One of the most well-attended editions since the inception of TUTTOFOOD comes to a close, with over 83,000 trade visitors registered, with 20% of them coming from 132 different countries. The largest groups came, in order, from Spain, the USA, France, Switzerland, Germany, Holland, China, Romania, Poland and the UK, but delegations from all five continents were also present: from Vietnam to Canada, from the Faeroe Islands to Paraguay and Kazakhstan.
Four days of intense exchanges, with thousands of business meetings organised thanks to the matching platform between the brands and selected buyers, also with the cooperation of ITA/ICE Agency. There were also numerous journalists and influencers from Italian and foreign media, both traditional and innovative.
In particular, the new exhibition style was greatly appreciated by both exhibitors and operators: the macro-areas that brought together the vertical sectors by supply chain affinity, reflecting the logic of distribution – Fresh, packaged consumer goods and Frozen-fish – have simplified the format and the visual experience is very effective, facilitating the exploration and discovery of new brands and new products.
New products were more present this year than ever before, with lots of innovation in terms of sustainability, packaging and processes, new recipes that anticipate trends and respond to growing consumption needs – from plant-based to protein-rich products – and high-service formats that meet the demand for convenience for today’s lifestyles. Sustainable innovation was also celebrated by the second edition of the Better Future Award in cooperation with GDOweek and MarkUp, which saw over 50 entries. There were several neck-and-neck finishers among the award winners this year, reflecting the high overall quality of the products submitted.
From the voice of the protagonists
A dynamic atmosphere full of opportunities which is also confirmed by the protagonists of the parterre exhibition. One of the exhibitors was Claudio Rizzi, Marketing Director of Ferrarini, one of the leaders in the cured meat sector: “We returned to TUTTOFOOD after the exploit edition in 2015 and met new buyers from Eastern Europe, Australia and Hong Kong.
Emanuela Teani, Senior Market Advisor at Innovation Norway, the agency that promoted the Norwegian collective, adds: “We were pleasantly surprised to meet a buyer from South Korea who came here especially to meet us. In addition to fish, TUTTOFOOD represented an opportunity to promote other local products, such as brandy”.
In addition to the foreign collectives, consortia were also well represented this year. “This is our second time at TUTTOFOOD and we got a very good impression. There is a good international presence, which is an important factor for us, as we are here specifically to meet large foreign retailers. We really liked the new location in the pavilion as it brought all the consortia together. Very functional and effective”, concludes Carlotta Barbiere, Events Manager of the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium.
As far as buyers, particularly from abroad, were concerned, attendance at this edition was again very high. This is the case of Alaa Elwakil, General Manager International Sales in Alexandria, Egypt of the Mansour Group, the second largest private industrial group in the Middle East, which is active in numerous sectors, including 160 supermarkets with different brands: “Here we find products to import, outlets for our products and stimuli and ideas for new products to be created or marketed. The Middle East offers a very diversified context, where alongside a large mass market with limited purchasing power there are large niches with a lot of demand, and a significant interest in premium products of Italian and European origin. A great business opportunity for everyone’.
Another country that stood out is Saudi Arabia. “Something that struck me was the authenticity of the products presented, which really stood out at this fait. Because of this, I organised up to 20 meetings a day. It is great to meet excellent companies, even small ones, that are willing to export by meeting the specificities of our market,” says Wafi Issa of Food Choice Trading Co. (Saudi Arabia).
For more established markets, the key is discovering new products. This is confirmed by Mark Phillips of Central Market, a store with 10 speciality food stores in Texas: “We were very satisfied with the presence of truffle-based products, such as a truffle guacamole. Guacamole is a symbol of Tex-Mex cuisine and being able to renew it is a great business opportunity. Besides Italian products, we also discovered interesting proposals from countries such as Greece, Spain and even China’.
Sharing knowledge as well as business, online and offline
There was also a great response to the more than 150 events, including TUTTOFOOD events and events organised by exhibitors. Particularly popular this year were the show-cooking sessions with great Italian and international chefs, organised in cooperation with Ambasciatori del Gusto, APCI, Assitol and Federcarni.
Attention to the event is also growing on social networks, with more than 1.8 million people reached, over 8.1 thousand interactions (on the four reference platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn) and over 800 thousand views for Instagram stories alone.
Thanks to the alliance between Fiera Milano and Fiere di Parma, from this year Cibus and TUTTOFOOD will create an even more strategic platform, with a European dimension, that will even more effectively support companies wishing to focus on internationalisation to grow their business.
The next event will take place in Parma from 7 to 10 May 2024. The tenth edition of TUTTOFOOD is at fieramilano from 5 to 8 May 2025.
