Fi Europe welcomed 23,221 attendees from 130 countries in Frankfurt this year, from November 19 to 21, with more attendees from R&D, product management and procurement, Informa Markets reveals. The European fair, this time held in Germany, gathered 1,500 suppliers of ingredients and related technologies and services together with potential buyers.
Occupying four halls, the venue was zoned, to ease focused visits. Over 80 companies populated the Food Technologies & Solutions zone, which was expanded this year.
For the first time, visitors were given the option of buying an early access pass. It proved to be a popular feature, and ticket holders had exclusive access to explore the show floor, when the exhibition opened at 9 am on Tuesday morning.
A further first, free access to the Fi Europe Conference was included with all visitor passes. Experts addressed packed auditoriums throughout the two-day conference, which focused on four topical themes: health and wellbeing; plant-based and alternative proteins; reformulation; and tech-led ingredient innovations and solutions. Speakers from a broad cross-section of commercial, academic and research organizations, including EIT, Euromonitor, Innova, Mintel, RaboResearch and Wageningen University, made for a varied agenda.
The Future of Nutrition Summit was held the day before Fi Europe opened its doors, with a full agenda: speakers from NASA, Nuritas, NotCo, PepsiCo and Unilever shared insights into the issues, trends and technologies expected to shape the F&B industry in the coming years.
One of the highlights of day two was the Women’s Networking Breakfast. The event enjoyed the best it’s had so far.
In addition to the program on the show floor, the event app was further developed this year to enhance the in-person experience. For example, attendees could scan one another’s badges and manage all contacts and leads through the app.
In 2025, Fi Europe will return to Paris Expo Porte de Versailles from 2-4 December.
Yannick Verry, Brand Director, Food ingredients Europe, at Informa Markets, says: “We recognize that it is crucial for Fi Europe not to remain static, but to evolve and change with the times, to ensure it continues to be relevant and to represent value for money for participants. For 2024 we made some changes and trialled several new features, whilst staying true to our promise of providing a platform for companies to trade, innovate and grow. We are delighted to report that the show embodied all the ingredients of a successful event, and we are already looking at how we can make the 2025 edition in Paris even better.”
Photo: Informa Markets
