Beverage News
Hi Europe & Ni the Leading European Innovation HUB
Health ingredients Europe has again proven its place within the food industry as the leading platform for health, natural and nutritional ingredients, with an increase of almost 32% on unique visitors since the last time Hi Europe & Ni touched base in Frankfurt.
At this year’s event, that took place from 29 November – 1 December 2016, more than 500 leading exhibitors, such as Naturex, BENEO, Gelita, Rousselot, FieslandCampina, Roquette, Avebe, Kerry plus many more, were present on the show floor, showcasing their latest innovations in the world of health & natural ingredients. 8,643 attendees (pending ABC Audit), from 138 different countries, together making close to 16,000 visits, gathered in Frankfurt to source ingredients at the show, to network with industry colleagues and to learn about new processes, technologies and industry trends.
Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Fi Global portfolio this year, Hi Europe & Ni confirmed that the Food ingredients portfolio always delivers on being the trusted route to market. Once again, Hi Europe & Ni was able to meet its reputation as a leading European Innovation HUB with a worldwide appeal. For all industry players – from start-ups to established global companies – this is the platform to bring new technologies, products or solutions from the field of natural and healthy food ingredients into the market effectively.
Visitors to the show included professionals from companies such as Mars, Pepsico, Coca Cola, Unilever, Danone, Nestlé and Heinz, once again highlighting the importance of Health ingredients to the industry. 72% of these visitors held their company’s purchasing power, with 35% being c-suite level executives.
Richard Joyce, Brand Director, feels the numbers reflect the value and relevance of the event. “At this year’s edition of Hi Europe the focus was not necessarily on achieving visitor growth, but our exhibitors expect high-level manufacturers, R&D experts and purchasing decision-makers from the largest companies in the industry. Since we organise 12 trade fairs globally, this is not always an easy task. With pride, we can now even report an increase of 32% on the last edition of Hi Europe in Frankfurt.
These figures are particularly noticeable in view of the Lufthansa strike. We aimed to connect high-level visitors to our exhibitors to meet our customer’s expectations. The feedback from our exhibitors prove that our efforts paid off, especially with regard to the quality of the conversations and the size of visiting companies. The volume of transactions carried out here is likely to be substantial. In addition, we were able to count visitors from a total of 138 countries – proving Hi Europe to be a truly global event.”
Health ingredients Europe & Natural ingredients will return to Frankfurt in 2018
The decision to return to Frankfurt with Hi Europe & Ni and Health & Nutrition Week for the 2018 edition has been well received by exhibitors. Thomas Schmidt, Marketing Director at BENEO: “We welcome the decision to stay in Frankfurt very much. Frankfurt is a central location in Germany, has a good infrastructure and offers diverse facilities for both visitors and exhibitors.
This year’s edition of the Hi Europe & Ni has been excellent for us. The niche character of Hi Europe is very valuable to BENEO. While the Food ingredients trade shows have a broader scope, the Health ingredients trade shows are clearly focused on health. This give us the opportunity to highlight one of our key competencies, scientific knowledge, to a dedicated audience. We are proud to be a Global Partner of the Food ingredients portfolio in 2017.”
Angela Lötscher, Marketing Project Manager of Jungbunzlauer: “We find it sensational that the fair will return to Frankfurt for the next edition. Logistically Frankfurt is simply ideal. International flights and trains, good value hotels with high capacities directly at the fair. Food ingredients Europe and Health ingredients Europe remain the most important dates in our calendar.
Exhibitors praise networking opportunities with high level visitors
Hi Europe & Ni have a clear focus on a niche market in the food & beverage industry, bringing a together specific health & natural ingredient solutions and dedicated niche visitors. Formats such as the New Product Zone, the Innovation Tours, the Start-Up Innovation Challenge or Business Matchmaking ensure high-level knowledge transfer and create an exclusive environment for networking. Especially for new and small companies who find ideal conditions to present their products and solutions to a highly targeted specialist audience from all over the world.
Peruvian Nature, for example, previously participating in the SIPPO (Swiss Import Promotion Programme) Pavilion, now had their own stand for the first time. Damian Silva Cevallos, General Manager: “The show went very well for us. Already at noon on the second day we ran out of marketing collateral. The Superfood segment continues to grow very strong and we are in the right place at the right time. We will certainly be back. ” Dott Fabio Gasparini of Carbonitalia on the second day of the show: “We are first time exhibitors and hope to open up new markets for our herbal carbon. Our goal is primarily to create awareness for our brand in this market, but can now say that the number of visitors widely exceed our expectations.”
The launch of Health & Nutrition Week gives a taste for more
Together with Messe Frankfurt, UBM intends to turn Frankfurt into the hotspot for health and nutrition every 2 years. “Health & Nutrition Week”, launched this year, to be a one-week festival consisting of trade shows, conferences, lectures, panel discussions and other events, bringing together the movers and shakers of the industry. In its launch year Health & Nutrition Week partnered with several key-players in the industry to stimulate networking and knowledge sharing on every level.
There were many highlights, including the very successful Sports Nutrition Conference organised by NutraIngredients, the Stylus Innovation Forum and an IUFoST workshop on “Zero waste sustainable food systems”. Omega-3 association GOED offered a full knowledge package on Omega-3, ranging from the latest scientific findings in educational sessions, introducing product innovation in the Innovation Tours and a media lunch.
The Hi Europe conference was also part of Health & Nutrition Week. The Conference kicked off with a full day conference on ‘The Future of Nutrition’. In the 3-day Hi Europe Modular Conference, several industry though leaders highlighted the latest trends and product developments.
Richard Joyce: “Health & Nutrition Week 2016 has been dedicated to providing more educational and networking opportunities to the attendees of Hi Europe & Ni and will be continued in 2018. We have had a strong launch in Frankfurt and we look forward to coming back in two years. “
Source: UBM EMEA
