Vitafoods Europe 2016 welcomed a total of 17,666 visitors through its doors — an increase of 13% compared with last year and an all-time high.
For the first time this year, Vitafoods Europe took place across four halls at Palexpo, creating extra exhibition space for more stands and visitor attractions. The additional room was put to good use, with a total of 900 exhibitors taking part – 10% more than last year – and a host of new and original content that brought the nutraceutical industry to life.
Held at Palexpo in Geneva from 10-12 May 2016, this year’s event was Vitafoods Europe’s 20th anniversary. It was a truly international affair with visitors hailing from 115 different countries. The show proved a huge hit with visitors, with many reporting that it had provided a superb opportunity to meet and do business with new and existing contacts across the nutrition sector.
Sofia Hoffmann De Mendonça, Business Development Manager at Allmicroalgae, was among those impressed by what she saw. 'There seems to have been an increase not only in the exhibitor numbers but also in the quality of the exhibitors,' she said. 'It’s key for me to attend because Vitafoods Europe gives you a good overview of the market trends and it’s a great place to meet key suppliers and prospects, not only from Europe but also from Asia and Australia.'
Nick Morgan, Managing Director of Sports Integrated, commented: 'There are a lot of exhibitors, which is good to give you an understanding of the state of the industry and it’s good to have them all at one place. The show works well in terms of meeting new people and understanding challenges within the industry.'
Maria Pujol of Bonderalia Montoil said: 'It’s my first time here and I’m very impressed. It’s really big with a lot of different companies from many countries. It’s well organised and easy to find what I’m looking for. Vitafoods Europe is the best place for our company to look for new suppliers, as we are a distributor, but also to meet with existing clients.'
Exhibitors praise visitor numbers and quality
There was also plenty of praise for Vitafoods Europe 2016 from exhibitors. Fernando Cartagena, Global Head of Marketing at Monteloeder, said: 'Vitafoods is a very interesting show to see innovations, new clinical trials, new applications and technologies for ingredients. By far this is the best show in terms of quality of visitors and number of exhibitors in Europe. If there is a place where you can meet most of your contacts in Europe it is Vitafoods – that’s why we come here.'
Marco Joosten, Managing Director of Sana Hemp Juice, said he was delighted with the number of visitors. 'The majority of the visitors to our stand have been decision makers,' he explained. 'We come here because Vitafoods Europe is the place to be if you want to exhibit something innovative in the health and nutrition world. We need to be here.'
Golan Raz, Senior Vice President of the Health Nutrition Division at Lycored (the official Heart Health Sponsor of Vitafoods Europe), said: 'I’ve been participating in Vitafoods for many years and it’s impressive to see how the show grows. I think the set-up this year was excellent, very easy to navigate. I also heard that from visitors. At the end of the day, that’s the most important thing.'
Karina Bedrack, Sales and Marketing Communications Manager at Algatechnologies, praised the quantity and quality of the visitors attending. 'They are coming here to gain knowledge and to buy,' she said. 'That is something you don’t see at every show. We’re definitely coming back next year.'
