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for food from Italy in Singapore as the
market is growing and people are getting
more familiar with the products.
Besides meeting existing contacts at
the trade show, Tramelli hoped to make
new ones especially from other markets.
“For instance, today we have a lot of
people from Indonesia, yesterday from
the Philippines. So it is very interesting
to expand our contacts from other areas
because [although] we have been present
here in Singapore for more than 10 years,
other areas are quite new for us. Here
is a good starting point to develop new
contacts.”
He added that Singapore is an
important market because of its
“trendsetter” status, making him
optimistic about the region. “What you
have in Singapore now are also applicable,
in some ways, to other countries because
when people come here and see what is in
the shops and restaurants here, they will
take it back to other countries.”
Additionally, competitions held
during the event spotlight international
culinary excellence. For example, the
FHA Culinary Challenge (FCC) saw
hundreds of culinary talents from
around the world flock in to display
their skills and compete in the region’s
most prestigious international culinary
competition. Other competitions
included the first Asian Gelato Cup, the
Asian Pastry Week featuring Asian Pastry
Cup, the new Valrhona C3 (Chocolate
Chef Competition) & Global Star
Chefs Pastry Show, Barista Super Duo
Challenge, Latte Art Showdown and the
inaugural SCI Equipment Awards.
Looking ahead 2020
According to the organiser, the success
of FHA2018 underscores the event’s
ability to understand and discover trends,
evolving to meet industry shifts and
ensure that businesses are well positioned
for growth in the industry.
“In an inter-connected economy,
platforms like FHA serves as the heart for
the community — to learn, experience
and witness remarkable products and
technologies being developed in the
food and hospitality ecosystem,” said
Rodolphe Lameyse, project director, Food
& Hospitality of UBM, organiser of
FHA2018.
“We are delighted at the event’s
achievement for bringing both new
and relevant players under one roof.
This puts us in a great position to roll
out our 2020 growth vision with two
shows — FHA-HoReCa and FHA-Food
& Beverage. The high level of trust our
exhibitors have in us is evident in the
bookings we’ve recorded even before this
year’s show ended. Looking ahead to
2020, we are excited to gather the best
of industry professionals and bring to
them the greatest international food &
hospitality trade event ever experienced in
the region.”
Sharing the vision of FHA’s platform
for growth, Juan Carlos Jimenez Tobon,
director of Colombian government
entity Procolombia, expressed: “Asia is
the future and FHA is the ideal platform
for us to make an impactful entry into
the market. We look forward to having a
Colombian Pavilion in 2020 to establish
a greater presence for our quality coffee
and cocoa growers at FHA, as well as
meet and greet the buyers that will help
us penetrate the market into Asia.”
Carl Sacks, executive director,
Leading Caterers of America, described
his first impression of the trade event
as “well-organised and stunningly
complete”. He added: “FHA is clearly
one of the top shows of its kind, not just
in Asia, but in the world. The importance
of the Asian market draws attendees and
exhibitors from all over the world, and we
will strongly recommend to our US- and
Canada-based caterers that they consider
attending the next FHA in 2020.”
The next edition of FHA will return
in 2020 as two dedicated shows —
FHA-HoReCa from March 3-6 and
FHA-Food & Beverage from March
3-April 3. ProWine Asia (Singapore)
2020 will be co-located with FHA-Food
& Beverage. ra
Chef Domenico Truglia, who represents the
Consortium of Parma Ham in South-east
Asia for Festival of Parma Ham, continued
his participation in FHA.
Over the years, FHA has evolved to address
the changing palate of consumers with the
introduction of specialty offerings.
For the first time, FHA saw a large number of foreign and local dignitaries attend the four-
day event, according to the organiser.
Retail Asia June/July 2018
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