Sigep, the iconic trade show of artisan gelato, pastry, bakery and coffee organized by Italian Exhibition Group SpA, is celebrating its 42nd anniversary. The ongoing pandemic situation in continental Europe has caused the show to shift from the city of Rimini in Italy and make its online debut with an edition totally hosted digitally. Sigep Exp - The Digital Experience from March 15-17, 2021, will play its international markets card to point sector companies in the right direction once the pandemic is over.
Machinery, ingredients, processing techniques and professional expertise converge on two formats in direct streaming with a televised production that will give web-based shows a qualitative leap. “Vision Plaza” is a program of talks featuring leading sector insiders and market analysts with a significant presence of the NPD Group. Inc., a market research company. Jochen Pinsker, Senior Vice President Foodservice Europe, will be presenting COVID-19 growth estimates for Europe in 2021; Sanjev Kangatharan, Director of Foodservice Australia, will be illustrating forecasts for the Asian markets;David Portalatin, Senior Vice President, Food Industry Advisor, will analyze prospects in the USA; and a talk with Matteo Figura, Foodservice Director for Italy at NPD Group, will act as a contrast and also outline digitalization opportunities for the out-of-home supply chain in Italy.
Furthermore, “Sigep Lab” will allow those who register on the digital platform to discover the techniques and know-how of great master artisans from Sigep’s four traditional supply chains, exactly as if they were in a real pastry workshop, with live coverage from Italy’s top culinary arts school, CAST Aliment.
For those three days, the market will move onto digital channels and more than 1,300 video-call business meetings from buyers from 56 countries around the world,including Russia, Ukraine, China, India,South East Asia and the MENA region (i.e. Tunisia, Morocco and non-U.S. gulf states) have already been scheduled. Due to losing the opportunity to physically taste the Made in Italy foodservice products at the stands in Rimini, a greater emphasis will be placed on international market scenarios, new products and consumer demands.
The value chain will thus be able to re-organize, with the support of ITA-Italian Trade Agency, the government agency supporting globalization activities of Italian companies, which will be plotting the dessert export map in the post-Brexit era and on the US market.
"I know it isn’t easy," says Corrado Peraboni, CEO at Italian Exhibition Group SpA, "to imagine a dessert and coffee foodservice show in a digital version. But the challenge is to look towards the long-term together with our stakeholders." Sigep Exp offers an extraordinary chance to capitalize on some useful elements for the physical edition in 2022. In fact, the digital market platform provides a huge quantity of data regarding both visitors and buyers. Exhibitors focus on new products which are, obviously, physical products, while the trade show organizer focuses on the digital exchange of data as an enabling factor. The data, in this sense, are an element of market prosperity.
But, after the pandemic, the physical trade show will continue its invaluable role in providing support to companies. If possible with an even greater international flair, starting from the king of dessert foodservice products, artisan gelato, which is a true hallmark of Italy, known the world over.
For more information about the show, contact Sigep Exp or the Italian Trade Agency’s - Chicago Office at chicago@ice.it
This post is sponsored by Italian Trade Agency