FHC 2018 sets new records

BREAKING  all previous records, the 22^nd edition of Food & Hotel China (FHC) attracted 118,274 trade visits over the three days from 13-15 November – a 23% increase on last year, creating a lively and engaging show floor. The international exhibition for Food, Drink, Hospitality, Foodservice, Bakery and Retail Industries expanded to 120,000sqm in 2018 – the biggest to date and will continue to expand to 180,000sqm in 2019. With over 3,000 exhibiting companies from 48 countries, FHC has become the leading tradeshow for all international companies looking to expand their presence into the Chinese market.

The organizer, Mr Zhang Xueqiang, General Manager of Shanghai UBM Sinoexpo International says, “The exhibition is very successful. Both the number of exhibitors and professional buyers from all over the country have grown.” Mr. Zhang adds, “We are now in our second year as part of UBM and we have still ensured the show attracts the right quality visitors and buyers. We have achieved wonderful results this year and it reaffirms our ability in creating quality tradeshows. The next FHC will continue to expand to 180,000 sqm and a new cooperation partner will join us.”

FHC’s continuous growth each year really reflects the importance of the global food and wine market in China.

FHC registered 118,274 trade visits from13-15 November 2018.

Exhibitor comments

“Latteria Sorrentina is back from Shanghai, where we attended FHC China, now on t its 22nd edition. The expo gave us not only the opportunity to explore the Chinese market, but also to cast our gaze toward other horizons, those of neighboring countries, such as Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam. Export of Italian products to China grew significantly by 3.7%, with a turnover of 381 million euros. Along with wine and oil, dairy products represent the greatest demand of the Chinese market. The exhibition center has provided this year an excellent opportunity to establish new contacts and relationships with the Far East markets.” - Carmela Milito, Export Sales Manager, Latteria Sorrentina, Italy

“FHC provides endless opportunities for multinational enterprises, importers and franchisers to conduct business, and is a perfect platform for networking. The exhibition is orderly with diverse industries both local and international, and various exhibits. It greatly improves brand popularity and visibility.” - Yi Mingmei, Shanghai Jincheng Refrigeration Equipment Co., Ltd.

“The 2018 FHC Shanghai show for our company was very successful. We have been participating in the FHC Shanghai Expo for 13 years and will continue to do so due to the quality of visitor that we host in our stand and the opportunities that are generated form this expo. The staff that we work with to set up the Expo has always been most helpful in getting our company the most beneficial stand location and giving our team suggestion on how to make the show more successful for our group.” - Mr Lucio Ricardo Kreimer, SVP of Sales Asia & Oceania, Mission Foods

Participants to FHC were pleased with the wide range of products, brands, and activities, and how the event is growing every edition.

Many trade associations and professional buyers will pick FHC as their first choice for sourcing global food products and services. Here is what they have to say:

“The China Hotel Association always pays attention to FHC. This year, I realized that the scale of exhibition is larger, with more exhibitors and activities. The range of exhibition category is complete, almost including all parts of foodservice, and exhibitors are from 69 countries and areas. The exhibition efficiently promotes foodservice products and food enterprises providing technology and service. It should be seen that green development is a world trend and era theme. I believe that we will see more green food, green equipment, green technology and green cooperation in the future exhibition.” - Ms. Han Ming, Chairman of China Hotel Association   

"About 10,000 trade visitors were attracted by “Power of Bakery 2018”, the China bakery industry development congress. The Revival of Traditional Pastry and other on-site activities were also very popular. We hope for much cooperation next year.” - Mr. Shan Zhiming, Secretary-General, All China Bakery Association.

