The first day of Shoptalk Europe has been packed with exciting new connections and important, industry-leading conversations. Northfork's Co-founder and VP of Sales - Erik Wallin and Jez Collins - have delighted in discussing the future of retail and hearing from experts in the field.

Key highlights

In a day jammed with insights and inspiration, some of the key highlights included:

• Quick Commerce and Payment Platforms are HOT. Q-Commerce will be the phrase of the show - every grocery focused speaker is referencing convenience although most are keen to highlight last mile is only one aspect. Tech suppliers delivering payment and eComm platforms have clearly had a strong couple of years and have excellent presence at the show

• Tim Steiner (CEO Ocado) spoke passionately about the pressures facing the Grocery sector in terms of price domination and how order fulfilment automation can help reduce energy usage, people costs and waste. Looking forwards a focus on next level user experiences will be key, with customers demanding easy, contextual and conversational interactions - Shoppable recipes fit this space!

• Contextual, Content and Media are also well represented - Snap, MikMak, StitcherAds, UniDays, Wunderman Thompson Commerce are all here in force showing that how retailers connect with customers is super key and required partnership networks to really land.

All of these themes dovetail with Northfork's shoppable recipe work and the commercial potential that recipes and content provide in the grocery retail space.

New connections

Of course, such a huge event is also about networking. From booth G63 in Startup Street (say hello if you're passing!), the Northfork team has been showcasing the benefits of shoppable recipes. Retailers, content publishers, consumer packaged goods brands and shoppers can all benefit from seamless shop-by-recipe services.

Shoptalk Europe has already provided an excellent platform for conversations with new potential partners, even with two days of the event still to go!

"We are delighted with the vision and passion of those with whom we have connected at Shoptalk Europe," comments Wallin. "After just one day, the event has already proven its worth, so I'm excited to see what insights and opportunities the coming two days deliver."