PARIS EVENT AIMED AT CONSUMER, PRODUCT TRENDS

JAMES FALLON

PARIS (FNS) -- The 17th SIAL Global Food Marketplace show, to be held here Oct. 20 to 24, will further illustrate a growing trend toward pleasure, fitness and health, and convenience in food products, exhibition manager Gilles Vaucelle told SN.

The biennial SIAL convention focuses on new food products introduced over the last two years. "Our research shows that 43% of new products now fall into the pleasure category, 23% are in practicality and 18% are fitness and health," Vaucelle said. "Another trend, which is 17% of products, is foods especially for children."

Another trend expected to be seen at this year's event is the increasingly short lifespan of many products and the pressure that puts on manufacturers to continually innovate.

"Everything is speeding up," Vaucelle explained. "We are seeing more and more new products, but at the same time more and more products are dying. Producers realize they now must constantly introduce new products or else they will die, too."

SIAL, organized by CEP Exposium, Paris, has introduced a number of new initiatives at this year's show. They include daily seminars and workshops on such issues as emerging economies, consumer attitudes toward food, biotechnology and combating theft of food products.

To help its exhibitors understand the changing market, SIAL has commissioned a study of food consumption trends in eight countries: France, the United Kingdom, Spain, Brazil, Italy, Germany, Japan and the United States. The results will be published 10 days before the start of the show, Vaucelle said.

"We asked 1,000 people in each country questions on how much time they spent preparing food and what types of food they liked," he explained. There also will be an innovation area at the show, with awards devoted to new products that have not yet been introduced as well as products that already are on the market.

The trends area will feature the three main avenues of pleasure: fitness, health and convenience, which will be divided into 15 subtrends, Vaucelle said.

In all product areas, a key driving force is convenience, he noted. "Convenience is becoming more and more important. Prepared foods have seen enormous growth in the last few years."

SIAL, which will be held at the Paris-Nord Exhibition Center, will feature about 4,100 exhibitors from 83 countries. The exhibition space will be about 960,000 square meters, and about 110,000 attendees are expected, Vaucelle said. SIAL coincides with two other international exhibitions of equipment and processes for the food industry: GIA-Matec-SIEL and Equipmag, which will be held Oct. 21 to 25 at the Paris Exhibition Center.

The SIAL exhibitors will focus on all areas of food products, including raw ingredients; dairy products and eggs; fresh meat, poultry, game and seafood; fresh fruit and vegetables; delicatessen foods; bottled and canned foods; frozen products; grocery products; confectionery and cookies; dietetic and organic foods, and alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

Vaucelle said that, for the first time, foreign exhibitors will outnumber French exhibitors at the show. There has been a marked increase in the number of companies from Italy, Spain and Greece, while Turkish manufacturers will show together for the first time at SIAL, he added.

The rise in overseas exhibitors comes mainly in the sectors of produce, snacks, canned and dried foods, dairy products and meat, he said.