After a forced hiatus of six years and nine years since it was last in Melbourne, foodpro 2023 is underway. With the doors opening yesterday it was quickly apparent the food and beverage manufacturing sector was hungry for the hands on, face to face opportunities the show affords and how much the opportunity had been missed.
Foodpro account manager Felicity Parker told Food & Drink Business said she was so excited and proud to see the show come to life.
“We have the legacy of foodpros of the past that have come back bigger and better than ever, so all the big players in processing are here – Vemag, Marel, CBS Technology – dominating the floor with amazing stands showcasing their processing and packaging equipment.
“But some of the smaller segments of the show have grown since the last show, like the ingredients exhibitors has grown 200 per cent. There are tastings and sampling of flavours, even a barbeque going on, you could probably have a three-course meal working your way around the ingredients section,” Parker said.
Specialty ingredients company Hawkins Watts unveiled its branding refresh at the show and is running its stand with a Korean-inspired street-food style stand, serving hot lunch and dessert dishes throughout the expo.
Sales and business development manager Amanda Thomas said, “These concepts showcase our ingredients in a delicious way and demonstrate how our product range can be utilised in a variety of applications.
“We don’t want to spoil the surprise, but visitors to our stand are in for a treat.”
And Azelis is launching its new food portal, providing customers with greater and easier access to the specialty food ingredients copmany’s offerings.
While at Vemag’s stand, the largest exhibitor this year, among the many machines it has on display is the HPE HP Coex CC215 + LL335, a sausage making machine that can produce up to 400 sausages a minute. It uses alginate casings – a vegan gel casing obtained from algae – on the sausages instead of animal casings and are already being used to supply Woolworths and Coles.
Inaugural education program
This year also features two zones for presentations and panel discussions, the Schneider Electric Smart Food Lounge and the Wiley Product Innovation Stage.
“This is the first time we have run an education program. It was something we wanted to include because it adds a particular vibe to the exhibition. There are exhibitors presenting as well as organisations like CSIRO and the AIP,” Parker said.
AIP executive director Nerida Kelton said this year marked AIP’s first as an association partner with foodpro.
“We are very excited to be an association partner this year. There are two free sessions with fantastic speakers who will be talking about their peer award wins from the PIDAs and WorldStar Awards, and two and mini versions of our training courses,” Kelton said.
Markus Witor from CSB-System presented on how businesses of all sizes can implement Smart Food Factory with case studies of CSB-System projects in large and small operators.
Wrapping up, leaders from SEE, Plantic Technologies and Amcor Flexibles ANZ took part in a lively panel discussion – Sustainable packaging for the meat industry. All the experts have recently been recognised for their unique innovative and sustainable packs.
The show runs until Wednesday, 26 July at the MCEC in Melbourne.
