In BDB’s latest guest blog post, Chris Lee, portfolio director of May’s Vitafoods exhibition, reviews the show and comments on the success of the biggest nutraceutical exhibition in Europe.
Vitafoods celebrated its 15th anniversary this year, and it was great to see that the exhibitors and visitors showed the same enthusiasm for the show as they did for the first show. This highlights the continued relevance of the exhibition and the appetite for knowledge and product innovation. The show attracts the best in the industry and this year was no different, with 11594 attendees overall – a 12% increase from last year.
The show attracts companies both large and small, many of whom are thought leaders in the industry. Speaker sessions are an opportunity to engage in debate and hear the latest opinions on industry trends, and there were over 50 speaker sessions in total, with up to 250 delegates attending each one. The most popular conference sessions were on Functional Foods and Consumer Trends and Health Claims and Regulations – an indication of some of the current trends and issues gripping the industry.
Highlights
A few of my key moments included:
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The queues as thousands of visitors waiting for the doors to open on the first day
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The huge raft of product innovation on display in the New Products Zone, providing inspiration for visiting manufacturers
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Successful new format of the Vitafoods Europe Conference, which for the first time ever, was shaped and peer reviewed by the new Vitafoods Europe Conference Executive Advisory Board
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Being able to facilitate new business discussions between exhibitors and visitors which will hopefully lead to game-changing deals for both parties in the future
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Over 450 exhibitors already rebooked for 2013.
We’re always looking to refresh the event and to keep it as current as possible, in line with industry trends. We are already looking at the feedback on the show to see how we can improve for next year. Looking forward, potentially we have new strategic partners in place and our aim is to reinforce Vitafoods’ position as the home of innovation.
However, don’t just take my word for it. Below are some exhibitor testimonials:
Magali Wanlin, Executive Manager Assistant
Evear Extraction, France
“We’ve had exactly the right people coming to our stand and made some good contacts. Vitafoods Europe is a great platform for companies with so many global organisations represented here.”
Shawn Hua, Marketing
Fenchem Biotek Ltd
“It’s been an excellent exhibition and although we’ve been exhibiting 10 years now, we still find the customers here very targeted to what we do. “
Andy Bott, UK Sales Manager
Glanbia Performance Nutrition
“We’ve had some very good leads at the show over the years exhibiting and generally see a 10-15% conversion rate into new business. Our stand location has been excellent this year and it has been a great opportunity for us to meet us with key existing clients.”
Next year’s show will take place from 14-16 May 2013 at Palexpo, Geneva.
