Vitafoods Europe records 12% growth, plots Asian show expansion

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Vitafoods Europe saw 12% more attendees (11,594 ) pass through its doors in Geneva this year with show producer Informa casting its eyes forward to the second edition of Vitafoods Asia in Hong Kong in September.

Vitafoods Europe featured 600 exhibitors, 140 of which were in the rapidly growing Finished Products Expo (FPE).

“The nutraceuticals industry is enjoying a successful period of growth, amid all the regulation issues, and this has been reflected in the record attendance at Vitafoods Europe and FPE,” said Chris Lee, Vitafoods portfolio director.

“We were delighted to be able to host such a buzzing show and facilitate introductions between exhibitors and visitors. We look forward to learning about how these business leads materialise over the coming months.”

Lee said scientific poster sessions introduced at the show had been well received along with the New Products Zone and a typically crammed conference programme.

Andy Bott, UKsales manager, Glanbia Performance Nutrition said of the show: “We’ve had some very good leads at the show over the years and generally see a 10-15 per cent 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.”

Shawn Hua from Chinese supplier, Fenchem Biotek Ltd, said: “For us, Vitafoods Europe is always a good show – the cost for the stand is definitely worth it as we make such a return from the people we meet. It’s been an excellent exhibition and although we’ve been exhibiting for 10 years now, we still find the customers here very targeted to what we do.”

Asia

Informa said the 5-7 September Vitafoods Asia show was heading toward doubling in size over the inaugural 2011 edition.

Lee: “The nutraceutical market is currently enjoying a particularly strong presence in Asia, due to growing affluence and rising educational levels. In fact, in a survey we recently commissioned 40% of professionals forecast that Asia will have the greatest share of the market within the next 10 years.”

“More than half of the 2011 show visitors said that they had found suppliers they would not otherwise have considered using if they had not attended the event, so this year’s edition with more exhibitors and educational features is a must-attend for anyone in the industry looking to source innovative new ingredients and raw materials which provide health benefits.”

The show will feature more than 150 global suppliers of functional foods and supplements ingredients including multinationals Croda, DSM, DuPont-Danisco, Chr Hansen and Glanbia Nutritionals.

International pavilions will include the Americas and Belgium.