Post Show Report PRODEXPO 2019
26th edition of the International Exhibition for Food, Beverages and Food Raw Materials
Prodexpo is Russia's largest food trade show in terms of professional interest, market coverage and exhibition space.
Dates: 11–15 February 2019
Venue: Expocentre Fairgrounds, Moscow
Organised by Expocentre AO
Supported by the Russian Ministry of Agriculture
Under auspices of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Exhibition area: 100,000+ gross sq m
Total number of exhibitors: 2,417 companies
Russian exhibitors: 1,688 companies (534 exhibitors are exporters)
Countries: 69
International pavilions: 30 countries (Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Chile, China, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Latvia, Macedonia, Moldova, South Ossetia, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Uruguay, Uzbekistan)
Russian regional pavilions: 21
Visitors: 66,915 unique visitors from 112 countries
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General sponsor: Azerbaijan Export & Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) |
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Strategic media partner: RBC |
Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation Dmitry Patrushev
"Prodexpo is one of the largest food trade shows in Russia. Over the years it has proven to be an effective business platform which facilitates expansion of international cooperation and exchange of experience between leading manufacturers from all over the world."
First Deputy Chairman of the Council of the Federation Committee for Agrarian and Food Policy and Environmental Management Sergey Lisovsky
"Prodexpo is a festive event. It is one more step towards the development of agriculture and cooperation with our partners. Over the years of the existence of Prodexpo, Russia transformed from a country which lacked its own food to a country that makes and exports high quality food and beverages. Participation of Russian companies and our foreign partners in Prodexpo greatly contributed to these developments."
Show Highlights
The Russian market remains interesting and attractive for foreign companies. Belorussian companies (87) were the most numerous at Prodexpo 2019 and could be found in every product sector of the show. Other large pavilions belonged to Italy (76 companies), Armenia, China, Azerbaijan, Spain, France, Turkey and South Korea.
The companies of the first national pavilion of Ethiopia brought coffee, beans, fresh vegetables and fruit, including exotic ones. Another first national pavilion was presented by Indonesia with this country’s traditional dry food. The salon of alcoholic drinks premiered a national Germany pavilion organised by Deutsches Weininstitut GmbH.
Russian regional pavilions (21) showcased products of 165 companies. The exhibition space of these pavilions has grown by 28% in comparison to 2018. This year's newcomers were the Altai krai, Amur, Astrakhan, Kursk, Omsk, Orlov, Pskov, Ulyanovsk and Volgograd oblasts. The stands of regular participants – Kirov, Kostroma, Novosibirsk, Penza, Ryazan, Tomsk, Tula, Tver, Volgograd and Yaroslavl oblasts, Krasnoyarsk krai, and the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania – generated a lot of interest. These pavilions and group stands help to promote unique products of small and medium companies to the Russian and foreign markets. It boosts development and visibility of these regions. Recently regional pavilions have been specially designed to attract more attention of the visitors.
Right after the opening ceremony of Prodexpo 2019, a special ceremony of cancellation of an envelope with the original stamp to mark the 60th anniversary of Expocentre took place at Expocentre Fairgrounds. The cancellation of the envelope was made by Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Russia Oksana Lut, President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sergey Katyrin, Deputy Head of Rossvyaz Vladimir Shelikhov, and Director General of Expocentre AO Sergey Bednov.
Italian Minister of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies Gian Marco Centinaio and Ambassador of Italy to the Russian Federation Pasquale Terracciano visited the Italian Pavilion. During the visit they talked about the importance of Prodexpo for Italian companies and expressed hope that even more Italian companies will take part in Expocentre's trade shows in the future.
Product Sectors
28 salons showcased all segments of the Russian and foreign food markets: from primary foods and beverages for every day to fine foods, organic and sports food, products for healthy lifestyle, halal and kosher products, exotic foods. Prodexpo has the largest in Russia showcase of alcoholic drinks and wines from more than 30 countries.
Over 25 years Prodexpo has proven to be the most effective business platform where one can generate sales leads, find new partners, sign contracts and see both current and future market trends. Prodexpo is a perfect indicator of the development of the food market. That is why industry professionals are interested how the figures of the show's salons are changing. The salons of Dairy Products, Cheese (+6.7%), Ice Cream (+25%), Alcoholic Drinks. Beer (+20%), Ingredients, Food Additives, Raw Materials (+16%), Juices, Water, Soft Drinks (8%), Canned Food, Sauces, Ketchups (+8%) have grown the most. The growth of salons of Meat and Meat Products, Cooked Meats, Poultry, Eggs Salon; Groceries, Cereals, Pasta, Spaces, Kitchen Herbs; and Confectionary, Bakery, Snacks, Nuts, Dried Fruit showed the industry's trends which prioritise healthy lifestyle. The Salon of Products for Healthy Lifestyle also showed significant growth thanks to the current trend of healthy eating and healthy lifestyle. The Multiproduct salon showing products for restaurants together with retail distribution centres and small trading houses was also a success.
