FOODEX 2018 returns to the NEC Birmingham in April, vowing to showcase the latest innovative products to hit the marketplace.
The three-day biennial trade event for the food and drink processing, packaging and logistics industries covers every food production sector from bakery, beverage, dairy and fresh to logistics, meat and seafood.
The event is co-located with Food & Drink Expo, National Convenience Show, Farm Shop & Deli Show and the brand new Ingredients Show, which is for the food and drink development community involved in enhancing, developing and formulating products.
Across all five shows, some 30,000 visitors and 1,500 exhibitors are expected to attend.
Foodex sales director Dan Dixon told Packaging Scotland the food and drink industry is the “champion” of the UK economy. “It’s the biggest manufacturing sector; it’s 400,000 people in more than 8,000 companies,” he explained. “That sector contributes more to national GPD than aerospace and automotive industries combined.
“This is the biggest event in town with five shows covering the whole of the food and drink supply chain. Foodex visitors can expect a hotbed of innovation from over 350 exhibitors demonstrating the latest technologies and developments that will allow food and drink manufacturers and processors to remain competitive and forward-thinking in this large sector.”
Foodex exhibitors include Handtmann, Reiser, Multivac, ULMA Packaging and Stephan UK.
Dan said the reason the show runs every two years rather than annually is to provide ample time for innovation and R&D to bear fruit. The result is a wide range of new products for visitors to learn about.
Across the three days of Foodex, 18 keynote sessions will take place – a mix of panel debates, masterclasses and talks from industry personalities. BBC business correspondent Steph McGovern will host a number of these sessions. The show will also feature the return of the Engage Lounge in partnership with Teknomek, which Dan described as an interactive visitor destination highlighting all sections of the industry and offering visitors and exhibitors the chance to meet, interact and relax while sourcing information. There are also several high profile competitions taking place including the National Meat Products Competition and Premier Young Butcher Competition, both organised by the National Federation of Meat & Food Traders (NFMFT).
With a wide range of potential industry shows to attend, Dan admitted it can be a challenge for visitors to decide what exhibitions are worth leaving the office or factory for. He believes Foodex stands out by putting on the “most interactive, most content and most opportunity to engage” event.
“The combination of these five shows provides visitors with a significant amount of exhibitors they can see across each sector,” he added. “Each show is marketed in its own right and has its own identity, but what we offer is the opportunity to cover the whole of the food and drink supply chain from food development through to foodservice and retail and that really consists of 30,000 attendees over those three days.
“Big trade events form a really important part of how companies interact with the marketplace both from a visitor and exhibitor perspective. Fundamentally this is about face-to-face.”
Dan emphasised the importance of being able to touch and feel the products – particularly some of the larger plant machinery and equipment – and attend live demonstrations.
“Typically when we research exhibitor objectives, it’s always about regeneration, brand awareness and meeting and acquiring new customers,” he said. “For visitors, those same objectives are around innovation and understanding what’s happening in the marketplace. If you can do that under one roof over three days and actually engage and provide a face-to-face environment for both visitors and exhibitors to do that then it’s a really important part of the marketing mix.”
In terms of show content, a multitude of topics will be covered over the course of the three days. “Some of the big debates will undoubtedly be about sugar, obesity, health and really how food manufacturers can tackle the growth in consumer demand for more healthy, nutritional and convenient products,” Dan said.
“Brexit exporting will be high on the agenda. Looking more specifically, some of the areas I’m hearing about in conversations with manufacturers and retailers are around new sensations, textures, personalisation and the expansion of online and mobile foods.”
Other issues and new trends poised to take centre stage include full disclosure transparency, own-label products and health and wellness.
Dan added, “All of this relates back to how food manufacturers and processors can meet that continual shift in how consumers are buying, interacting and consuming food in much more of a convenient, fast-paced lifestyle and how they can meet that demand.”
Foodex runs from April 16-18 2018. www.foodex.co.uk/
