FNB News - Strength and significance at food processing gala

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EVENTS

Strength and significance at food processing gala

Saturday, 04 August, 2018, 08 : 00 AM [IST]

Nandita Vijay, Bengaluru

India Foodex, in its 10 edition, is now all set to take off for its latest outing from August 31 to September 2, 2018, at the BIEC, Bengaluru. The decade-old event is extensively recognised as India's largest international exhibition on food products, retailing, import & export, processing & packaging machineries and allied industries.

The annual event has a persistent support from prominent Indian agri and food organisations accumulating strength and significance to the event. Among the various organisations supporting the exhibition are Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare, National Centre for Cold-Chain Development, All India Food Processors Association, Coffee Board (Government of India), Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Indian Food Industry
India’s food processing industry ranks fifth in world of exports, production and consumption. The Indian food processing sector has received US$6.70 billion worth FDI from 2000 - 2015. It has the potential to attract US$33 billion FDI over the next 10 years. There is 100% of FDI that is permitted in multi-brand retailing of food products along with the set up of 42 Mega Food Parks which are underway.

Indian food scenario is bound to develop and imports will keep on playing a major role to the support or fair acceptance they get from several government authorities. One can clearly anticipate growth of areas that assist health and nutrition, for example, fresh fruits, dry fruits, specialty food products, dairy, and cheese. Further, “Demand trends visibly indicate that Indian consumers are looking for healthier products. The farmers will also benefit from this process,” stated M B Naqvi, CEO & MD, Media Today, the organisers.

Potential Investment
Prominent among the areas waiting to be tapped are canning, packaging, refrigeration for dairy, poultry, fisheries, meat, ready-to-eat products, cereals and grains, soft drinks, consumer product groups like confectionery, chocolates, coco products, soya-based products, mineral water, high protein foods and nutraceuticals, apart from health food and health food supplements, a rapidly rising segment of the food processing industry.

Promotion of Technologies
As per trade sources, India wastes food grains worth huge amounts every year because of weaknesses for storage systems & techniques and deficiencies in supply chain. The event has been helping the Indian food industry to construct an effectual supply chain to ensure what is produced in the farm reaches the consumer in good shape. “In fact, what is crucial is to plug every loophole in the food production and distribution system, i.e., use of efficient available technologies and building of a modern supply chain,” said Naqvi.

Food Segments
The popular expo will be showcasing tools and technologies from almost all key food segments. The foremost attraction will be the organisation of different segments simultaneously.

HRC Expo 2018
Owing to the great response from food and hospitality sector, this year the organisers have announced the 1st edition of 'Hotel, Restaurant & Catering Expo (HRC Expo 2018),' an international exhibition on hotel, restaurant and catering products, services, bakery equipment and technology.

Hospitality & Catering
The Indian hospitality and tourism industry accounts for 7.5 per cent of the GDP with an estimated US$47 billion in direct contribution to the GDP in 2016. This contribution to GDP is projected to reach a whopping $160.2 billion by 2026. The industry and its thriving sub-sectors such as restaurants and organised tour operators are all major source of employment.

The catering services industry in India has been consistently growing and is expected to attain the worth of Rs 40,000 crore, in which Bangalore has always been a major contributor. The tourism and hospitality sector is among the top 10 sectors in India to attract the highest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

At present, Bangalore is the third-largest hospitality market with 8,536 rooms. As per the HVS report, Hotels in India – Trends and Opportunities estimates that over the next five years, India’s IT capital would see the addition of 10,731 rooms, the highest inventory roll out in the city. The same goes for the catering industry too, as Bangalore’s demography is an interesting mix of people from all over India. As per the reports on hospitality market, it estimates that at next five years roughly 40 million sq ft of additional space would be developed in Bangalore city itself and the significant part of it would be absorbed by the hospitality industry itself.

The show is being supported by leading associations/trade bodies from the hotel, restaurant and catering industry such as Association of Resource Companies for the Hospitality Industry of India (ARCHII), Hotel Restaurant Equipment Manufacturers Association India (HOTREMAI), and The Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), Karnataka Pradesh Hotel & Restaurants Association (KPHRA), Food and Hospitality Support Association of India (FHSAI), and Bruhat Bangalore Hotels Association (BBHA).

Global Halal Expo 2018
India - Market for Halal?
With over 172 million followers (2011), Islam is the second-largest religion in India after Hinduism. After Indonesia, India is home to the second-largest Muslim population of the world. There is a clear demand for Halal-certified product, which has promoted a rapid growth of new lines such as Iba Halal Care. This spent is projected to grow reaching $7.3 billion by 2020, according to Dinar Standard analysis.

A leading sweet and namkeen brand from India has seen a 30% jump in soan papdi and cookies sales in Malaysian market in the last one year, partly due to the Halal-certification that gave a higher visibility on retail shelves there. Halal signifies highest standard of quality and hygiene in ingredients, processes and products and sourcing.

Islam is a way of life. To that extent, Islamic branding is all about using brands as good deeds. Islamic branding can embrace broader pastures that cover business practices too. Homegrown brands like CavinKare, Daawat, Bikano, Goldwinner oil, Vadilal ice cream, Amrutanjan Health Care and Gujarat Ambuja Exports are embracing Halal-certification to get a better foothold in markets.

