The Foodservice Equipment Association (FEA) has unveiled its first Top 100 Foodservice Social Media Influencers list at its 2021 annual conference.
The brainchild of FEA chair Steve Hobbs and the associations’ marketing manager, Adam Lawrence, the list was compiled with the help of expert influencer marketing consultant Gordon Glenister, who helped FEA analyse the influence of a range of people in the foodservice industry to calculate the impact of their social media posting. This took into account how frequently each account is replied to, reposted, mentioned or followed on both Twitter and LinkedIn. The final chart was calculated by amalgamating these scores and equally weighting influence on both platforms.
Coming in at number one is Kate Nicholls, CEO of UKHospitality, with co-founder of Leon Restaurants and the Sustainable Restaurants Association Henry Dimbleby and the Poverty & Inequality Commissioner for Scotland Lindsay Graham in second and third places respectively.
In a video message, Kate Nicholls stressed how important online communities and the connections they allowed over the last eighteen months. “As Covid hit, social media helped to build the shared networks that have been so vital in getting our industry through the crisis. We’ve seen the importance of that cascading of information, that sharing of content across the industry, UKHospitality and FEA working hand in hand with other trade associations, building that collaborative network across the industry to educate, inform and inspire, and I think that’s something that we want to make sure that we build on, going forwards.”
“Somebody who has been the voice of the wider hospitality industry over the last year is deserving of this award,” says Steve Hobbs. “I think the message that Kate has delivered at all levels has been quite phenomenal, and, on behalf of FEA, I send my congratulations to her.”
The top ten foodservice influencers are:
- Kate Nicholls, CEO of UK Hospitality.
- Henry Dimbleby, Co-founder of Leon Restaurants and the Sustainable Restaurant Association.
- Lindsay Graham, Poverty and Inequality Commissioner at Poverty and Inequality Commission Scotland.
- Mark Lewis, CEO of Hospitality Action.
- James Stagg, Editor at The Caterer.
- Andy Jones, Chair of the PS100 Group.
- Hayden Groves, chef consultant.
- Lisa Jenkins, Managing Editor at The Caterer.
- James Golding, Group Chef Director of The Pig Hotels.
- Stuart Roberts, Deputy President of the National Farmers Union.
The Foodservice Equipment Association (FEA) is the independent, authoritative voice of the foodservice equipment industry, representing nearly 200 companies who supply, service and maintain all types of commercial catering equipment – from utensils to full kitchen schemes. For more information on the FEA visit www.fea.org.uk. You can also follow the FEA on Twitter and Facebook.
