One of the most well-attended editions since the show’s inception, leading F&B industry show TUTTOFOOD 2023 came to a close recently in Milan, having welcomed over 83,000 trade visitors through its doors, with 20 per cent of attendees hailing from 132 different countries. 

Every two years, TUTTOFOOD brings together food industry producers with both Italian and foreign distribution, from deli stores to Private Labels.

TUTTOFOOD’s largest contingent of international visitors this year came from Spain, followed by the USA, France, Switzerland, Germany, Holland, China, Romania, Poland and the UK. However, delegations from all five continents were present at the premier international F&B and agrifood event – from Vietnam to Canada, and from the Faeroe Islands to Paraguay and Kazakhstan.

The show hosted four days of intense exchanges, with thousands of business meetings organised thanks to the show’s innovative matching platform between the brands and selected buyers, with the co-operation of ITA/ICE Agency. 

In particular, the new exhibition style implemented this year was much appreciated by both exhibitors and operators. Macro-areas bringing together vertical sectors by supply chain affinity to reflect the logic of distribution – Fresh, Packaged consumer goods and Frozen-fish – helped to simplify the format and create a more effective visual experience, facilitating the exploration and discovery of new brands and new products.

Certainly, new products were out in force this year, with much innovation on display in terms of sustainability, packaging and processes, new recipes anticipating trends and responding to evolving consumer demands – from plant-based to protein-rich – and high-service formats that meet the demand for convenience for today's lifestyles. Sustainable innovation was also celebrated by the second edition of the Better Future Award – in co-operation with GDOweek and MarkUp – which saw over 50 entries. In the case of several award categories, it was a ‘neck-and-neck’ finish amongst contenders this year, reflecting the high overall quality of the products submitted.

“A great business opportunity for everyone”

A dynamic atmosphere full of opportunities, TUTTOFOOD’s status as one of the world’s leading agrifood events was also confirmed by some of the industry’s major movers and shakers. One such exhibitor – Claudio Rizzi, Marketing Director of Ferrarini, one of the leaders in the cured meat sector – had returned to TUTTOFOOD after the 2015 edition, and had been delighted to meet new buyers from Eastern Europe, Australia and Hong Kong.

Emanuela Teani, Senior Market Advisor at Innovation Norway – the agency promoting the Norwegian collective – remarked: "We were pleasantly surprised to meet a buyer from South Korea who came here especially to meet us. In addition to fish, TUTTOFOOD represented an opportunity to promote other local products, such as brandy.”

In addition to the foreign collectives, consortia were also well represented at TUTTOFOOD this year. "This is our second time at TUTTOFOOD, and we got a very good impression,” remarked Carlotta Barbiere, Events Manager of the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium. “There is a good international presence, which is an important factor for us, as we are here specifically to meet large foreign retailers. We really liked the new location in the pavilion as it brought all the consortia together. Very functional and effective.” 

 

Regarding buyers – particularly those from abroad – attendance at this year’s TUTTOFOOD was again impressively high. This was certainly the experience of Alaa Elwakil, General Manager of International Sales for Egypt-based Mansour Group – the second largest private industrial group in the Middle East, which is active in numerous sectors, including 160 supermarkets with different brands: "Here we find products to import, outlets for our products, and stimuli and ideas for new products to be created or marketed. The Middle East offers a very diversified context, where alongside a large mass market with limited purchasing power there are large niches with a lot of demand, and a significant interest in premium products of Italian and European origin. A great business opportunity for everyone'.

Another country that stood out at TUTTOFOOD 2023 was Saudi Arabia. "Something that struck me was the authenticity of the products presented, which really stood out at this fair. Because of this, I organised up to 20 meetings a day. It is great to meet excellent companies, even small ones, that are willing to export by meeting the specificities of our market," noted Wafi Issa of Food Choice Trading Co. (Saudi Arabia).

For more established markets, more often than not the key objective at the show was discovering new products. This was confirmed by Mark Phillips of Central Market, a store with 10 speciality food stores in Texas: “We were very satisfied with the presence of truffle-based products, such as a truffle guacamole. Guacamole is a symbol of Tex-Mex cuisine and being able to renew it is a great business opportunity,” he noted. “Besides Italian products, we also discovered interesting proposals from countries such as Greece, Spain and even China.”

Sharing business and knowledge, both on- and offline

There was also a great response to the 150-plus events, including both TUTTOFOOD events and events organised by exhibitors. Particularly popular this year were the show-cooking sessions with great Italian and international chefs, organised in co-operation with Ambasciatori del Gusto, APCI, Assitol and Federcarni.

TUTTOFOOD’s organisers also note that attention to the event is likewise growing on social networks, with more than 1.8 million people reached, over 8.1 thousand interactions (on the four reference platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn) and over 800 thousand views for Instagram stories alone. 

Thanks to the alliance between Fiera Milano and Fiere di Parma, from this year Cibus and TUTTOFOOD will create an even more strategic platform, with a European dimension, that will even more effectively support companies wishing to focus on internationalisation to grow their business.

The 22nd Cibus international food expo will take place in Parma from 7–10 May 2024. The 10th edition of TUTTOFOOD will be held at fieramilano from 5–8 May 2025.

For up-to-date information, visit: www.tuttofood.it; @TuttoFoodMilano.