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Southern Finance Omnimedia reporter Yu Shuqin Gao Huichao intern Zhou Guorui Huang Ying Chen ZeweiMalaysia Report

In Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, the three-day 23rd Malaysia International Food and Beverage Trade Fair (MIFB) came to a successful conclusion on July 19. The exhibition attracted more than 225 Chinese food companies to participate, breaking the record of Chinese companies participating in the exhibition in the past 23 years.

The active participation of Chinese food companies in MIFB is a microcosm of my country's food industry's "going out". According to a sample survey of Chinese companies' overseas exhibitions in the first quarter of 2023 by China Trade Intelligence, food is one of the top ten industries for Chinese companies to participate in overseas exhibitions.From the Seattle Food Fair in France to the Cologne Food Fair in Germany, from the Canton Fair in China to the MIFB in Malaysia, one food exhibition after another not only witnesses the rise of China's food industry, but also reveals the new trends in the development of the global food economy.

How should food companies go overseas in 2024? What is the level of global food exhibitions? What are the characteristics and innovations of each exhibition? How can exhibitors choose overseas exhibitions accurately and efficiently? With these questions, a reporter from Southern Finance and Economics Omnimedia recently visited the MIFB Food Exhibition in Malaysia and talked with the top food exhibition leaders such as Star Domain Exhibition and Sierfu to reveal the global food exhibition landscape.

(MIFB exhibition site. Photo by Gao Huichao)

Chinese food goes global through exhibitions

In recent years, as China's food standardization and digital manufacturing levels continue to improve, its exports have become increasingly strong.

Taking Guangdong, China's largest foreign trade province, as an example, in 2023, the output value of Guangdong's pre-prepared food increased by more than 25% year-on-year, and the total export value of pre-prepared food at all ports was 31.7 billion yuan, accounting for 18.3% of the country. Among them, overseas exhibitions have become the unanimous choice of many food companies to expand their overseas territory.

"For food companies to expand overseas markets, it is very necessary to participate in exhibitions abroad." Zhang Shengtao, general manager of the third business unit of Fujian Huiyuan International Exhibition Co., Ltd., said in an interview with Southern Finance Omnimedia reporter that due to food safety and characteristics, the development of cross-border e-commerce for food is relatively weak, and companies need to go deep into overseas frontlines to understand, research and communicate.

On the other hand, one of the main selling points of food is taste, but there is no way to accurately describe the taste, and you can only know whether it is good by tasting it yourself. Therefore, compared with other industries, the food industry has an unusually high demand for exhibitions.

Lin Yitian, head of foreign trade at Foshan Gaodian Food Co., Ltd., also believes that if you don't go out, always looking at the overseas market is like "covering a layer of gauze". Going abroad to participate in exhibitions can help you intuitively feel and understand the overseas market, which is very important for companies to understand the real needs of overseas customers, improve products and adjust the next step of overseas plans.

What is the development pattern of food exhibitions around the world?

Several interviewees stated that, at present, the Seattle Food Show in France and the Cologne Food Show are ranked as the world's first-tier international food exhibitions. Both exhibitions are held every two years and are held alternately.

In 2023, the Cologne International Food Fair will have more than 7,800 companies from 118 countries and regions participating in the exhibition, exceeding the level before the COVID-19 pandemic. Among them, China is the second largest exhibitor, with nearly 600 Chinese companies exhibiting a variety of geographical indication products.

SIAL Paris is also one of the world's largest food industry exhibitions. In 2022, more than 7,000 companies from 127 countries and regions participated in the exhibition, of which 90% were from outside France, 265,000 professional visitors, and 85% were foreign visitors. 50% of foreign visitors were import and export companies, of which 8,000 were super buyers, and the exhibition site had a total value of 50 billion euros.

It is worth mentioning that this year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France, and SIAL Paris will also celebrate its 60th anniversary. At such an important time, in order to further promote Chinese cuisine and promote economic and trade cooperation between the two sides, the Guangdong Pre-prepared Food Export Industry Alliance will, under the guidance of the Trade Promotion Center of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, organize well-known domestic agricultural and food companies to participate in the SIAL Paris from October 19 to 23 in France, to help Chinese companies expand their global high-end market.

In the vast North American market, since exhibitions are relatively scattered, the scale of a single exhibition is not too large.

Take the American International Premium Food Exhibition as an example. This is one of the largest food exhibitions in North America. The exhibition is held once in winter, spring and summer every year. The 2023 American Summer International Premium Food Exhibition has an exhibition area of ​​more than 30,000 square meters, more than 2,400 exhibitors, and attracted more than 29,000 professionals in the specialty food and beverage industry.

