Phusit Rattanakul Sereeruengsit, Director-General of the Department of International Trade Promotion (left) and Mathias Kuepper, MD of Koelnmesse share long-term plans for Thaifex-Anuga Asia. Photo Credit: Department of International Trade Promotion/Koelnmesse
This year’s edition marks the return of Southeast Asia’s premier
F&B trade show and the first major event in Thailand since
quarantine requirements were lifted.
After a scaled-down, nearly all-domestic show in 2020, and no event
at all in 2021, Thaifex-Anuga Asia 2022 is back with a vengeance.
“Everyone is excited to have a physical trade fair again,” said
Phusit Rattanakul Sereeruengsit, Director-General of the Department of
International Trade Promotion (DITP), which operates under the auspices
of the Thai Ministry of Commerce and is a co-organiser of the show.
In
comments he made to M&C Asia, he added that he was proud of the
show’s growth over the years. “Eventually, I think we won’t have enough
space at Impact to hold the fair.”
More than Expected
Mathias Kuepper, Managing
Director of Koelnmesse, co-organiser with DITP and the Thai Chamber of
Commerce (TCC), echoed that sentiment.
He confirmed that the response was “more than expected”, noting that
when they decided earlier this year to bring the show back after a
20-month hiatus, their expectations were modest. They hoped for an
increase of 20 percent to 30 percent over the pared down 2020 show that
was held primarily in three sparsely filled exhibition halls.
This year, exhibitors initially booked out seven halls totalling some
80,000 sqm. As Thailand eased travel requirements for travellers
including ending the Test and Go scheme that required everyone entering
the country to prepay a hotel room where they awaited PCR test results,
an additional two halls were hastily added in the weeks preceding the
event.
Precise figures will not be published until after the show, but off
the record, representatives of the fair placed their “quick
calculations” between “over 50%” and 70% of pre-pandemic levels. One
figure that was available on the first day of business, 3,341 booths had
been booked, vs. 5,984 in 2019 and just 1,776 in 2020.
Close collaboration
The team behind
Thaifex-Anuga Asia has worked together for almost two decades. “We
complement each other, cooperating, and we are very clear who is doing
what,” says Kuepper. Public sector DITP and private sector TCC support
exporters, giving them funding to participate and setting up shared
pavilions.
“This is something that we as the commercial organiser couldn’t do at
that scale,” says Kuepper. “Our part as Koelnmesse is bringing in all
the agents, distributors, importers, anyone with an overseas brand who
is already here, and anyone overseas who wants to participate.” They are
also responsible for the nuts-and-bolts logistics and operations.
Impact to Expand
Kuepper sees plenty of room for
growth. “We have a commitment from Impact that they are going to
expand.” Unconfirmed figures say that the venue could add as much as
30,000 sqm of exhibition space by 2025. Kuepper thinks that’s good
timing, as levels stabilise in the next couple of years, then return to
2019 levels.
What the Future Holds
He also sees opportunities to engage a bit more in between events. “That’s something we learned during the pandemic.”
He also sees potential in the data they collect from participants.
“We’re moving away from the traditional business of selling square
metres [and] ad space in the catalogue. I think we could contribute much
more to the marketing and the branding and the engagement of our
exhibitors. We understand our customers much better, who they are and
what they are looking for.”
Thaifex-Anuga Asia 2022 runs from May 24 to 28 at Impact Muang Thong Thani north of Bangkok.