The Mediterranean

Getting ready to experience the tastes and smells of FOOD EXPO 2022 The Mediterranean

food experience BACK IN PERSON

With events now back up and running following a Covid hiatus, what better place to get back into the swing of things than at FOOD EXPO 2022 – Greece’s largest food and beverage event, and one of southeast Europe’s most influential?

Thanasis Panagoulias, CEO of event organiser FORUM SA (which is a member of NürnbergMesse Group), spoke to Daniel Barnes about the excitement of getting back to physical trade shows and its ambitions to maintain and expand its impressive position and reputation in the upcoming years.

In just half a dozen iterations, FOOD EXPO has become Greece’s largest international food and beverage trade show. How has this been achieved in such a relatively short space of time?

It is true that it only took seven years since FOOD EXPO’s very first iteration to consolidate its reputation as the largest international food and beverage trade show ever organised in Greece and the most significant of its kind in southeast Europe.

The reasons are numerous. First, the food and beverage sector is one of the most dynamic fields of the Greek economy, and FOOD EXPO offers the opportunity to Greek businesses – and mainly production businesses – to strengthen their position in the Greek market.

Secondly, there is a high demand from international food traders for quality Greek and Mediterranean products and specialty foods and FOOD EXPO – through the well-organised Hosted Buyer program – gives the opportunity to the sector’s small and medium enterprises, to meet buyers from foreign target markets. Lastly, with targeted marketing strategies we have managed to build a strong brand name in Greece and abroad.

12-14 March 2022 Athens, Greece www.foodexpo.gr

Covid-19 completely decimated the trade show industry throughout the past two years. What actions has FOOD EXPO taken to ensure guests who physically visit the March event will remain safe?

FOOD EXPO will take place under all the safety protocols that the Greek Government has issued. More specifically, entrance will be allowed only to visitors with a Green Pass, the use of masks will be obligatory to all spaces of the exhibition centre, all attendants need to keep at least 1.5m distance between them and detergents are going to be placed everywhere along the exhibition centre. Finally, specialised medical staff will be at the exhibition centre during all days of the trade show.

FOOD EXPO is promising to overcome the issues of the current situation thanks to also offering a digital attendance with FOOD EXPO Digital. Please can you tell us more about this?

Adapting to the circumstances and the restrictions created by the pandemic, we decided in 2021 to hold a digital edition of the FOOD EXPO trade show. The success of the first FOOD EXPO Digital created the need to establish the digital exhibition as an additional service of the physical exhibition in the coming years. So, in 2022, in parallel with the physical exhibition (March 12-14), the digital platform will operate again.

Through the custom-made platform, which will be open to Greek and international food traders during the physical trade show, the exhibitors will have the opportunity to create a personalised profile of their business, where their products and services are showcased with photos and videos. They will also be able to hold pre-arranged one-on-one meetings via chat or video call with Greek and international buyers that will not attend the trade show in person and network with them.

At the same time, through the digital platform, Greek and international food traders will be given the chance to go through the exhibitors’ profiles, as well as get to know an extensive range of products and services that meet their needs and close important commercial deals with the exhibitors.

What exhibition and visitors’ numbers are you aiming to reach for FOOD EXPO 2022, and how does this differ to previous years?

The food and beverage sector in 2020 showed great resilience towards the unprecedented and difficult conditions caused by the pandemic, with Greek exports gaining ground and creating conditions for their further penetration into international markets.

In 2020, exports increased, compared to 2019, by 3.2%. In addition, recent events confirm that the market still needs physical exhibitions since they are the most important forums for the development of

Getting ready to experience the tastes and smells of FOOD EXPO 2022

– CEO Thanasis Panagoulias

trade contacts and cannot be substituted by any other form of actions and activities.

According to these facts, FOOD EXPO 2022 is expected to attract 1,350 exhibitors, 30,000 visitors and 900 Hosted Buyers. The numbers are quite the same as the 2019 event. For anyone new to the event, what are the main things they would experience if they were to attend FOOD EXPO 2022?

What particular areas of the food supplier and buyer markets have grown over recent events?

Due to the nature of the show and its Mediterranean identity, dairy and cheese products as well as olive oil and olives will always play a significant role to the fields of interest of the trade show. Also, through the last editions of the show there has been a huge interest in fresh fruit and vegetables as well as bio and health products.

Visitors at FOOD EXPO 2022 will have the chance to discover under one roof the leading suppliers and food and beverage producers and reconnect with them after almost two years of absence of physical exhibitions.

They will also be able to attend B2B meetings with Greek and international exhibitors, evaluate competing solutions across every product category and make business deals.

In addition, visitors can explore a huge range of products and services all gathered in one place, saving time and money. They can discover traditional, local and modern Greek and Mediterranean food and drinks and give their business a competitive edge.

Attending FOOD EXPO 2022 means visitors will stay up-to-date with the latest trends and innovations in the sector, through seminars, workshops and events.

What items are new for 2022?

FOOD EXPO covers the needs of the Greek market, while at the same time fully responds to the export orientation of Greek manufacturing enterprises in the sector. At the same time, it brings together thousands of professionals from organised retail, wholesale, food and beverage industry, hotels and mass catering.

Which exhibiting companies or key industry personnel are creating the biggest buzz in the lead up to the show?

12-14 March 2022 Athens, Greece www.foodexpo.gr

The biggest buzz is being created by the unique Hosted Buyer Program’s participants which belong to a number of key categories, including: supermarkets and hypermarkets, food servers, food and wine importers, wholesalers, distributors, brokers and delicatessen stores.

From your professional experience, what do you consider to be the greatest challenges associated with organising an event such as this?

Despite the great internationalisation of the exhibition, we need to maintain its Mediterranean character and promote it as the top annual meeting point of business professionals of the food and beverage industry.

Finally, what is the main message you would like to promote to the readers of Inside Food & Drink?

FOOD EXPO, the largest food and beverage trade show in southeast Europe and one of the most significant of its kind internationally, is staging a strong comeback between 12-14 March 2022, in a covid free environment at the Metropolitan Expo exhibition centre!

Featuring 1,350 exhibitors from Greece and the rest of the world and 3,500 key food traders, FOOD EXPO 2022 is consolidating its leading position in the wider region while further strengthening its international reach. n