Fi Europe & Ni 2019: the most successful edition of the world’s leading trade show in France to date
With an enormous thematic and geographical scope – exhibitors from 74 countries and visitors from 173 countries – Fi Europe & Ni once again proved that it is the trusted and chosen meeting place for the international food and beverage industry. The three-day event attracted almost 25.000 visitors at the beginning of December – despite the all-out strike on the third day of the show.
In the 33rd year of Fi Europe & Ni, 1,700 exhibitors presented more than 15,000 ingredients and a wide range of related services – from processing and packaging technology to contract manufacturing. To provide a platform for the growing globalisation of the industry, Fi Europe & Ni this year welcomed 26 country pavilions, including six new ones for suppliers from Japan, India, Georgia, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Peru. For the next event in Frankfurt, 84 per cent of the available exhibition space has already been booked. This high number of stand reservations for 2020 is once again a proof that Fi Europe & Ni remains a successful and respected business platform for exhibitors.
With 24.415 attendees, this edition of Fi Europe & Ni was the most successful one in France so far. Recent analyses show that mainly representatives of sales, procurement and purchasing, general management and R&D attended the show at Parc des Expositions Paris Nord, Villepinte. 33 per cent of the visitors were managers at C-level or higher, and 71 per cent had budget responsibility.
Rüdiger Schock, Director, Innovation Acceleration EMEA at Ingredion, commented: “We have been exhibiting our innovative ingredient portfolio at Fi Europe & Ni for more than 20 years, and we will definitely be back. 2019 was another very successful fair for us. It was a great opportunity to meet with customers old and new to discuss global key trends such as clean label, protein enrichment, sugar reduction and plant-based ingredients, and the solutions we have to support them.”
Continuous development
Since its launch in 1986, the event has always had its finger on the industry pulse and has continually expanded. First, Ni (Natural ingredients) joined the exhibition and has established itself as a forum for future-oriented natural ingredients. In addition, an extensive conference and educational programme has been added and this year attracted more than 300 delegates, offering in-depth insights into key trends such as “Healthy & Functional”, “Plant-derived Ingredients”, “Clean Label” and “Reduction & Reformulation”. The Future of Nutrition Summit on the day before the fair proved highly successful, attracting more than 100 participants and showcasing outstanding and game-changing innovations, with a focus on sustainable food systems and new food technologies.
Firmenich’s Global Director Marketing and Communication Ingredients, Virginie Gervason, stated: “As we are involved in flavour ingredients and flavour solutions, Fi Europe & Ni is the best place for us to showcase our innovations and insights, and demonstrate the best use of these solutions. It’s a good opportunity to show the versatility of Firmenich, and how our ingredients embody our purpose ‘For Good Naturally’.”
Within the Expo FoodTec, which was added to the Fi Europe & Ni line-up to mirror the interplay between ingredients and technology, the Expo FoodTec Content Hub presented valuable advice, especially in the field of food safety. In a time where flexitarian and vegan consumers fuel the market, the new Plant-based Experience showed, through panel discussions, how to strike the balance between consumer-expected low price and high quality.
A New Gen trade show: Fi and Hi co-located under one roof
2020 in Frankfurt, Fi Europe and Hi Europe will join forces for the first time. This co-location is a strategic response to the fact that the health and nutrition economic sectors are merging at a fast pace. Consequently, the boundaries between standard ingredients, functional ingredients with added health benefits, and dietary supplements are blurring.
As many companies also have much shorter innovation cycles than a few years ago, Fi Europe and Hi Europe will take place annually starting next year. Messe Frankfurt will be first to host the largest trade show for the food and beverage industry, from 1 to 3 December.
From a visitor’s point of view, the show is still highly relevant in a digital age: “It’s difficult sometimes when you’re trying to source a new ingredient – yes, you can do a Google search to find the data, but you don’t get that full insight into what each supplier is doing. So this show really brings it all together under one roof,” said Suzanne Salt, Procurement Manager, Symingtons Ltd.
