Show Review: Show Stopper

As drinktec 2009 closed on September 19 in Munich, Germany, show organizer Messe München engaged opinion researchers TNS Infratest to conduct a survey of their exhibitors and visitors. About 96% of the visitors described the six-day trade show for beverage and liquid foods technology as “excellent to good”; 95% rated the breadth and depth of the range on display as “excellent to good”; 94% praised the presence of market leaders and 93% thought the international scope among the exhibitors was outstanding.

About 91% of the visitors said they had been successful in preparing for investment; 90% said they had been able to gain an overview of the market; 85% said they managed to pave the way for new business relationships and 89% said they had been able to use the show to expand their knowledge and learn new things.

About 60,000 trade visitors from 170 countries attended drinktec and the proportion of international visitors rose to 55%.

Gathering the world under one roof
For the first time soft drinks professionals made up the largest group of visitors at 40%, followed by visitors from the brewing industry (37%), the fruit juice (16%), milk (10%) and liquid foods (8%) industries. About 9% of the visitors came from the wine, sparkling wine and spirits segment and 3% from beverage wholesale and retail. Around 60,000 trade visitors from 170 countries attended the show and the proportion of international visitors rose to 55%.

There were particularly strong rises in visitor numbers from China, India, the US, South Africa, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, South America and Africa. There were about 27,000 visitors from Germany.

Meanwhile, about 42% of the exhibitors said they had taken orders at the show, 77% had been successful in preparing for follow-on business and 74% in paving the way for new business relationships.
The next drinktec takes place from September 16 to 21 in 2013.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Going East

Asia Food Journal visited drinktec 2009 and took in the sights and sounds of activities that happened in 12 halls. Sheila Wan also spoke to some exhibitors on their take of the industry in Asia.

Provide flexible packaging solutions to Asia

Devan K. Yadav Sales & Business
Development Manager India, Australia, Middle East & Africa
Hi Cone

Our customers in Hong Kong (San Miguel), Taiwan (King Car) and China (Tsingtao) use our packaging products because of their flexibility in pack sizes, environmentally-friendly features, the easy handling of the packs and the usage of the least amount of materials. Consumers in China and Hong Kong are encouraged by retailers to buy multi-packaged products – they can choose to buy a can of beverage from a pack of four or six cans without affecting the look and feel of the remaining products on display. They can also opt to buy the entire pack. This flexibility enables companies to track buying behavior and find the popular pack size.

Next year, we will be focusing on companies that sell beer and cola in cans in China and specifically in Guangzhou, Qingdao and Shenzhen (beer) and Shanghai and Beijing (cola) next year.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

The worst is over

Francis Leong
Regional Sales Manager, Asia Pacific
DSM Food Specialties

Asia is a diverse market and India and China are poised to drive growth in the region. There is a food-plus/ minus trend in Asia. The food-plus trend is seen in Australia, Japan and New Zealand as consumers have moved from satisfying their basic food needs to consuming functional products for better gut health for example. The food minus trend is characterized by products with less fat and sugar without sacrificing taste.

In Q2 of this year, the food industry is partially impacted by the economy as customers de-stocked and had less supply chain activities and more stock-keeping units (SKUs) for the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG). The de-stocking process brought sales in Q3 and Q4 is showing signs that the worst is over. In 2010, we expect products to provide more benefi ts rather than being ‘me too’ offerings.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Functional products to be in demand

Dr Christian Niederauer (left)
Market Research Manager BENEO-Palatinit
Dr Stephan Hausmanns (right)
Head of NBD & Management New Ingredients,

While we are not seeing rapid growth in Asia’s functional drinks category that include products such as energy and sports drinks, consumers in this region are becoming more concerned about the use of artificial ingredients. They seem to prefer herbs and traditional ingredients to those that are commonly used in the West.

There is much potential in Asia for innovative product launches as we are not seeing much of them now. This however poses challenges such as a longer time-to-market period for product launches as more resources are needed for market research.

We expect China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam to drive growth in the sector, as consumers in these countries demand products that are natural, balanced and healthy, and to provide energy.

This is partly due to the rising incidences of diabetes that are exacerbated by genetics and the modern industrialized cultures leading to changing lifestyles that result in obesity. Products delivering solutions in weight management and better mental performance (memory and response) will be popular in the region.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Asians prefer fresh products and smaller packaging

Jonathan Cole
VP Beverage Asia
MeadWestvaco

Asia forms 10% of our businesses and we experience the most growth opportunities in Australia, Japan, Korea and New Zealand. In the last five years, we made investments in China, hired a sales person in India and two staff in Malaysia. We are in the midst of recruiting staff in Thailand and Indonesia to better serve our customers.

Our expansion activities in these countries are the result of the local population size and investments made as we see a shift in demand from single-serve to multi-packaging. In China for example, this is due to the growth of the supermarkets and consumer income. Having been based in Shanghai for 4.5 years, I see much investment in supermarkets and there are more brands. Ten years ago, consumers in the city would commute on bikes but they now travel by buses, resulting in the need for commuter-friendly packaging with a strong visibility of brands.

While Australians prefer to buy a 24-pack of beer at a supermarket, consumers from Japan, Korea and Singapore demand smaller pack sizes of six. Based on our research, Asians also prefer to buy fresh products, resulting in the frequent buying of groceries at supermarkets and the need for less packaging.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

China demands less bitter beer

Dr André Feldmann (left)
Director Asia Operations,
Dr Reinhold Kugel (right)
Head of Product Safety and Quality Assurance
Sales Director East-Asia
Joh. Barth & Sohn

Asia constitutes 20% of the total sales volume in the Barth-Haas Group with China, Japan and Thailand being the top export markets. About 10% of German hops are exported to Japan and 5% of the total sales volume comes from Japan.

Japan has recorded a lower beer production due to the aging population, fewer beer drinkers, the sluggish economy and a tax system that is not based on alcohol content but malt content. As a result, beer with low-malt content are produced and sold at low prices.

Japan has also started producing beer without malt two years ago. While such beer tastes like a carbonated drink with a beer taste, they are successful in the market because of their low prices. The beer market China is characterized by less bitter beer, the use of more efficient hops and high beer production. Due to the less amounts of hops used, beer produced has lower flavor characteristics.

There is also a greater competition among cost-sensitive manufacturers who try to add flavor but not bitterness to beer, leading to more demand for aromatic hops. The Philippines on the other hand has a growing population with more beer drinkers. Although the country has a low per capita consumption, growth is still seen in the beer market.