powerful buying environment that brings together the worlds of garden retail, hospitality, home, gift and lifestyle at exactly the right point in the buying calendar.”
