Seoul Food 2018 featured 2931 booths from 1469 companies and 48 countries
The exhibition provided a wealth of business opportunities through export consultations, global conferences and more
From May 1 to 4, The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA; President and CEO Kwon Pyung-oh) held Korea’s largest and one of Asia’s top 4 food industry exhibitions, the “2018 Seoul International Food Industry Exhibition” (Seoul Food 2018), at KINTEX Exhibition Hall in Goyang City, Gyeonggi-do. This year marks the 36th Seoul Food Exhibition since it was first held in 1983, and 1469 companies from 48 countries with 2931 booths took part.
KINTEX Exhibition Center 1 held the Seoul International Agricultural & Livestock and Processed Food Exhibition, the Seoul International Food Materials and Additives Exhibition, Seoul International Health Functional and Organic Food Exhibition, Seoul International Dessert and Beverages Exhibition, Seoul International Food Exhibition and the Seoul International Packaging Equipment Exhibition. KINTEX Exhibition Center 2 held the Seoul International Equipment Exhibition and the Seoul International Hotel and Restaurant Equipment Exhibition.
Seoul Food 2018 also featured various supplementary events such as export consultations, the Global Food Trend & Tech Conference 2018 and the Seoul Food Awards 2018 to support and expand the business networks of Korean food companies.
KOTRA invited about 270 foreign companies to Seoul Food 2018, including 25 global distribution companies, 50 Gyopo (overseas Korean) buyers, 170 influential buyers and 25 food equipment buyers to facilitate 1:1 consultations with participating Korean companies. The exhibition also provided consultations with domestic distribution buyers.
In particular, this year’s exhibition offered an “autonomous matching service” for participants, buyers and participating companies that registered in advance online (http://matching.seoulfood.or.kr/). The service allowed parties to look up information about potential partners beforehand, and conduct efficient consultations during the exhibition. As a result, there were more consultation sessions and successful agreements at this year’s event compared to last year’s.
On May 2, the Global Food Trend & Tech Conference 2018 was held on the theme of “Disruptive Food Technology.” Recently, sustainable and ethical consumption (eco-friendly, animal rights, etc.) are becoming key issues in the food industry. As such, this year’s conference will cover innovative technologies and trends such as “vegetable substitutes for meat products” and “clean meat” using animal cell culture technology and egg-free mayonnaise.
Seoul Food 2018 also featured various new events such as “Seoul Food Job Fair 2018” for job-seekers interested in the food/distribution industry, as well as the “Wine Challenge 2018,” held to open a new chapter in the wine sector with participating representatives from foreign wineries.
KOTRA President and CEO Kwon Pyung-oh stated, “This year’s exhibition offered an ‘autonomous matching service’ to enhance the quality and quantity of export and business opportunities for Korean companies, and hosted conferences covering recent trends and technologies of the food industry. We anticipate the creation of new business opportunities for the participating food companies through these events.”
Source : KOTRA (2018.05.02)