CHINA BREW CHINA BEVERAGE 2018 confirms its character as leading trade fair in Asia

One of the major trends in Asia’s beverage and liquid food market is: “quality, not quantity.” As incomes rise, people prefer to consume better products instead of more products. At the same time, demand for production systems and machines remains high. As the leading trade fair for the industry, CHINA BREW CHINA BEVERAGE (CBB) provided a far- reaching overview of the market with the exhibitors’ presentations and its comprehensive supporting program. The CBB showed what is driving the industry today and will drive it tomorrow. In the process, it underscored its position in Asia.

Dr. Reinhard Pfeiffer, Deputy CEO of Messe München, is extremely satisfied with the results of CBB: “We are following up on the successes of the last event: We had a total of 869 exhibitors, an increase of nine percent. The trade fair used eight halls, including two that were used by 256 international exhibitors. That represents a growth rate of six percent. CBB is thus enhancing its importance as the leading trade fair for the beverage and liquid food industry in the Asia-Pacific region.” The chief executives of international market leaders praised the large number of visitors from such Asian countries as Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam who visited their stands.

Hong Shen, General Manager at Zhongqing Heli International Exhibition Co., Ltd., organizer of CBB, highlights the event’s added value: “CBB is the only trade fair in Asia that showcases the entire process chain for all areas of the beverage and liquid food industry and presents new generations of machines. This was also acknowledged by the approximately 56,000 participants in the eight fully booked halls.”

Richard Clemens, Managing Director of the VDMA Food Processing and Packaging Machinery Association, believes CBB is crucial for international companies to successfully gain a foothold in the Chinese market. “Closeness to customers is vital for developing and implementing tailored solutions, as well as for providing ideal after-sales service. CHINA BREW CHINA BEVERAGE is the most important trade fair – not only in China, but for Southeast Asia as a whole,” is Clemens’ assessment.

CBB Forum with the key issues of sustainability and digitalization

The beverage industry is undergoing a shake-up in the wake of digitalization. The CBB Forum’s program included a presentation by Professor Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University, Halifax, on how blockchain technologies “can help many companies protect their brand equity.” Use of the technology in the beverage industry is still at the beginning, but he recommends “companies should see that as an opportunity and address the issue early on.” In the view of the VDMA, Chinese consumers in particular are very open to digital solutions.

That also harbors potential for companies from the beverage industry. That is because “customized premium products that can be configured and ordered online have far greater growth potential than in Europe,” says Clemens.

The industry also discussed the issue of sustainability intensively. For example, Professor William Chen, from the School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering and Director of the NTU Food Science & Technology Program at Nanyang Technological University, believes that sustainable beer brewing offers advantages for companies and consumers alike: “Sustainable brewing processes and upcycling of waste and by-products, such as to make biodegradable packaging, deliver enormous benefit for the industry. At the end of the day, that might also be reflected in lower product prices for consumers,” states the scientist.

Visitors and exhibitors were inspired by the CBB Forum and the wealth of information. CBB plays a major role in helping information be shared within the industry and enables an extensive overview of the beverage and liquid food market.

Successful premiere for the Round Table Talks

Apart from sustainability and digitalization, the future of the PET segment was also a hotly debated topic. The newly introduced Round Table Talks gave visitors the chance to learn more about this and other issues in the beer and beverage market. What are key concerns in the industry now and in the future? Industry experts from companies such as AB InBev, Snow, Suntyech Process Engineering, Tsingtao and Voss (Hubei) Water & Beverage provided insights. The other items on the agenda, such as the International Beer Smart Factory & Brewing Technology Forum or the Exhibitor Technology Seminar, were also very popular among visitors.