MEGAtrends 2013: A Unique Platform to Network with Top Leading Manufacturers from the Food & Beverage Industry

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, July 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The global food and beverage market is forecasted to rise to reach approximately US $5,776 billion in 2017 and Asia must continue to strengthen its position to meet rising demand for food and ensure food security amidst complexities and challenges faced in the region.  Pablo Perversi, Vice President -- Foods SEAA, Unilever, one of the speakers at Fi Asia -- MEGAtrends 2013, notes, "The food and beverage industry will perform well as the number of people that need to eat continues to increase due to the population growth and urbanisation. However, within the industry not everyone will do well as only those with well-positioned and trusted brands that respect existing trends will survive the choices that consumers make every day. Margins will be difficult as recession will intensify the competition and the value equations which consumers will have to make."

Megatrends in macroeconomics, consumption behaviour, regulation and technology are forming at a faster pace and in more fragmented ways, and are critical to driving the food and beverage industry, and these are some of the topics that will be addressed on September 11th at the FI Asia -- MEGAtrends 2013 conference in Bangkok. One of the speakers, Krishna Mohan Suri, Head Research, Development and Quality - Asia Gum & Candy, Mondelez International also commented, "In general, the industry continues to contend with a number of internal and external challenges. The people talent quality is perhaps the largest common internal factor. In a world of high interdependence, industry needs to be on its feet to manage the 'butterfly effect.' Trade and regulatory policies or some contamination issue in one part of the world can create high stress. Reliability and quality assurance of supplies is a key external challenge. Complexity of regulatory environment is another key external challenge that industry needs to manage."

The conference will provide unique platform for business knowledge sharing and networking amongst top tier manufacturers, retailers, distributors, regulators, and suppliers. It will address macroeconomic factors, food security, regulatory, sustainability, halal food, consumer insights, open innovation, technology and many more with speakers from leading manufacturers such as Nestle, Mondelez International, Unilever, Kellogg Company, Mead Johnson Nutrition and GlaxoSmithKline. Hosted in Thailand, this senior level conference is co-located with Fi Asia exhibition with a global audience of over 11,000 food professionals from more than 154 countries.

For more information about Fi Asia -- MEGAtrends 2013, please visit:  http://www.fiasiamegatrends.com

Media Contact:
Marcus Chan
Senior Marketing Associate (ASEAN)
DID : +603 2176 8703
HP  : +6012 227 7286
E-mail: [email protected]

About Fi Asia:

Fi Asia is a well-established show in the global Fi portfolio, having run since 1996 to service the extensive Southeast Asian food industry. Since 2010, the show has rotated between Thailand and Indonesia to access more of the region's markets and industry players. Smaller summits are also held in Vietnam and the Philippines. The ASEAN region has great potential for growth with a population of 560 million consumers with changing tastes.  The region is recognised by the industry and leading market research firms as one of the major emerging markets for food ingredients.

For more information about Fi Asia, please visit - http://www.foodingredientsglobal.com/asia-thailand/home

About the Organiser

UBM is a global live media and B2B communications, marketing service and data provider. We help organisations make connections, communicate their proposition and do business effectively. We enable professional people in more than 40 countries around the world to connect and engage with each other, with the markets they serve and with the information they need to succeed. And we do this by whatever means works best -- at live events, through digital media or in publications.

Our 6,500 expert staff are deeply embedded in the many specialist communities we serve, bringing both an unusual depth of understanding and real know-how. We organise hundreds of live events each year; we provide data, marketing and information products; we offer a portfolio of market-leading online and print titles; and we support professional communicators through our targeting, distribution and monitoring services.

Our culture of innovation and collaboration brings our people together around common interests to create value, enhancing our ability to do exactly the same for UBM customers. So, whatever their business and wherever they operate, our customers do better business through us.

For more information about UBM, please visit - http://www.ubm.com

SOURCE UBM Conferences (ASEAN)