Fi Europe Brand Director Julien Bonvallet was delighted with this year’s event: “Thirty-three years of Fi Europe & Ni are a reason to celebrate! We are grateful that so many visitors made their way to Paris despite the strike warning. But it also shows that Fi Europe & Ni is simply the place to be for the industry’s thought leaders. I am now looking forward to this great new development and can already promise many exciting inclusions for the show in 2020.”
As the next step in its sustainability journey, Crown Holdings, Inc. has signed onto the Science-Based Targets initiative, a project that aims to spur corporate climate action in the transition to a low-carbon economy. To join the initiative, Crown will set specific goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in alignment with the Paris Agreement of 2015, through which international governments collectively pledged to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
In preparation for setting these ambitious new targets, Crown’s Chief Executive Officer, Timothy Donahue, has signed the commitment letter confirming Crown will develop new goals to be reviewed and approved by the SBTi committee. Crown plans to announce its goals in early 2020 and report on progress annually. In the interim, the Company continues to work toward achieving its 2020 Sustainability Goals and making additional strides in its ongoing commitment to the RE100 initiative.
“We have made tremendous progress toward our 2020 Sustainability Goals, which include a 10 % GHG reduction goal,” said John Rost, Ph.D., Vice President, Global Sustainability and Regulatory Affairs at Crown. “Committing to and striving to achieve science-based targets is the next natural progression for the Company. Our culture of safety, efficiency and resource conservation as well as the unrivaled sustainability profile of our primary product – metal packaging – will continue to play a critical role in our ability to meet our next set of milestones.”
With record breaking visitor numbers, Fi Europe & Ni (Frankfurt, Germany) was the place to be for decision makers, product developers, market strategists and scientists
A marketplace for innovation, a source of inspiration and a trend barometer. The world’s most important trade show for food and beverage ingredients, Fi Europe & Ni 2017 welcomed more visitors than ever before.
More than 26,000 attendees from over 135 nations worldwide used the three-day trade show to discover innovative new concepts and novel solutions. Boasting an abundance of excellent, high quality delegates, post-event analysis showed that almost 78 % of the attendees had budget responsibility, with approximately 30 % having higher management roles – an ideal mix to generate promising leads at more than 1,600 stands. In total, show organizer UBM recorded 50,000+ visits.
Oliver Wolf, Head of B2B Marketing at GELITA, gave a very positive review, stating: “The sheer volume of visitors at the GELITA stand was immense – and the overall quality of enquiries was very high. That’s why Fi Europe was, once again, the perfect setting for us to introduce our latest innovations in gelatine and collagen peptides to a broad expert audience.” Peter Hennebichler, Director Corporate Sales & Marketing at AGRANA, added: “We counted a record number of attendees at our stand this year. Because of the highly relevant contacts we make here, AGRANA has exhibited at FiE for many years.” Key players such as Cargill, FrieslandCampina, BENEO, Roquette, Avebe, Kerry and Naturex all presented innovative new products and solutions. In addition, several start-ups and first-time exhibitors used Fi Europe & Ni as a platform to further expand their brand.
Fi Europe Brand Director Richard Joyce’s conclusion was also positive. Sharing his excitement for the reservations numbers for the 2019 edition in Paris, he said “Currently, 80 % of the exhibitors have already booked a stand for the next show. This clearly indicates that Fi Europe & Ni is a must-attend event for food ingredient companies. We are already looking forward to 2019 and will do our utmost to arrange another top-class agenda.”
Value adding extras
Far more than just a supporting program, this year’s Fi Europe & Ni once again offered a variety of additional attractions, including 20+ country pavilions and themed areas – such as the Expo FoodTec Pavilion – and daily Innovation Tours. In the Industry Insights Theater and Supplier Solution Sessions, attendees were able to get up close and personal with interesting companies and their concepts. Furthermore, the New Product Zone and Ingredients in Action, hosted by Innova Market Insights, provided an overview on the latest products that made their way into consumers’ shopping carts.
