Last year 108 companies from 18 countries exhibited, which included seven international pavilions. Eight international pavilions are already confirmed for 2014, including new additions Belgium - Flanders Region and Korea, as well as countries featured in the inaugural exhibition - Cyprus, India, Netherlands, Thailand, Turkey and USA.
Visitor research following last year's IFEA was encouraging and revealed that 90% of visitors felt exhibitions are important to their business in terms of keeping up with what's going on in the industry; 84% said IFEA was 'quite' or 'very important', while 80% attended to source new products or services and 70% successfully sourced new products. A total of 2,436 visitors from 42 countries attended the three-day show last year.
Exhibition visitors came from a variety of channels, including decision makers from bakeries, bars, cafés, contract caterers, cost-section caterers, distributors, fast-food restaurants, hotels, importers, independent stores, rail, cruise liners, airlines, retailers, supermarkets and wholesalers.
"The international profile of exhibitors at this dynamic expo is opening up new opportunities for buyers in Africa to see what is happening in the international arena and expand the horizons of their businesses, while also offering the large contingent of international visitors an opportunity to interact with other global and local businesses," says Christopher McCuin, group business development director of Montgomery, the organisers of IFEA in Africa.
Show extras returning this year include the IFEA's popular New Products Showcase, which will feature a display of the latest and best products by exhibitors.
The Hub will once again showcase local market trends and educational content to visitors in a free-to-attend business seminar programme. Here visitors will gain insight into the latest food and beverage trends from a panel of experts who will address some of the most relevant food and beverage topics today.
IFEA 2014 will also feature highlights such as The Skillery, which brings 'celebrity sizzle' to the show with exciting culinary demonstrations by renowned chefs covering a range of skills, such as the art of perfect baking, delicious chocolate creations, knife skills, and the secrets of cooking with convenience products.
For more information, visit http://www.ifea.co.za.
