The return of THAIFEX-Anuga in 2022 attracted over 51,535 trade visitors and 1,000 hosted buyers eager to do business with 1,603 Thai and overseas trade exhibitors. Photo Credit: THAIFEX-Anuga 2022
Initial figures for THAIFEX-Anuga’s 2022 edition indicate that the
turnout for Thailand's largest F&B tradeshow has outstripped the
organisers’ expectations.
THAIFEX-Anuga Asia, co-organised by the Thai Ministry of Commerce’s
Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP), the Thai Chamber of
Commerce, and Koelnmesse, bills itself as an "F&B megashow," with
eleven trade shows under one roof.
Held for the first time since September 2020, the event welcomed
51,535 trade visitors, a figure 25% higher than initial estimates
published at the beginning of the event. That number does not include
the tens of thousands of members of the public who flooded the halls of
Impact Challenger and Impact Exhibition Center, north of Bangkok, on the
last day of the show, eager to catch a glimpse of celebrity chefs and
sample the latest food products coming into the market.
A truly international affair
A total of 881
overseas exhibitors came from 36 countries, with South Korea and Vietnam
leading the way in numbers of stands. Among the 6,898 overseas visitors
representing 111 different nations, the strongest showings were from
Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, South Korea, and India.
Emphasis on functionality rather than theatricality was visible
throughout the international halls, in part because some overseas
exhibitors only booked when Thailand lifted its quarantine requirements
just weeks before the show opened. The uptick in demand prompted the
organisers to add Impact Halls 9 and 10 at the last minute.
THAIFEX-Anuga 2022 featured highlights such as 10 "Future Food Experiences & Sessions" and 23 F&B start-up showcases.Startups scale up
The fair gave even small-sized
companies an international platform in a dedicated zone called
"THAIFEX-Anuga Start Up," where entrepreneurs could pitch to potential
buyers. The accelerator, organised in conjunction with Food Innopolis
(FI), hosted two dozen small companies hoping to find their place in the
sun.
Back in Business
With 1,603 Thai and
international exhibitors across eleven zones, representing products from
coffee and tea to food technology, the figure was more than double that
of the 2020 edition, which was held when Thai borders were essentially
closed. The halal food zone counted the largest number of
representatives, with 386 exhibitors.
According to a representative of the fair speaking off the record,
final statistics on attendance and revenue generated at the fair will be
released “about one month after the event."
Others interviewed for this article were upbeat, pointing to
indicators that were all “better than predicted." Those projections
published before the show had valued trade at 10 billion baht (over
US$293 million), 95.5% from in-person on-site transactions.
While Mathias Kuepper, managing director of Koelnmesse, sees
potential for engaging with participants online, he believes that
nothing can replace the spontaneity and contact of an in-person event.
“It’s not like LinkedIn. At some point, people were dreaming of building
a community that people would log into but it’s not going to happen.”
If the 2022 edition of THAIFEX-Anuga Asia is anything to go by,
hybrid and virtual events are not going to replace physical events any
time soon.