Food and Drink Manufacturing at The Big Bang Fair

Since 2012, FDF Taste Success - A Future in Food has been showcasing our industry at the Big Bang Fair - the UK's largest celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths for young people.

FDF Taste Success at the Big Bang Fair 2014
What supporting companies say
Twitter Takeover
2013 - Our stand at the Big Bang Fair
2012 - Our stand at the Big Bang Fair
Ask your engineering questions ahead of the Twitter takeover Thurs 6th March
Get involved with Taste Success

Alongside other industries, such as automotive and aerospace, FDF has used the opportunity to engage directly with young people to raise their awareness of the many engineering and science-related opportunities available in UK food and drink manufacturing.

It is vital that we spark interest and awareness with young people and get them to consider the exciting opportunities and great career prospects that our highly innovative industry can offer.

FDF Taste Success at the Big Bang Fair 2014

On 13th-16th March the Taste Success was joined by FDF members Coca-Cola Enterprises, Mars Chocolate, Mondelez International, Nestlé UK, Premier Foods and PepsiCo UK on our industry stand at the Big Bang Fair (Birmingham, NEC). Have a look at our stand in photos on our Flickr page.

In line with all of our work to support the recruitment of engineers into our industry, the theme for our stand will once again be engineering. We will be offering a wide range of fun, educational and hands-on activities to get young people thinking about the ways engineering is used to produce our food.

Some of the many activities and attractions included:

Demonstrations of a Festo Bionic Handling Assistant
A production line ordering task from Coca-Cola Enterprises
Nestlé's Kit Kat game
Rig system engineering challenge from Mondelez International
Giant Chocolate egg created by Cadbury World (Mondelez International)
PepsiCo's i-Crop
'From bean to bar story' from Mars Chocolate

As a first, our stand had a mini-stage where we had demonstrations throughout the event such as how they make Monster Munch Feet by PepsiCo and hygiene testing of bottles by Coca-Cola Enterprises.

Have a look at the FDF Taste Success stand at the Big Bang Fair 2014 on our Flickr page.

Enter our engineering Quiz and win a prize - Could you be an engineer?

What supporting companies say

Coca-Cola Enterprises

"Coca-Cola Enterprises is proud to be supporting the FDF Taste Success stand at this year's Big Bang Fair and working alongside other representatives from the food and drink industry to demystify manufacturing for young people and generate excitement and interest in engineering in particular." Julian Hunt, CCE VP Public Affairs and Communications.

Mondelez International

Do you need science to create delicious moments of joy?
"Yes! Our Food Scientists were part of the talented team behind the development of our famous Cadbury Dairy Milk Marvellous Creations and our engineers turned this into reality creating the exciting processes behind the product you see in shops today.
Mondelez International is delighted to be supporting the FDF's Taste Success stand at the Big Bang Fair to help open the doors to the future talent pipeline to our business."

For more information on opportunities at the Mondelez International visit the Early Careers website

Twitter Takeover

Anyone curious about becoming a food engineer was invited to tune into the @FDFTasteSuccess Twitter takeover on Thursday 6 March 2014 as part of the National Careers Week ahead of the Big Bang Fair 2014.

Nestle UK Graduate Engineers; James Cheema and Hannah Whall answered engineering related questioned about working for this exciting and innovative industry using hastag #askGrads on the @FDFTasteSuccess Twitter account.

Top Food Engineer Hosts Twitter Takeover!

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Our stand at the Big Bang Fair 2013

In 2013, Taste Success teamed up with Nestlé UK on an engineering-themed stand linked to the launch of the industry's new engineering degree – MEng Food Engineering at Sheffield Hallam University. See our stand in pictures on our Flickr page.

Nestlé worked with their supplier Bosch to showcase a 4-Axes Delta Robot - a real example of high-tech robotic solutions used on the factory floor. Specially programmed, the robot played a game of 'Beat the Robot' against young visitors challenging them to pick a Kit Kat off a conveyor belt. The activity was hugely popular with the more than 65,000 visitors to the Fair.

The Kit Kat challenge returned for the second year, with some lucky group winners getting a Giant Kit Kat.

Taste Success also used the event to launch two new campaign interactives MunchBot is a specially designed app simulating a robotic food production line has been designed for the event. Downloadable via iTunes, players have to quickly grab food as it comes off the production line.

Secondly, the campaign launched the fourth instalment of its 'Mad about Food' videos with Lily, the fire-blowing Chilli Baby with clever engineering skills up her sleeve.

Big Bang Fair 2013 picture from Flickr

Taste Success at the Big Bang Fair 2012

In 2012, Big Bang launched its Farm to Fork zone at the Fair and we agreed to attend teaming up with FDF member Nestlé UK to showcase food and drink manufacturing. This was the first time the sector had been represented at the event and we were delighted that Prince Andrew visited our stand whilst touring the event.

Attended by over 45,000 visitors, it was the perfect opportunity for Taste Success to launch the digital part of its campaign by previewing its' 'Mad about Food' videos, created in partnership with the Institute for Food Science and Technology and Improve.

Nestlé chocolatiers ran demonstrations on making Kit Kat on the main event stage and Nestle engineering graduates created a factory automation simulation game based on the Kit Kat production line and a 4 metre tall 'Smarties' fountain.

Big Bang Fair 2012 picture from Flickr.