Informa Exhibitions, organisers of Vitafoods Europe 2015, has announced that this year’s show welcomed 15,627 visitors, an increase of 12.5% on last year making it the largest and busiest Vitafoods Europe to date.

Taking place in Geneva from 5-7 May, the event attracted a record level of exhibitors with over 820 companies from 47 different countries, offering ingredients, raw materials and services to professionals from the nutraceutical, functional food and beverage and dietary supplement industries.

Vitafoods Portfolio Director, Chris Lee, was delighted with this year’s event: “Vitafoods Europe has cemented its position as the must-attend event for the nutraceutical industry and plays an important role in its development. It provides a platform for business, and acts as a launch pad for the latest innovations. Furthermore, it provides unrivalled educational content to visitors through visitor attractions and the Vitafoods Europe Conference.

“We are delighted with the matchmaking opportunities we created pre-show that added real value to both our visitors and exhibitors in terms of generating business. Vitafoods Europe 2015 has been a huge success and there was a real buzz on the show floor, which is a reflection of the growth seen throughout the industry in the last few years. The feedback we’ve had from both visitors and exhibitors has been excellent, with more than 97% of the exhibition floor space already rebooked for next year, we will be expanding the show into new halls at Palexpo. We’re also looking forward to unveiling a number of exciting developments that will further enhance Vitafoods Europe 2016.”

The Vitafoods team invested heavily in an Online Event Planner which enabled visitors to make personalised agendas ahead of show covering exhibitors, theatre sessions and conference modules. . A matchmaking facility also offered visitors a way to connect pre-event, as well as identify exhibitors by set criteria in order to schedule key meetings, while a new online Distributor Connect facility enabled companies searching for distribution opportunities to contact visitors based on their business needs. By highlighting the range of relevant business opportunities available pre-event he Online Event Planner helped increase pre-registration conversion and increased the quality of visitor to the event, ultimately increasing exhibitor satisfaction.

Exhibitor Quateel Ahmad, Chief Marketing Officer, ACG Worldwide, discussed the growth of the show and its global appeal: “We exhibit at Vitafoods Europe as there's great customers here and it's where the nutraceutical industry comes together. We source a lot of contacts here from all over the world, not just from Europe and the show just keeps growing.”

Continuing to push the envelope with innovative event features that reflect the needs of the market, Vitafoods Europe saw the launch of the Global Market Theatre, which saw almost 900 visitors attend 18 presentations on a variety of subjects which offered an in-depth overview of the key aspects for doing business in six selected regions: Asia, Southern Africa, Europe & Eastern Europe, Russia & CIS, South America and North America. Speakers from leading research companies and consultancies including the likes of Euromonitor International, Mintel, Innova Market Insights and EAS Strategies, hosted sessions offering independent insight and expert assessments on key market trends.

Co-located with Vitafoods Europe, Finished Products Europe 2015 provided visitors with a chance to learn more about the latestinnovative functional food and beverages, as well as discovering bespoke product solutions, from more than 211 global exhibitors.

Another popular feature from last year’s show, The Finished Products Theatre provided valuable insight into the latest market developments, as well as future trends and cutting-edge product presentations, in the areas of Sports Nutrition and Physical Performance, Weight Management and Women's Health.

Running alongside the exhibition, the Vitafoods Europe Conference, with more than 300 delegates in attendance, was key for those looking to launch new products and expand their market knowledge. This year’s Vitafoods Europe Conference adopted a new format, with three streams spanning the first two days of the show each with a distinct focus. The three streams, entitled Your Business, Your Science and Your Product, featured a total of 65 presentations from 70 expert speakers.

Presenters from companies as diverse as DuPont Nutrition & Health, Mintel, Tetra Pak, Belgian Ministry of Health and the University of Limerick took to the stage covering topics such as heart health, consumer engagement, healthy ageing, regulation, weight management, and women’s health.

Vitafoods Europe and Finished Products Europe will return to Palexpo, Geneva from the 10-12 May 2016.

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