GIMA celebrates successful Glee and membership milestone
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GIMA celebrates reaching 250 members at Glee
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GIMA Innovators Seed Corn Fund winners
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GIMA is celebrating another hugely successful Glee, with the 2026 event providing a powerful reminder of the value of face-to-face connection, collaboration and opportunity across the garden industry.
With 107 GIMA members exhibiting and more than 500 staff from member businesses onsite across the three days, the association had a strong presence throughout the show. This was further supported by two dedicated spaces, the GIMA Lounge and International Lounge, reflecting both the scale of the membership and GIMA’s ongoing role in creating opportunities, connections and support for suppliers across the sector.
Glee also provided the perfect backdrop for GIMA to celebrate a major milestone, with the association officially passing 250 members. More than 65 new members have joined in the last 12 months alone, while GIMA's membership now represents an annual combined turnover of £5.9 billion. The achievement was marked with members coming together at the show, offering a fitting opportunity to recognise the continued growth, reach and influence of the GIMA community.
But beyond the numbers, Glee remains an important opportunity to bring people together, create new connections and facilitate conversations that can lead directly to future business growth. This was particularly evident through the Hosted Buyer Meetings programme, which saw more than 170 meetings take place during the show. These focused appointments gave GIMA members the opportunity to meet directly with leading UK buyers, while the International Lounge provided further opportunities to connect with overseas retailers and distributors to explore potential export opportunities.
Martin Ward, Director of GIMA, said: “What really stood out at Glee this year was the energy and the appetite to meet, talk and do business. For GIMA, our role is to create more of those opportunities, whether through buyer introductions, networking or simply bringing the industry together.
“There is real momentum behind the association right now, and Glee was just the start of a very busy few months ahead, culminating in the GIMA Awards in November. Thank you to everyone who supported us at Glee and helped us mark some exciting milestones for the association. We are hugely excited about what comes next.”
Glee is just the start
While Glee may have drawn to a close, it marks the start of an especially busy period for GIMA and its members.
Attention is now turning to the GIMA Awards 2026, taking place on 12th November at Celtic Manor Resort, as excitement builds towards one of the industry's biggest nights of celebration.
Before then, the GIMA events programme continues with a series of webinars designed to give members practical insight, new ideas and access to expert knowledge.
On 7th October, GIMA will host “The answer to every brief isn’t ‘digital’ - Traditional media isn’t dead”, followed on 13th October by a B&Q Marketplace webinar focused on “Preparing to Launch on B&Q Marketplace in 2027”.
Then, following the GIMA Awards, OGL Software will host “Building a successful business-to-business eCommerce website” on 17th November 2026.
Together, these events underline the breadth of support available to GIMA members throughout the year, from face-to-face networking and buyer introductions to education, commercial insight, industry recognition and opportunities to build stronger, more profitable businesses.
Find out more
To find out more about GIMA membership, upcoming events, member benefits and the GIMA Awards 2026, visit www.gima.org.uk