FINE FOOD

Fine Food Australia set to host two events in 2022

After a tumultuous year, Fine Food Australia will be running its postponed 2021 Sydney expo in March of 2022 before Melbourne hosts the event in September. Food & Beverage Industry News reports.

2022 is shaping up to be a big year with the return of Fine Food Australia.

The Fine Food Australia Expo will be returning in 2022 after COVID-19 restrictions forced the cancellation of the 2021 Sydney event.

As a result of the postponement, 2022 will see two Fine Food Australia expos, one in Sydney from March 8 to 11 and the scheduled September 2022 event from September 5 to 8 in Melbourne.

The expos focus on the food and hospitality industries with a host of exhibitors showcasing products across retail, food service, hospitality, and bakery.

Event manager, Andrew Lawson, said the team were excited for the return of the industry expo and were up to the added challenge of running two in one calendar year.

“We know there is such a strong desire to get back out there and meet face to face and network and just catch up, whether with friends, industry stakeholders and colleagues,” said Lawson.

“Next year is fully packed for us, which is a different cycle than we have been used to in the past.

“Obviously with the way things have gone for the last couple of years we will be running the two Fine Food Australia events next year. Fine Food Sydney will happen at ICC Sydney and is the delivery of our postponed 2021 event. Followed by our scheduled event at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre in September.”

Over 400 exhibitors will be on the show floor at the Sydney exhibition, while even more are already expected in September in Melbourne.

“And those exhibitors will be from right across the full spectrum of that service and supplier side of things,” he said.

Lawson said despite the challenges of running two events inside the same year, Fine Food Australia was eager to repay the faith of exhibitors who had committed to the postponed 2021 event.

“Being able to service both markets in different states and across one year is a great challenge. We have been overwhelmed with the support, which also highlights the desire of the industry to get back out there,” he said.

Lawson credited the strong reputation Fine Food Australia has built over the years as the reason the industry has been so supportive during a difficult 2021.

“That comes with a lot of benefits but an equal amount of responsibility about what we with the type of platform we provide the wider industry,” he said.

“That has been reflected through being forced to press pause. The

March will see the postponed 2021 Fine Food Australia event hosted in Sydney.

positivity, support, and understanding we have received during that time was a good sign.”

Lawson said key stakeholders, such as exhibitors and sponsors, were more than open to taking the event and running it as planned, further down the line.

“As we go into our 37th and 38th events through next year, it’s pretty exciting to have that backing from an industry that wants to get back out there and seeing Fine Food as the opportunity to do that,” he said.

Another outcome that arose from postponing the event was a chance to build up the presence of key stakeholders.

“What buoyed us into knowing it would work was the minimal changes that came with the move. We had little to no companies drop out or say that they couldn’t do it,” said Lawson.

“Equally, with more time we were able to get we have been able to see more companies come on board who weren’t able to do it this year. We continue to manage that, and it provides us with an opportunity to build the core of the four-day event.

“Having more time because of the move means some have seen what is happening in the market now and recognise it could be a greater opportunity to get involved in the March event, as opposed to last year.”

Many exhibitors have developed or innovated new products to showcase.

“The show floor will highlight some key developments in the retail and service spaces, which have been innovated over the last two years,” said Lawson.

“And those will be across all of our core and major food sectors. We still offer general food, packaging, bakery, meat and sea food, and dairy innovations and development.

“It really is the full spectrum that people have come to expect at Fine Food.”

One of the main aims for Fine Food is for visitors and exhibitors to immediately feel familiar when they come back to the event after a long hiatus.

One of the other critical elements to the expo is the chance to listen to experts speak on the state of the industry and what the near future will look like.

Of those expert panel discussions, Talking Shop and Talking Trends are important ones for anyone attending or exhibiting at the event.

“Those discussions will have a focus around going forward and the future of the industry. The Talking Shop and Talking Trend stages will look at the big issues facing the sector,” said Lawson.

“Right now, it would be around staffing shortages and other key practical elements and also looking at how to successfully adopt technology into a business and what to be looking for in five years’ time.

“That whole education piece is a real highlight to what is on offer across both 2022 events.”

Lawson said the benefits of being a part of either 2022 Fine Food Australia event were numerous, but the chance to be part of the first expo since COVID-19 cancellations, with an industry eager to get back out there, meant the show was likely to gain a lot of attention from stakeholders.

“The incentive is having the chance to be a part of something bigger, as we as an industry begin to reconnect on a face-to-face level,” he said.

“Having a chance to be a part of that reunion is a great opportunity.” F

Fine Food Australia showcases some of the best food available to the market.