Fi Vietnam 2010 Paves the Way for Expansion in Southeast Asia

HO CHI MINH, Vietnam, Dec. 7, 2010 - The first Food ingredients exhibition in Vietnam has exceeded all expectations, gathering highly- qualified food professionals and providing essential knowledge to the country.  The show, which took place on 1 - 2 December in Ho Chi Minh City, also consolidates the position of the Fi portfolio as a platform successfully serving the industry in Southeast Asia.

"Fi Vietnam is part of a wider Southeast Asian strategy," says Mr. Vincent Brain, Event Director. "Moving from an annual show in Bangkok, we now run a large 'Fi Asia' alternating between Thailand and Indonesia, with smaller shows in Ho Chi Minh City and Manila, the Philippines. By doing so, the four largest population centres in Southeast Asia are served by a show once every two years. Our clients feel better serviced as we are taking them to new markets and helping them to build new customer base in a frequency they feel comfortable with and which delivers return on investment."

The Fi Vietnam exhibition was combined with a conference organized by the local food technology association, VAFoST (the Vietnamese Association for Food Science and Technology). Covering the industry key issues and featuring a number of the world's leading authorities in food science, the conference booked great results and attracted more than 320 delegates over the two-day event. Topics addressed during the conference included safety, innovation, functional foods and new product and market, feeding the massive appetite for education in Vietnam.

Fi Vietnam was also the first ingredients exhibition to introduce a business matchmaking service, which involves pre-arranged meetings between buyers and suppliers during the show. 338 qualified buyers joined the programme, providing each exhibitor with an average of 15 pre-set meetings.  "We had one client who received 90 enquiries over 2 days," Vincent Brain reports. "To put potential ROI in to context, just three orders justify their total investment in the show. Needless to say, exhibitors were delighted with the response and visitor density, with the majority already expressing their intention to join the next edition."

Fi Vietnam will return to Ho Chi Minh City in 2012. Strong economic growth combined with constant increase in ingredients consumption in Vietnam is expected to contribute to the show's success.  2011 will see the launch of Fi Philippines on 6 - 8 July in Manila, and the return of Fi Asia to Thailand on 21 – 23 September.

For more information about Fi Vietnam, please visit: www.ingredientsnetwork.com/Vietnam

About the organiser

United Business Media is headquartered in London, UK. The office in the Netherlands is the organiser of the world-leading Health ingredients, Food ingredients, CPhi, ICSE and Informex series of food and pharmaceutical ingredients trade shows. The Dutch office also publishes International Food Ingredients Magazine. For more information, visit www.ubm.com.  

SOURCE United Business Media