According to PS8, the delivery partner for the Food & Drink Exporters Association (FDEA), some prospective UK companies have been prevented from exhibiting by restrictions on numbers. The Anuga show organisers report that the exhibition is now full.
“We still have a waiting list, but we can’t get any more space,” said PS8’s project manager Sarah Briones, speaking at a launch event for the Anuga show held in London last month.
The Anuga show comprises 10 trade shows in one, covering: fine foods; frozen foods; meat; chilled and fresh; dairy; bread, bakery and hot beverages; drinks; organic; foodservice; and retail.
Britain will stand out
Overall, the show will feature 6,800 exhibitors from around 100 different countries, said Anuga project manager Lorenz Alexander Rau. As well as 150 UK companies exhibiting, around 3,000 UK visitors are also expected, he added. “We are confident British participation will stand out,” said Rau.
Emerging trends on show at Anuga will cover everything from vegetarian and other free-from foods, to halal and convenience foods. When held two years ago, 155,000 visitors attended the show, said Rau.
The FDEA claims a wide and growing membership, which currently numbers 140 and includes some of the country’s most successful exporters, such as Britvic, Premier Foods, Dickinson & Morris, Walkers Shortbread and Typhoo. It works closely in partnership with UK Trade and Investment, which provides funding to assist with exhibiting at major trade shows.
Highlight strengths
At Anuga, a number of exhibitors will form part of the British group stand. This will highlight strengths in innovation, bakery, snacks, drinks, ethnic foods, meat and dairy. Group stands will include firms from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Among companies which form part of the UK contingent, will be 61 first-time exhibitors, including the British Frozen Food Federation.
According to BVE, the Federation of German Food and Drink Industries, exports of processed food to Germany from the UK in 2014 were valued at euro 1.165bn (£830M), down 7.4% on 2013. This fall is probably down to the unfavourable exchange rate for sterling. In contrast, imports from Germany to the UK were worth about euro 4bn (£2.8bn), up 3.7%.