Lakeland is to hold an ‘open house’ event for suppliers as it seeks to find more of the innovative products for which it is renowned.

The kitchenware and homewares specialist, famous for groundbreaking products such as the pineapple corer and Poachpod, decided to break with tradition in order to build connections with emerging talent including small companies that might otherwise escape its radar.

Lakeland buying director Matthew Canwell said: “We’re always looking for innovations that really bring something new and exciting to the kitchen.

“We decided to hold our open house event to discover some great new talent that we can help nurture and grow. 

“We understand that working with large companies such as ours can seem daunting to smaller companies so decided to hold our open day to allow people the chance to meet the team and showcase their products in a new, more informal way.”

The open house will be held on July 7.