France’s largest food exhibition, Sial Paris, is expected to be even larger when it returns to the capital on 16-20 October. Having grown by approximately 20 per cent in 2014 in terms of exhibitor numbers, organisers anticipate a similar increase this year.
“We are full this year,” said Nelly Baron, Sial’s communication director, “with around 7,000 companies exhibiting. We also expect approximately 160,000 visitors, up from 156,000 two years ago. The show opens on World Food Day, so the UN’s Foreign Agricultural Organisation and many European officials have confirmed their presence.”
At each show, Sial Paris presents its Innovation Awards. At the last exhibition two years ago, the bronze prize was picked up by two mushroom companies: Cap Portugal with its product Eco Gumelo, which grows mushrooms using soil made from spent coffee grounds, and France’s Pret à Pousser with its grow-at-home mushroom kit using recycled sawdust. Both products also won the individual fruit and vegetable category award.
The 15 final entries for the Innovation Award will apparently be announced two weeks before the start of the show.
“Our main strengths at Sial Paris are innovation and diversity,” said Baron. “This year, we have a food and drink laboratory all about how to pair food with the right beverage. Our aim is to inspire the food business and help buyers find the right partners.”
She added that shoppers in Europe were increasingly looking for sustainable products. “Consumers value sustainability, with interest increasing in local, environmentally friendly products,” she said. “The organic section in Sial Paris is growing faster than expected, by around 15 per cent each exhibition. It is also the international year of pulse so there will be a focus on their use as an alternative source of protein to meat.”
