With the 2018 anniversary edition, Alimentec has established convincing standards as the leading platform for the food and hospitality industry, restaurants and cafes in the Andean Region, the Caribbean and Latin America.
A total of 449 companies from 30 countries participated as exhibitors in Corferias, during Alimentec, an event that took place from June 5 to 8, 2018, which offered products and services related to food and gastronomy to more than 28,458 professional visitors. Precisely they were the ones who benefited from a unique access to solutions, market news and trends in their sector.
The anniversary edition attracted more international exhibitors than ever, compared to the previous event. In 2018, the number of international exhibitors increased by 53% and companies from all sectors of the food industry and HORECA (Spanish acronym for Hospitality, Restoration, Caterings) from 30 countries congregated.
“We had clients who have been with us as well as many new ones, who have emerged with the entrepreneurship theme. The quality of the visitors is getting better, much more focused, more to the grain of what the industry needs today,” said Andrés Cardona, head of Cooking for Colombia of Unilever Food Solutions Colombia.
Some of the Colombian companies that participated were Colombina, Juan Valdez, Javar and Casa Luker companies; big names in the international industry also participated, such as Unilever, Rational, Winterhalter, Scandic, Mondial Foods, Emco, Instanta, Lamex and Budweiser, among others.
Exhibitors from Singapore, China, Thailand, Malaysia and Taiwan attended the event for the first time. Pavilions from Spain, Brazil, Turkey, the United States and Canada, Argentina, Peru, South Korea, Ecuador, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Indonesia have now added new national participations from Denmark, Singapore, China and Cuba.
Thus, the biennial event convinced a total of 17 national pavilions. The total space dedicated to international exhibitors registered a high growth of 49%.
“Thanks to this successful anniversary edition, Alimentec has impressively stressed its relevance as an international meeting place for the industry. In addition, the increasing internationalization of the event confirms the importance of Colombia as an important platform for the development of new potential businesses,” said Gerald Böse, CEO of Koelnmesse.
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Alimentec also presented a parallel program for the first time
He also added that Koelnmesse is an important partner for companies that can access the attractive regional markets, thanks to the experience that it has reached in the global scope.
For his part, Andrés López Valderrama, CEO of Corferias, said: “Our alliance with the number one in the world, Koelnmesse, and its event Anuga, the main fair of the food sector in the world, has allowed us to expand access for both professional visitors, as exhibitors to new knowledge, experiences and contacts with the industry, which undoubtedly we have been able to demonstrate in the great success of this new version of Alimentec.”
The anniversary edition also presented a parallel program for the first time aimed at the future, in which innovations and the creation of networks and connections were the focus of attention.
Due to an ideal geographic location, Bogotá is an optimal center to access the objective-regional markets of Latin America and the Andean Region. This location has also gained additional importance in the face of the growing attractiveness of the Colombian market as a whole.
The resulting imports offer excellent business opportunities. Additionally, the Colombian market seeks international growth and receives strong support from the Government. Alimentec strongly supports this growth by offering access to the regional market to international segments.
Photos by Corferias