This initiative is supported by Indo-OIC Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Jamiat Ulma-I-Hind Halal Trust, All India Food Processors Association, Food Processing & Packaging Machinery Industry Association, Coffee Board (Government of India).

Culinary Challenge
The show will also incorporate the second edition of the admired "Culinary Championship & Inter Hotel Competition," organised by SICA with the support of Indian Federation of Culinary Associations and Amagi Media. This is a big prospect to attain an optimistic alliance with an educative event that promotes food professionals. The event earlier attracted numerous hospitality & food industry delegates from different companies across the country.

AgriBusiness Excellence Awards
Another segment parallel to the ongoing Culinary Championship & Inter Hotel Competition will be the 2nd AgriBusiness Excellence Awards. The ceremony is a token gesture of gratitude to those who understood the essence of Indian food industry and transformed it to make a mark in the global market. Though a new addition to the series, it garnered huge response from the industry.

Concurrent Events
Adding more value to the show, concurrently, the organisers are all set to unveil the 9th edition of 'GrainTech India 2018,' 8th edition of 'DairyTech India 2018,' 5th edition of 'Meat Tech Asia 2018,' and 3rd edition of 'SnackBev India' to ensure better business for all. “It is a challenging effort to cover all aspects of food production and sale,” observed Naqvi.

Meat Tech Asia 2018: Keeping in view the scope and demand for Indian meat and meat products worldwide, the 5th Meat Tech Asia 2018 is being put together as a common platform for the entire meat sector. It will provide an on-hand opportunity to the producers, meat processing technology suppliers, service industry, and other stakeholders to display their strength and interact with each other. Concurrently, the 7th International Poultry & Livestock Expo 2018 is also being organised. This would bring leading poultry and dairy equipment manufacturers, breeders, food products exporters, experts & leaders from the industry.

DairyTech India 2018: In order to promote and ensure the all-round development of the Indian dairy industry, 8th DairyTech India 2018 is being organised. This is the best place to become part of the emerging Indian dairy industry and promote its further commercialisation.

GrainTech India 2018: Termed as India's largest international exhibition on grains, cereals, spices, oil seeds, feeds, products & technologies, the aim of the show series is to minimise the wastage of food in India through promoting efficient food processing and storage technologies and systems.

Participation
The participation of foreign companies in the show has helped in the upgradation of many units in India. The last year’s edition drew several participants across the sectors not only from the country but also from international players. This multi-show attracted over 35,000 visitors and more than 500 exhibitors from all parts of India and over 30 countries.

Exhibitors from more than 30 countries, including Bangladesh, South Africa, Switzerland, the UAE and Korea have established many start-ups. Many leading brands like Big Basket, ITC, Swiggy, Franchise Connect, Unibic, Britannia and a lot more visited the show with great eagerness last year. Many top ranking professionals from universities namely Amity University and Jain University, catering and hospitality sectors visited and viewed it as the best that has great latent potential waiting to be tapped in the right way and through right means.

The show offers immense opportunities to the exhibitors as well as the visitors. The expo series presents valuable B2B business meetings, knowledge exchange, global exposure to the initiates, networking for the stakeholders, and a lot more. Over the three days of the expo, potential clients can meet many leading companies from all over the world. The event facilitates meaningful discussions and business deals. The number of exhibitors and visitors has been increasing annually.

Notable exhibitors include Buhler (India) Pvt. Ltd, Hilda Automation, Husqvarna (Platinum sponsor), Kisan Foods, Selis, Bry-Air (Asia) Pvt. Ltd, Agaram Industries, Abad Fisheries Pvt. Ltd, Hindsiam Bevs Pvt. Ltd, Dhan Foundation, Kamtech Infoline, Meatek Food Machineries India Pvt. Ltd, Essen Multipack Ltd, S B Inter Co. Ltd, along with organisations like Department of Agriculture (Government of Karnataka), Food Processing and Packaging Machinery Industry Association (FPPMIA), and APEDA. Presence of many foremost magazines is as well noticed i.e., Processed Food Industry, Asia Food Industry Publication Company and The Amalgamated Press.

Interestingly, according to the organisers, the show series helps in promoting prime minister's agenda of "Make in India" through foreign investments and through innovations and efforts within the country. Furthermore, it also helps in exploring possibilities of joint ventures with foreign companies, according to Naqvi.

The show connects visitors with so many global leaders in the food industry and technologies under a single roof. It covers all facets of Indian food industry. The event series has been consistently helping to bring together the stakeholders from each stage of food production, from seed suppliers to processing and packaging companies and retailers. The unique platform has contributed a great deal to the evolution of Indian food industry.

It has proven to be an ideal platform for launching latest machinery and technologies for processing and packaging, storage, and supply chain.
The consecutive success of the event has encouraged looking forward to the concurrent events for the grain, dairy and meat sectors as well – 9th GrainTech India, 8th DairyTech India and 5th MeatTech Asia and 3rd SnackBev India 2017 to ensure better business opportunities for world food industry to grow, according to Naqvi.