Highlights from the Allergy & Free From Show 2026

This May, our team had the privilege of exhibiting at the Allergy & Free From Show (AFF) in Birmingham. As the largest health show dedicated to free-from living in the UK, it brought together 162 brands and thousands of public visitors, all dedicated to one thing: allergy and free-from living.





Why AFF 2026?

Allergies and eosinophilic-associated diseases (EADs) often overlap, and many patients will try a free-from diet at least once. With over 80% of our members also living with other atopic allergy-related conditions such as food and environmental allergies, asthma, eczema and hayfever. AFF 2026 was an important chance to raise awareness of this link and guide healthcare professionals and people living with these conditions to the EAD information they need. 

EOS Network advocacy highlights

Given that people typically wait 8 years for an Eosinophilic Oesophagitis (EoE) diagnosis, it was a great opportunity to bring our signs and symptoms guide to the public's attention. This easy-to-follow guide empowered early conversations about the often-silent or ignored clues and the need to investigate for EoE, the most common EAD affecting 1 in 700 people. 

Over the course of the event, we had valuable conversations with EAD patients of all ages, parents, carers, and healthcare professionals, and handed out information to 250 people. This information included symptom trackers, action plans for food bolus obstruction, and guides to living with EoE.

Our resources help patients, families, and medical professionals to better understand and talk about EADs

Download your copy here

Thanks to these resources and our presence at the AFF Show, our patient community also grew by 30 members, ensuring both they and their families now have access to support and resources that can make their EAD journey easier. If you'd like to join, you can register here.

Encouragingly, we also saw interest from people with no known personal or professional connections to eosinophilic diseases, demonstrating that the event is a powerful way to boost public support for EADs research and help people spot early warning signs in their friends and family.

Advice from our members

Several of our members were kind enough to pop by our stand and share their stories and advice. 

Advice from Lani

“Living with EoE is a big change, but it will get easier.  And my best advice is start tracking your triggers, see what things affect you, and how it affects you.”

Lani used her story to tell a message of hope. Receiving an EAD diagnosis can be incredibly difficult, and hope is essential for remaining motivated whilst seeking treatment.  

Her advice to track symptoms and triggers is also incredibly important. Everyone is different, and the more people know about how their EAD affects them, the more confident they will be in managing it and advocating for themselves. To help track your symptoms, you can download our symptom tracker.

Advice from Danny

“It's not all as bad as it seems because yes, I have a condition which is lifelong, but I know what it is and I'm taking medication to help out as well."

Being diagnosed with a chronic condition can be scary, but Danny’s right that you don’t have to suffer. With the right information about your condition and the right treatment plan, it’s possible to get your symptoms under control. Don’t be afraid to ask your doctor to try something else if your treatment isn’t alleviating your symptoms or is having a negative effect on your life.

Advice from Frances

"If I eat a biscuit for the first time, I nibble it away. It'd take me 45 minutes to eat a digestive and then in time, once I know that it's OK, then for me I can put it on my safe list."

Like many EoE patients, meal times became a source of anxiety for Frances after food started getting stuck. But now that she knows what's happening, she's regaining the confidence to try eating the foods she used to love again. Taking your time at meal times can help you identify safe foods and take the fear out of eating.

Community meet-up 

We closed out day 1 of AFF 2026 with a community meet-up.  This was a wonderful opportunity for our members to connect with others who had been in their shoes, share advice, and offer support.

Members of our community share their stories with each other and the EOS Network team during the community meet up

We were lucky to be joined by members at all different stages of the EADs journey. This meant that members at the start of their journey could see what their future could look like with the right support. 

But don’t worry if you missed us; we hold these meet-ups in person and online throughout the year.

Keep track of upcoming events

Thank you to everyone who entered or donated to our raffles 

This year, we held three raffles, with hampers won by members of the public and by our fellow exhibitors. Congratulations!

The lucky winners of our raffles, Angela, Clare, Louise, Miriam, Miles from Heck Foods, and Chris From Holland & Barrett, collect their prizes at the AFF Show 2026

These hampers were generously provided by Tesco Clacton, Morrisons Little Clacton, and Asda Clacton, with additional items donated by:

A big thank you to everyone who bought a ticket, and to the brands who donated prizes. Together, you helped raise £305 to support patients, families, and HCPs.

Thank you to Stella for volunteering

Helping others

Stella is an EoE patient and a long-time member of our community. This year, she very kindly volunteered to support our team by sharing her lived EoE experience and how to manage diets with many visitors to our stand and community meet-up. Thank you, Stella!

Stella's story

Save the date

The Allergy & Free From show will be returning in 2027 at the NEC in Birmingham!

Dates: 15 - 17th May 2027

Find out more

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