TRADESHOW WATCH – September/October

For those of you who are just back from the summer holidays, here are three events you may want to consider as you plan your upcoming business travels and activities.

Asia Fruit Logistica – Hong Kong September 7-9 – http://www.asiafruitlogistica.com

Asian sister of its renown European counterpart (FruitLogistica Berlin February 2012), this is the leading international exhibition for fresh fruit and vegetable in the Asian Pacific region. Last year’s edition attracted  more than 4,100 trade buyers from 60 countries and 304 exhibitors from 30 different countries. More than 40% of the exhibitors are Asian based companies and traders, this demonstrates that an intra-regional trade in Asia is growing, relying less and less on overseas supply.

World Food Moscow – Moscow September 13-16 – http://www.worldfood.ru

I have to admit I don’t know much of this trade show, but I thought it was worth a comment seen its substantial audience (60.000 visitors) and growing importance in the region. Divided in 9 sections – sweets, meat, seafood, fruits just to name a few – it gathers 1320 exhibitors under the same roof.

Anuga – Koln October 8-12 – http://www.anuga.com

The trade show of trade shows when it comes to the world of food. Plan it well in advance, flights and accommodation get booked quickly (mostly from year to year).

Your comments and additions are always welcome!

Unlikely Expectations

Here comes a ‘late’ comment on the Italian food trade show Tutto Food which closed its doors a week ago. I was reading the Affari e Finanza economic insert of Italy’s La Repubblica, and came across an article that praised the fair for its successful outcome, but what struck me the most was the quote reportedly by the trade show CEO that suggested that Tutto Food would become the biggest food event globally by 2015. My feeling during the three days I spent on the fair grounds was that of a far from crowded, buzzing event. The exhibition is vast and crowds tend to spread out in the four pavilions, but still I’d find it hard to compare it to shows like Sial or Anuga. My opinion aside, let’s see the numbers. Tutto Food 2011 registered 1750 exhibitors and 40000 visitors. Let’s just compare it to the latest edition of Germany’s Anuga (2009) which reportedly had 6552 exhibitors and 153500 visitors. Even a smaller scale event like Bologna’s Cibus still attracts considerably more attention with 60000 visitors in its 2010 edition. It’s fair to say that the Milanese show is growing and it’s well worth a visit, but I don’t think that the 2015 EXPO in Milan will be enough to see it overcome its international rivals.

An Appointment not to be Missed

Just got back from a three-day at the Brussels Seafood Exhibition. Being a first time visit to the trade show I have to say I could have done with an extra day, especially since the last day is in reality just a half day as packing starts from early afternoon. In general I have an all positive feedback and will for sure go back again next year. From a business networking point of view, though I had most of my meetings planned, the world of seafood globally is all under one roof and it just needs some careful planning so that you cover everything you need. As I said the exhibition is quite vast and I personally did get carried away talking to people and found myself running out of time on the last day.

As you would expect the Japanese presence was very small and the vast majority of exhibiting companies carry frozen seafood and/or processed seafood of all sorts. Chilled seafood is as expected a minor part of the exhibit. Every year a handful of companies are awarded with the Seafood Prix d’Elite for the best new retail and foodservice seafood products. Just to name the top two products, the award for best retail product went to Provocake, a fish cake of Pangasius, shrimp and mushrooms encircled with asparagus; whilst in the foodservice category, the top prize went to Tambaqui Ribs. A new species to the European market, tambaqui is a cousin of the famous Amazonian piranha and is now farmed in Brazil. The structure of the fish allows for a rib portion that is similar in shape and presentation to pork ribs and it also comes with a tasty barbecue marinade. If you think this sounds extravagant, the prize for originality was won by a new Belgian snack that combines fruit and fish!

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TRADESHOW WATCH – May 2011

May’s calendar is usually rich with trade show and business events. Here are a few worth a mentions:

Cicils Iptic – Barcelona, Spain April 28 – May 1 http://www.cicilsiptic.org

The International Pulses Trade and Industry Confederation is having their annual convention in Barcelona next week. A members’ only round table that offers unique business networking opportunities. Well worth the investment if you’re in the pulses trade business.

European Seafood Exposition – Brussels, Belgium May 3-5 http://www.euroseafood.com

The European Exhibition of Seafood is an event that assembles buyers and sellers of seafood of all parts of Europe and the world. Possibly one of the most important seafood trade shows globally, I’m very excited to be attending the Brussels fair in the coming month. I will have a full report after my visit.

TuttoFood – Milan, Italy May 8-10 http://www.tuttofood.it

Parma’s Cibus archrival, TuttoFood is Milan’s Biannual food and drink exhibition. I attended the show as visitor and exhibitor in the 2009 edition, which was the trade show’s second edition. Back then, whilst a mainly Italian industry presence was accounted for, I found there still was room for improvement in the overall organization (especially from an exhibitor’s point of view). In the lead up to the 2015 edition which will coincide with for Milan’s Expo, the event will invest to make its mark on the international food trade show scene.

PLMA’s World of Private Label – Amsterdam, Netherlands May 24-25 http://www.plmainternational.com

PLMA is the annual private international label trade show that brings together retailers and manufacturers. PLMA includes frozen products, fresh food, dry groceries and beverages as well as non food categories like cosmetics, beauty and health. Would love to hear comments of anyone who has visited this trade show!

HOFEX – Hong Kong May 11-14 http://www.hofex.com

Hofex is Hong Kong’s biannual hospitality and food industry trade show, displaying the latest equipment, supplies, food and drinks. My local sources tell me this is an unmissable event in the region. Any one of you has any feedback on it?

Pastatrend 2011 – a hit and miss

The other day I reported on Pastatrend in my trade show watch post. I’d like to quickly report on this event which closes its doors today… and I can’t help but wonder if they will reopen next year. Being at its second edition I thought it could have delivered more on the business level, which is what we all go to trade shows for, instead of focussing on the entertaining side with questionable ‘celebrities’ performances. The all under one roof formula , wanting to gather everyone from sauce makers to mills to pasta machinery manufacturers didn’t pay off. The exhibitors presence was fragmented and ultimately I believe not relevant if compared to bigger food trade shows. For me not enough to be included in the busy calendar of the must-attend food shows.

TRADESHOW WATCH – April 2011

I’d like to introduce this monthly appointment called ‘tradeshow watch’ to open a discussion on relevant food related trade shows around the world. I go to many trade shows myself and I think some honest insider opinions on these events would be welcomed for all of us in the business. I’d like to ask for my readers’ imput to help build this monthly post with your comments and suggestions, before and after the trade show is attended.

PastaTrend – Bologna, Italy  April 2-5 2011 http://www.pastatrend.com

at its second edition, this Italian trade show is dedicated to all things pasta, from the farmers to the mills, manufacturers, sauce manufacturers, etc… This edition is said to be the make or break edition for this relatively new trade show. I’ll have more on this after I attend the show over the weekend. Stay tuned!