“FHC means high quality, more and more company members come to attend this exhibition. The scale of the show is expanding and there are various food products, so that many companies plan to spend much time learning about the products they are interested in.” - Ms. Bian Yumin, Secretary-General, Heilongjiang Drink Industry Association

“FHC established a platform of communication and interaction, operation and display, study and observation for the catering, food industry, food supplier and industry tool dealer. This can deeply improve the industrial development of foodservice, food and so on. The Shanghai Restaurant Cuisine Association has cooperated with UBM for a long time and holds FHC one after another together. The show has become larger, better, and more influential. The result of the success of the 22nd FHC clearly reveals the life and creation of FHC. FHC is a functional platform and information window for helping the catering and food industries to develop sustainably and develop innovative thinking.”  - Shen Si Ming, Honorary President of Shanghai Restaurants & Cuisine Association

“It is our first time to cooperate with FHC this year. The business matching on the first day was very good, so our distributors have received many requests for cooperation with suppliers. In addition, many people learned the latest trends from the Fresh Marketplace Fresh Forum on the second day. We hope the forum cooperation will be expanded next year.” Chen Jun, Manger, Business of Shanghai Information Center

“There are more exhibitors this year, which make us have a better understanding of dynamics of food industry. We are hunger to cooperate with FHC for next year.” Director AnnYming, Food Source

“The FHC exhibition has a large audience and many importers. There are exhibitors of meat, seafood and others. The live activities were wonderful, and the atmosphere was good. Let us have a better understanding of the quality of the product and the production process. Expect the exhibition to be better and better next year.” - Mr Liu Bingxu, Sales Manager, Shanghai Golden Berry Imports and Export Co., Ltd.  

One of the highlights this year was the 20th FHC China International Culinary Art Competition which attracted more than 800 chefs from Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and Canada to compete in 23 competitions. A total of 36 gold medals, 181 silver medals and 246 bronze medals were awarded by 110 the World Federation of Chefs accreditation judges. In addition, the Best of Mondial du Pain was held in FHC for the first time this year attracting teams from China, Belgium, Peru, Japan, Italy and France. This year is also the third time that FHC has cooperated with the Baking Association to successfully hold the Baking Impression Season 3 and the Industry Power Summit of China's Baking Industry Development, attracting the right visitors from across China.

At the same time, a series of action-packed events took place including the 2nd FHC Fresh Market Forum where over 150 industry representatives participated actively in the two days to explore the latest development and industry trends. Many other conferences were organised including Olive oil, Dairy, Seafood and Catering fulfilling the vast sectors that FHC covers.

By the end of this exhibition, most exhibitors had already confirmed their booths for the 2019 show. FHC will be held in Shanghai again from November 12 to 14, 2019 and will expand to 180,000 sqm in order to accommodate China’s growing demand.

FHC was held alongside the following events:

ProWine China 2018 (W4 & W5), ProWine China is and remains the leading trade fair for wine professionals. No other industry exhibition in Mainland China offers a comparable level of internationality, diversity of products and such professional surroundings for the trade in wines and spirits. Meet representatives of every relevant winegrowing region as well as providers from all sectors and every quality category. In order to set the course for a successful business year, you need one professional trade fair: From 13-15 November 2018 - at ProWine China.

The iFresh Asia Fruit & Vegetable Industry Expo is specialised in connecting the fruit and vegetable trade industry and product technologies. It devotes itself to assisting high-quality domestic and overseas fruit and vegetable planters, enterprises and dealers, as well as processing and promoting products to large purchasers. It also helps planting and supporting techniques and equipment providers display their manufacturing methods to experts. This year, iFresh will be part of FHC for the first time and the number of professional visitors at is expected to exceed 10,000 – establishing the show as the largest and most specialised platform showcasing the entire supply chain of China’s fruit industry.

Shanghai International Franchise Exhibition (SFE), is sponsored by the three official parties, the official government agency - the Shanghai Commerce Committee; the leading authoritative industry association - the Shanghai Commercial Association; and the Shanghai Chain Enterprise Association & the Shanghai Exhibition-Conference Co., Ltd. The 28th edition has successfully taken place，following its inception in 2005. During this time, the exhibition has attracted over 5,000 exhibitors, and a total of more than 1 million Chinese and international visitors, from which, a total of 60,000 deals have taken place.