KOTRA to open food expo next month

Korea will kick off Seoul Food 2015, Asia’s third-largest food industry exhibition, next month at KINTEX, in Ilsan, northwest of Seoul, trade promotion officials said Wednesday. The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency said the four-day convention, themed “Wave on the Table,” aims at sharing the latest innovations to the healthy, modern diet.

“The exhibition itself is like a huge table, featuring the latest wave of changing consumer trends,” said an official at KOTRA, the event organizer.

The exhibition, which opens May 12, is split into in seven categories: food technology, food packaging, hotel restaurant and catering technology, desserts, beverages, fine food and fine ingredients. About 1,500 exhibitors from 50 countries will set up a total of 3,000 booths on a vast 76,121-square-meter space to display food and food-tech products that conceptualize compactness, convenience, hybridity, vegan and gluten-free ― this year’s key trends in the global food industrial sector, KOTRA said.

The industrial participants will also showcase “stylish design and packaging technology” and food preservation and sanitation equipment to boost the market competitiveness of their products, according to KOTRA.

Seoul Food 2015 will accommodate the annual consulting and investor relations sessions for home and foreign buyers, a K-food marketing seminar and design consulting, informative sessions for global traders and food-and-art shows.

In addition, the convention includes new programs, such as the Seoul Food Awards and a food truck festival that invites owners of food truck restaurant franchises for business consulting and truck-food demonstrations.

Thanks to the rising popularity and brand power of K-food, last year’s convention led to consultations from buyers over $426 million deals in total.

Free shuttle bus schedules and further information on Seoul Food 2015 are available in four languages at seoulfood.or.kr.

(joowonc@heraldcorp.com)