Beijing / CN. (km) After three busy days of business activities serving North China’s food industry, the much-anticipated AnuFood China 2016 – powered by Anuga came to a spirited close on November 18 in the capital city of Beijing. The event, in its third edition, spanned over 35’000 square meters, comprising a 27’000-square meter product showcase and a 10’000-square meter meeting and supporting activities area.
At a Glance
- 26’626 trade visitors pored through the exhibits during the event
- 683 companies representing 36 countries and regions
- 10 percent increase of international exhibitors than the last edition
- Poland posed to be the inaugural partner country of AnuFood China at its third edition
The 5th China International Catering + Food Expo, organized by AnuFood China strategic partner China Cuisine Association (CCA) and held alongside the event, also received high recognition from the industry.
A total of 683 companies representing 36 countries and regions – among them a record 10 percent more international exhibitors than the last edition – showcased a comprehensive array of display including fine and imported food, dairy products, baked goods, meat products, seafood, frozen food, sweets and snack foods, coffee and tea, olive and edible oils, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, fruit and vegetables, organic food and F+B services, together with two new product categories – Vending Machines and Baby Food. The event drew 26’626 trade visitors in three days.
«We are even more pleased to see that AnuFood China has become an important stop among the food trade events by Koelnmesse worldwide. This gives us good reason to believe that AnuFood China can make a greater contribution to the fast-growing Chinese food market with the solid foundation and global reach of Anuga, and will go on to influence the entire China, and will achieve comprehensive development and upgrading», said by Mr. Denis Steker, Vice President International, Koelnmesse GmbH.
As some of the key sources of imported food, exhibitors from countries such as the United States, Australia, France, and Thailand continued to show their support at AnuFood 2016 and made meaningful contacts with buyers from China. Other manufacturers led by group organizers from Germany, Spain, Korea, Japan, Argentina, New Zealand, Poland and Türkiye also received strong support by their respective national food promotion agencies and participated in full force. Making their debut at AnuFood China, a number of brands from Austria, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Romania, Kazakhstan and India attracted considerable eyeballs at the event, paving their way into the China market.
Partner country Poland expands presence and achieves a great success
As the first partner country of AnuFood China, Poland took up an unprecedented area of more than 300 square metres in booth space and boasted the largest contingent of exhibitors the country has ever led to similar events in China. Poland’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Secretary of State Mr. Jacek Bogucki also graced the event and promoted local Polish food products to heighten awareness to Chinese consumers.
«Poland was happy to be the partner country of AnuFood China 2016, which is the most important, and organized in a fully professional way, imported food trade fair in North China», Artur Siejka, Second Secretary of Trade + Investment Promotion Section of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Beijing, comments with recognition.
New immersive experience zone – A customized Matchmaking
A VIP Dining Experience Zone, featuring a simulated canteen and a hotel-catering establishment respectively, pulled in over 1’000 participants from F+B channels, such as the hospitality sector as well as canteens for organizations, hospitals and schools in North China. Integrating top ingredients and kitchen equipment provided by industry giants Unilever, Metro, Electrolux and Riedel, the feature zone saw active participation by visitors.
AnuFood China 365-Matchmaking with partner Alibaba-1688.com
Breaking another new ground, the partnership with one of Alibaba’s e-commerce platforms, 1688, also saw imported food being promoted on the platform allowing channel distributors to gain firsthand knowledge of the exhibits, and interact with suppliers over a series of business-matching sessions months ahead of the event. Other e-commerce platform representatives from JD, Womai and Benlai also conducted interactive sessions for overseas food enterprises to unravel the mystery of China’s success in the rapid development of e-commerce channel and offered advice on how to harness its power.
Importers, retailers, F+B establishments representatives as well as buyers from emerging distribution channels with unique regional characteristics, such as convenience stores, pantry and canteen of corporate headquarters, canteen of international hospitals and schools, cinemas and theaters, and airlines showed up for onsite Matchmaking.