"The Seattle Food Show and the Cologne Food Show are the most international and the largest in scale. If Chinese companies want to expand into the global market, I think these two exhibitions are their first choice." Zhang Shengtao said. In addition, it should be noted that the American International Premium Food Exhibition has a notable feature, that is, wholesalers will exhibit together with food manufacturers, which will result in a relatively large number of retail visitors.

China and Southeast Asia exhibitions are booming

In recent years, as the global food industry and food economy continue to evolve, food exhibitions, as the "barometer" of the food economy, are also "changing." A notable trend is that food exhibitions in China and Southeast Asia are rapidly emerging.

Zhang Shengtao said that in the past, Chinese food companies usually went to developed regions such as Europe and the United States to participate in exhibitions, but now with the advancement of the "Belt and Road" initiative and the weak demand in the European and American markets in recent years, more and more companies choose to participate in exhibitions in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and other places to expand their markets.

The breakthrough in the number of Chinese companies participating in this year's MIFB is a microcosm of this.

In an exclusive interview with Southern Finance Omnimedia, Cai Weipeng, President of Star Domain Exhibition Group, stressed that this exhibition attracted a large number of Chinese companies, who are not only looking for cooperation opportunities, but also exploring more ways of cooperation, including investment. In the future, MIFB will continue to optimize the exhibition content and services, build a cross-border bridge for enterprises, and jointly respond to market changes and seize emerging opportunities.

In Southeast Asia, in addition to MIFB, the Thailand and Singapore food exhibitions are also popular among Chinese companies.

As one of the largest and most comprehensive food and beverage industry exhibitions in Asia, the Thailand Asia International Food Exhibition in May this year was jointly organized by the Department of International Trade Promotion of the Thai Ministry of Commerce, the Thai Chamber of Commerce and the Cologne International Exhibition Co., Ltd. of Germany. It has more than 6,000 booths and more than 3,000 companies from more than 50 countries and regions participated in the exhibition, including more than 500 Chinese food companies, which is the largest number and scale among all participating economies.

"This year, there are more small and medium-sized enterprises from China participating in the exhibition. It is great to see that they have brought many interesting and high-quality products. They pay more attention to brand building and promotion, which are crucial to the development of the global food industry." Marcias Cooper, Managing Director of Cologne International Exhibition Co., Ltd. and Vice President of Asia Pacific, said in an interview with the media.

In addition to participating in exhibitions abroad, as the global brand reputation of Chinese food continues to improve, many buyers have flocked to China in search of high-quality food, which has also driven the continued expansion of the scale of the China International Food Exhibition.

There were a total of 951 exhibitors in the Phase III food exhibition area of ​​the 133rd Canton Fair, including time-honored brands from all over the country, specialty agricultural and sideline products, snacks, edible condiments, pre-prepared dishes, etc., with all kinds of "flavors" available, and the exhibitors reaped rich rewards.

Speaking of the experience of participating in food exhibitions around the world, Xia Dayu, a relevant person in charge of Hongya County Maxiangzui Food Technology Group Co., Ltd., believes that after the epidemic, as the cost of participating in exhibitions abroad has increased, foreign customers who come to the Canton Fair basically have the intention to purchase. Therefore, domestic food companies are now more enthusiastic about the Canton Fair. In addition, the Canton Fair is very strict in reviewing the qualifications of exhibitors, which also plays a role in brand endorsement for food companies.

In addition, China is also actively connecting with Xiya, a leading brand in food exhibitions, to jointly promote the establishment of international food exhibitions in China.

The 2024 SIAL Shanghai International Food and Beverage Exhibition has an exhibition area of ​​200,000 square meters, attracting more than 5,000 exhibitors from more than 70 countries and regions around the world, with more than 350,000 exhibits, and more than 180,000 professionals from more than 110 countries and regions around the world. The 2023 SIAL Shenzhen Exhibition will bring together more than 1,200 exhibitors from 33 countries and regions around the world, attracting a total of 52,792 professionals, creating a full-industry chain selection platform in South China that leads the international food and beverage trend, with a unique international level.

It is worth mentioning that in addition to organizing exhibitions, Chinese exhibition companies have begun to upgrade to provide one-stop industry operation services.

In the past, Xiamen Exhibition Silk started out as a pre-prepared food exhibition. Today, Chen Zhifu, Secretary General of Fujian Pre-prepared Food Association and General Manager of Silk, said that the company has defined itself as a pre-prepared food industry platform operator, and is committed to building a one-stop publicity, display, exchange and trading platform for China's pre-prepared food industry. The company already has four platform products: media information, product B2B, learning and training, and conferences and exhibitions. It provides services such as offline exhibition exchanges, media information promotion, online supply and demand docking, and corporate learning and training for the pre-prepared food industry, and cooperates in building overseas sales and display centers for pre-prepared food in Singapore, Thailand, and the United States to help China's outstanding pre-prepared food companies expand international channels.