The virtual event has uncovered new opportunities for businesses as industries ready to enter the new normal.
The first edition of Food & Hotel Digital Week recorded more than 5,000 industry professionals attending the five-day event which ran during the last week of May 2020.
Online Product Showcases were used as a digital launchpad for new products, flavours, and equipment. Online Product Showcases tailored to France and Malaysia, as well as the Top 100 Foods and Top 100 Drinks dominated the first three days of Food & Hotel Digital Week.
More than 300 suppliers combined showcased their homegrown specialities, products, and brands. French suppliers and brands included Adventys, Borde Wild Mushrooms, Distillerie Du Perigord, De Buyer Industries, Lactinov, Loc Maria Biscuits, Francois Doucet Confiseur, Rotisol, Sodiaal, St Michel Biscuits and others highlighted milk products, cheeses, pastries, rotisserie ovens and induction cooktops.
Packaged Asian sauces, fresh and frozen seafood, processed foods, combi-ovens, dishwashers and air & surface sterilisers were some of the products showcased by Malaysian brands such as CB Frozen Food, HYT Food Industries, Kum Thim Food Industries, MEIKO Clean Solutions (SEA), Medklinn International, SKS Food Industries, S&P Industries and many others.
Popular food and beverage products in the Top 100 Foods and Top 100 Drinks highlights were frozen food, healthy snacks, plant-based meats, coffee, tea, juices and alcoholic beverages. Beyond Meat, Brauhaus Altenkunstadt Andreas Leik, Foodsterr, Giffard, Gryphon Tea Co., Huber’s, Monin Asia, Mulwarra Export, Nespresso, Omnipork, Opus Verticals, Or Tea?, Siam Original Food Co., Sterilgarda Alimenti and Yocha Kombucha were some of the brands featured.
Key insights gleaned from the first three days:
- The hotel sector was the most engaging buyer group for the ‘Country Pavilion’ Online Product Showcase. Many were looking for food-tech related products (33%) and disposables (17%)
- Distributors were the most engaged buyers for the ‘Top 100 Foods’ Online Product Showcase
- Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia were top engaging regions for ‘Top 100 Drinks’ Online Product Showcase
A new way for food in a post-COVID-19 world
COVID-19 has disrupted our lives, changed the way we conduct business and interrupted supply chains. The crisis has also forced us to rethink food security, question the notion of farm to fork and even sustainable food innovation. The industry webinar series covered a range of topics from Food Security, Business Intelligence to Food-Tech and Sustainability and Foodservice, saw more than 1,500 unique attendees from over 20 countries and regions, and more than 2,600 social views.
Top three most-attended webinars:
- COVID-19 Reality Check: Facts for Food Intelligence – Tim Hill, Key Accounts Director, South East Asia for GlobalData presented data on the pandemic’s impact on the global economy and foodservice sector
- Accelerating Change – COVID-19, Investment and the Food Vertical – Moderated by Luke Tay, Principal Futurist from Singapore Food Agency, the panel featured global think tanks from AgFunder Asia, Agrimax Ventures, Big Idea Ventures, Dole Packaged Food and GROW who delved into how the pandemic has impacted food security and investment in new food ventures
- Nutrition, Trends & FMCG’s – The founders of Thought for Food and ID Capital spoke about the food trends emerging from the pandemic, such as increased interest in functional foods or sustainable brands; how food producers may drive new product launches and how generation Z is defining new emerging consumer patterns. The session was moderated by Nicole Fall, Founder of Asian Consumer Intelligence
“The Food & Hotel Digital Week Industry Webinar was an excellent event and ran very smoothly. I enjoyed all the sessions, especially the virtual cocktails at the end,” expressed Tim Hill, Key Accounts Director, South East Asia, GlobalData.
“It was a great forum for making connections and sharing insights with the industry on the impact COVID-19 has had on the foodservice sector. Kudos to the organisers for arranging an excellent alternative to a live conference.”
Rounding up Food & Hotel Digital Week was a Live Webinar Day which recorded 428 unique attendees from 24 countries and regions who tuned in to catch guest speakers from Google Hong Kong, World Association of Chefs’ Societies and the Malaysian Association of Hotels share on online sourcing and digital marketing; and updates on the Malaysian tourism, food and hospitality industry.
“We are excited to have launched Saladplate.com during this first Food & Hotel Digital Week with the support of industry leaders. This new format has proven to be a very direct and efficient way for globally-minded brands to reach into relevant partners in local markets across Asia,” said Mr Dave Chan, Founder – Saladplate.com, Vice President – Digital Business & Advanced Analytics, Informa Markets.
“The success from our first Digital Week has given us the confidence this is the right collaboration to support our community for many years to come. I very much look forward to the next edition in July where we will unveil new and exciting contents.”
“Thank you for the fruitful showcase at Food & Hotel Digital Week ‘COVID-19 & The Future of Food’ Industry Webinar. We were pleased to be a part of it, it was a great platform to promote our brand and engage with the audience. Thank you to all our partners for making this happen,” commented Hello ATT, a technology provider of automated temperature screening solutions, sponsor of Food & Hotel Digital Week.
The featured products and recorded webinar videos will be made available on Saladplate.com in the coming weeks.
The next Food & Hotel Digital Week will be held in July 2020, more details will be announced at a later date. For more information, click here.
Organised by Informa Markets, the Food & Hotel Digital Week series is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between Informa Markets’ Hospitality, Food & Beverage portfolio in Asia and Saladplate, an online marketplace founded by Informa Markets to serve the food and hospitality sectors exclusively.
Informa Markets creates platforms for industries and specialist markets to trade, innovate and grow. Our portfolio is comprised of more than 550 international B2B events and brands in markets including Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals, Infrastructure, Construction & Real Estate, Fashion & Apparel, Hospitality, Food & Beverage, and Health & Nutrition, among others.
Saladplate is an online marketplace designed for Food & Hospitality professionals. Its unique O2O solution is backed by 24 trade shows in Asia, with over 40 years of excellence.