Diversity of conferences reveals the insights of the leading industry trends
Organized by the China Chamber of Commerce of Foodstuffs and Native Produce (CFNA), the China International Meat Conference and the China International Dairy Industry Conference and Imported Food Sub-forum took place during the exhibition saw the gathering of relevant authoritative government representatives and experts to examine industry policies and regulations, analyze market conditions, discuss trading trends and strategies, share experience, and deep-dive into traditional as well as new e-commerce channels.
Apart from hosting the China Cuisine Association Annual Committee Meeting alongside AnuFood China, CCA also collaborated for the first time with Unilever on a powerful food safety summit – a hot topic in China. Attendees benefited from a keynote speech delivered by Mr. Ma Chunliang, director of Department II of the China Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety Supervision Bureau.
Nearly 2’000 delegates attended more than 60 hours of conference activities hosted by over 40 heavyweight speakers.
Chinese Cuisine World Championship presents the best Chinese delicacy
Established in 2015, a major highlight of AnuFood China was once again the Chinese Cuisine World Championship this year, which garnered much interest from the industry. Featuring individual tournaments for the first time, the Championship was held in both youth and professional categories based on a hot Chinese dish, creative appetizer, Chinese snack as well as fruit and vegetable carving challenge.
2’000 dishes prepared by 200 contestants from the United States, Italy, Israel, China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan were critiqued by a panel of 30 judges from around the world accredited by the World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS).
At the same time, the Championship also joined hands with the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) Foundation to launch a charity event themed Cuisine for Charity on November 17 comprising a tournament, luncheon and fund-raising ceremony. The hotel group’s team in Beijing swept 17 medals while the charity luncheon drew the participation of more than 60 attendees from the industry. A total of RMB 198’675 in proceeds was collected by the IHG Foundation and donated to the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation.
Italian Pasta Summit China Edition 2016 – offering epicure the true Italian flavour!
As part of the Italian Food Festival in China, the inaugural Italian Pasta Summit China Edition 2016 happened on November 16 at AnuFood China 2016. In partnership with Italian Embassy and Italian Trade Agency – ICE as well as Koelnmesse, the summit also comprised a culinary competition accredited by the Italian Chefs Federation for the most creative pasta and best pasta dishes respectively.
Ms. Gloria Garbarini, Export Manager of Finexpo srl from Italy express the gains of benefits from the fair as well as the activities, «AnuFood China is a very interesting show in a steadily growing market with high potential for Italian food products. We met high quality trade visitors and decision makers from the f+b sector. The show was also well organized».
The driving force behind this competition, Italian master chef Esposito Massimiliano, hoped for Chinese consumers to better understand Italian flavours and culinary techniques to better promote Italian food culture and cuisine to the China market. Pasta was selected as the theme due to its important role in Italian cuisine as well as its versatility, according to Mr. Domenico Maggi, Continental Director for the southern Europe region of WACS.
The next edition of AnuFood China will take place from August 30 to September 01, 2017.
About the Organizers
Koelnmesse – Global Competence in Food: Koelnmesse is the leading trade fair organizer in the food industry and related sectors. Trade fairs such as the Anuga, the ISM and Anuga Food Tec are established world leaders. Koelnmesse not only organizes food trade fairs in Cologne, Germany, but also in further growth markets around the globe, in Brazil, in China, Colombia, in India, in Japan, in Thailand, in the United States and in the United Arab Emirates. These global activities enable us to offer our customers a network of events, which in turn grant access to different markets and thus create a basis for sustainable and stable international business.
The China Chamber of Commerce of Foodstuffs and Native Produce (CFNA) represents 6,000 members and has strong influence in China’s food industry. Members include local manufacturers, as well as importers, agents and distributors of imported food. CFNA is the authoritative voice in China in regard to food industry information and regulations.
The China Cuisine Association (CCA), a national guild of catering industry, is officially authorized by the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the PRC and established in 1987. CCA is voluntarily formed by groups and individuals engaged in the catering industry, education and research. Supported by the Government, members and F+B associations of the respective provinces, CCA has been actively serving the industry, enterprises, societies as well as individuals since its inception. CCA has made great contributions to the promotion of Chinese cuisine in the areas of event organization, industrial discipline, resource integration, organizational rights, business coordination, international exchange and talent cultivation.