With the second Future of Nutrition Summit, the pre-show one day summit, show organizer UBM EMEA offered detailed insight into the future of the industry; social and technological developments that will impact the ingredients industry during the next 5 years were put under the spotlight. In addition, the three-day Fi Conference covered everything from clean label to regulatory issues. Jennifer Arthur of Leatherhead Food Research introduced the possibilities and challenges of personalized nutrition, whereas Dr Laurice Pouvreau, Senior Project Manager, Protein Functionality at Nizo, explained how promising sensory results can be achieved by blending different protein sources. With more than 250 delegates, the conference program also reached a record-breaking number.
Post-show is pre-show: Hi Europe 2018 in Frankfurt, Fi Europe & Ni 2019 in Paris
Next year, Hi Europe will open its doors on November 27 in Frankfurt for three days. In times when functional ingredients with added health benefits are becoming increasingly important, Europe’s leading trade show for health and nutrition is the meeting place for manufacturers and decision makers in the food and nutraceuticals industry. The following year, Fi Europe & Ni will return to Paris (3–5 December 2019) and take place at the Parc des Expositions Villepinte.
WILD Flavors & Specialty Ingredients (WFSI), a business unit of Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM), will be at this year’s SIAL trade fair in Paris, where they will present appealing vegan soy drinks and Fruit&Veggie concepts, to name only a few. They will also be featuring contemporary carbotanicals as well as new cider mixes and still drinks. All of these product ideas have one thing in common: they are based on WFSI’s great-taste expertise, and they satisfy consumer demand for natural products.
Vegan products: new concepts that drive developments in the beverage market
The growth rate for new launches among vegan foods and drinks reached 400 % between 2011 and 2015.1 This shows that vegan diets have established themselves in society around the world, and there are no signs of the trend reversing. Manufacturers who want to take advantage of these developments can sample the new soy drink concepts by WFSI in Paris. This generation of vegan power drinks is vegan and lactose-free, contains protein and important B vitamins, and is energizing. Last but not least, they will win people over with their tempting and aromatic flavor profiles, which are available in banana, chocolate and strawberry.
Cider: unfiltered, refreshing, different
To generate new impetus on the market for alcoholic flavored beverages, WFSI took the idea of unfiltered flavored beer concepts and transferred it to cider, thus creating a brand new kind of refreshment for adults. Tangy cider drinks with hints of popular citrus flavors like lemon and grapefruit contain 5 % fruit juice and 2 % alcohol. They are fruitier and less sweet than classic cider beverages, making them an attractive alternative to flavored beers.
Botanicals: fruity refreshment with a spicy and aromatic note
Carbonated soft drinks are the second-largest beverage category after water. The market is largely saturated, however, which means new inspiration is needed. At SIAL, WFSI is presenting a new concept which incorporates popular flavors while also creating buzz with unexpected flavor accents. The Carbotanicals which WFSI has developed with popular kinds of fruit will draw in new customers, and these drinks also offer a pleasant surprise with a spicy-aromatic hint that comes from natural extracts of well- known kinds of herbs. Trade-fair visitors are welcome to come to the booth in Paris and try an elegantly-balanc
ed combination of red berries with basil.
Fruit & veggie: juicy, fruity, refreshing
Eating vegetables of all kinds is more popular than ever, and it corresponds to people’s desire for a healthy lifestyle. This is the perfect market opportunity for juices and still drinks with an added touch of vegetables. In response to the current demand for health and wellness products, WFSI’s portfolio includes fruit&veggie still drinks such as orange- pumpkin-ginger or beet-strawberry. They contain a harmonious blend of fruit and vegetable juices and are also available as a low-calorie option with steviol glycosides. At SIAL, those who like their drinks “juicier” can turn to WFSI’s concepts with a high juice content, including beverages with 50 % each fruit and vegetable juices, products enhanced with blossoms, or not-from-concentrate (NFC) juices.
1Mintel GNPD, 2016
