Malaysia gets large-scale event fix from café & beverage show

After being postponed several times due to the pandemic, the International Café & Beverage Show (ICBS) 2022 finally returned to Kuala Lumpur as one of Malaysia's first large-scale, in-person exhibitions.

The three-day event at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre last month attracted over 6,000 visitors from 35 countries and over 150 brands from seven countries represented, indicating renewed confidence in Malaysia's business events sector, according to organiser Montgomery Asia.

Montgomery Asia managing director Christopher McCuin said: "It seems that many people are positively enthusiastic about being able to meet up in person again. Of course, it helps that this show was all about coffee and food. People want to savour the aroma and taste for themselves. They can’t do that online.

McCuin added: "Based on the success of ICBS 2022, we are already planning our 2023 event which will be even bigger and better."

ICBS was organised in collaboration with the Malaysia Specialty Coffee Association (MSCA), which held the Malaysia National Coffee Championship competition during the event. Winning baristas will compete at the World of Coffee Championships (WCC) 2023, where previous Malaysian winners have been awarded gold and silver medals.

MSCA president Yip Leong Sum said: “After two years of full or partial lockdown, the Malaysian economy is really opening again. We hope that the coming year will see more and more people venture into the F&B business and look forward to hosting an even better competition at the next edition of ICBS in 2023.”

The ASEAN Coffee Federation (ACF) board meeting was also held in conjunction with ICBS 2022, with delegates participating from Laos, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Myanmar, the Philippines and Australia.