Prodexpo launched a new salon for manufacturers and suppliers of organic foodstuffs and beverages Prodexpo Organic. Its exhibitors were 38 companies whose products had an organic certificate valid through February 2019. Organic products were also showcased at other parts of the exhibition including national pavilions of Azerbaijan, Ethiopia, Greece, Italy, Serbia, and Spain.
Supporting Events
Prodexpo's supporting programme once again included a series of workshops, conferences, competitions, presentations, and many other events.
The opening event was the Panel on the Russian Food Market: Focus on Growth, International Cooperation and Export organised by RBC, Prodexpo's strategic media partner, and Expocentre AO. Its participants included Russia’s federal and local authorities, major agricultural companies, and leading experts of the Russian agricultural industry.
The central event of the first Organic Day at Prodexpo was the Conference on Organic Products in Retail: Problems and Solutions, organised by the Look.Bio information portal and Expocentre AO, and co-organised by the Ecological Union and the National Organic Union.
This conefrnce generated a lot of interest among Prodexpo exhibitors and visitors. The event was opened with a short video address by Helena Drewes, an organic advisor from Denmark. Today, Denmark is a real champion in the organic market development. Ten percent of all products sold in the country are organic. The secret is that from the very beginning Danish producers had a single set of rules and standards. They immediately entered large retail chains, and these chains met the needs of their customers and made discount for organic milk as far back as in 1993.
Barbara Kocher-Schulz, head at AMA-Bio-Marketing, talked about organic products in Austria. The Austrian government raises awareness about organic products and gives subsidies to manufacturers of these products who protect the environment. Today, every fifth farm in Austria is organic.
The Organic and Retail and Trigger Points sessions were devoted to healthy properties of food. Special attention was paid to a huge difference between organic products and so called farmers and natural products. The other important topic covered requirements for raw materials for baby food and the right packaging of foodstuffs and beverages.
As usual, the Imperia congress and exhibition company and Expocentre AO prepared an interesting programme which among other things included the 14th Russian Food Forum "Supplier for Retail Chain" with Purchasing Centre for Retail Chains™, the 21st Forum of Producers and Retailers "Store Brand 2019", and the 13th Russian Food Forum "Marketing and Advertising".
The Purchasing Centre for Retail Chains™ brought together 110 retail chains including Magnit, Karusel, Perekrestok, O’Kay, Maria-Ra, Verny, Spar Russia B.V., Billa and many others. Participating suppliers included such well-known players of the food market as Tigran Arzakantsyan, an owner of Armenia's famous Great Valley cognac, and Natalia Rotenberg, an owner of the new confectionery line ARISTOCRATKA.
In total, the Purchasing Centre for Retail Chains™ brought together 280 buyers and 290 suppliers who held about 6,000 talks about supplies of food under both supplier brands and store brands.
The Russian Ministry of Agriculture, the Rosselkhoznadzor Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance and Agroexposervis held the Conference on the State Regulations of Food Quality and Safety.
The Round Table on Russian Hospitality devoted to development of the food tourism in this country was organised by the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry jointly with the Russian Federal Agency for Tourism and the Russian State University of Tourism and Service with support of Expocentre AO.
The 14th Russian AlcoCongress and the 5th Wine Forum were organised by the Alcoexpert Group with support of Expocentre AO. The events brought together all those involved in the alcoholic market: brewers, wine makers and manufacturers of hard liquors.
The Wine from Russia stand offered master classes on wine making in Russia and a series of workshops devoted to wine growing in Russia.
The Conference on Development of Baby Food Production within the Decade of Childhood Programme generated a lot of interest.
A unique advantage of Prodexpo is the Employment Centre organised by Expocentre AO jointly with the Association of Personnel Selection Consultants based at the Vybor Group. The centre gave information about current job offers of exhibiting companies, posted CVs, and offered professional career development consultations.
The Expocentre for Counterfeit-Free Exhibitions Project was carried out on each day of Prodexpo 2019. The project is aimed at minimizing counterfeit products showcased at exhibitions through providing consultations and clarifications regarding intellectual property.
The competition programme of Prodexpo 2019 brought together all leading professional competitions and attracted a record breaking number of participants. The first Prodexpo Organic Award was held for exhibitors showcasing products with organic certificates valid through 2019. See more at https://www.prod-expo.ru/ru/news/index.php?id4=11871.
Other competitions were The Best Product, Choice of Retail Chains, Innovative Product, the Prodexpo Wine Guide, The Best Consumer Properties, The Best Packaging and Label, a tasting competition, etc.
To see the exhibitor and visitor feedback, click here>>.
The 27th edition of the Prodexpo international exhibition will run from February 10 to 14, 2020, at Expocentre Fairgrounds, Moscow, Russia.
Prodexpo's official Facebook page (Russian only): https://www.facebook.com/prodexporu/
Press Service, Expocentre AO