“More than ever, we support all of our stakeholders on this ambitious, fascinating journey, helping them to determine the optimal path. And that is exactly the theme of this year’s food exhibition – #Ownthechange – a theme that places these challenges center stage in the debate,” said Audrey Ashworth, Director of SIAL Paris at an exclusive interview she granted to Food & Ingredients magazine during the fair. “We are motivated and delighted to welcome the food industry community back to SIAL Paris, and, of course, to reveal to our clients everything that we have been preparing since we were put on standby nearly two years ago because of the pandemic.”
At a time when the Covid-19 had not been vanished completely, SIAL Paris served as a space for the encounters and debates that shape and inspire the food ecosystem around the major transformations that are taking place in the agrifood industry.
Audrey Ashworth highlighted that the largest show of the food and beverage industry welcomed over 7,000 exhibitors from 127 countries as Turkey being one of the largest national participants.
The food-related issues are becoming more complex, with questions being raised about production models and access to resources. “The 2022 study encompasses consumer expectations, the global innovation panorama, and the latest trends in out-of-home cooking. The studies show how eating has become a statement, and 73% of consumers have changed their eating habits over the last two years,” Ashworth stressed and continued, “In terms of buyers, we have excellent numbers and quality. Very international as I looked at the nationality. We are more international than the French in terms of visitors and buyers. That’s what we expect. I would say it’s very good, it’s excellent in terms of achievement in the show business. I’m very proud of and satisfied with the nationalities because we know it’s more difficult today to come from far away and yet we have exhibitors from Japan but we have less Chinese this year in terms of exhibitors and visitors.
“You asked me what’s new this year. We have conducted again some important research in a survey for SIAL Insights that we are conducting every second year. So, with the outcome that we have, four major trends coming out and one-fifth of that is more related to affordability as you may have seen already. These four key trends are health, enjoyment, environment and ethics, and price. According to the findings, eating is something people enjoy, and they want their experience to be both healthy and ethical, now and for the future. Sacrificing one of these factors in exchange for more purchasing power is set to be less and less acceptable, given the ongoing crises.
The report also notes that economic pressure is evolving from the need to balance quality and price towards a more complex equation: value for money – the plateau reached by the organic market over the period is a great example of that – but consumers do acknowledge that players are making changes. The challenge now is to be able to meet all their expectations with a clear offer that is affordable for as many people as possible. The 2022 program is designed to help attendees understand, analyze and debate the food scene of tomorrow and reflect on the trends happening in the food industry ecosystem. More than 100 speakers from around the world address themes such as traceability, climate issues, and the place of women in the food industry.
When asked about what were new in this year’s SIAL, Ashworth detailed, “Well, obviously we have new innovations. This year we have launched a great new feature: CXMP Marketplace, a platform to connect our visitors and our exhibitors and help them make business together. CXMP will help our visitors to find their exhibitors and products of choice and organize their visit. Accessible all year round, CXMP will enable buyers to stay connected to the international food community and order the products they need at any time. Further digitalization at SIAL Paris 2022 comes with the launch of an app, to enhance the visitor experience at the show. This digital tool will help visitors search for exhibitors, then highlight the best way through the show to the requested stand. This app is also available for attendees to download.
“Food sufficiency is on the top of the world agenda, and it is even more obvious in the current geopolitical context. People always need to eat. That is why agriculture and the food industry are sectors of the future, however, the changes on the way in these developing sectors are considerable, and the challenges are immense. Food sufficiency will necessarily require innovation. That means taking into account a paradigm shift: producing more while polluting less, exploring new sources of procurement, evolving towards more transparency, and so on.
“We have the SIAL startups that you’ve seen, but there are startups everywhere on the show, don’t get mistaken, but we have selected a few to have a space where they could be seen. And it’s also a selection of startups that will have the ability to pitch tomorrow to an audience of investors, so really to boost their business. So that’s something new in terms of content.
“What, what else do we have? We have so many new things that are. So I was talking about contents. We have 116 speakers from 16 countries speaking. That’s about 60 hours of content that are broadcasted on SIAL talks with digital podcasts just being made so that’s important to share and it’s very important to have a larger offer on the floor, but it’s also important to discuss, to exchange. So it’s not only I would say keynote speakers, but also round tables exchange in many different ways. So that’s something that is very important to us.”
When asked about considering a Sial Istanbul after the new face of Turkey amid the Ukraine Russia war offering new opportunities, Ashworth said, “We are always looking at current situation of different places and the opportunities they offer. We can make a difference, when we can make a difference to the industry. We are not realizing a show just to have a show, but we want to bring something. So if you think we can bring something having a SIAL Istanbul, for instance, we should consider and think about it. We have launched SIAL America. That took place for the first time in March, if I’m correct. But we have stopped Sial Middle East because of the market conditions. We have launched a second show in India. There was one was in New Delhi, the other one is in Mumbai plus two events that are more local. And we have a new SIAL China in Shenzhen. So, that was for 2022, whereas it was not the best time.”
