With the rapid growth of food start-ups, industrial giants are increasingly invested in promoting innovation across the food supply chain. This month, the Food & Beverage Innovation Forum 2019 (FBIF2019) will be held at Hangzhou International Expo Center, in China, from April 23-25, 2019, which will present the global F&B industry future from all perspectives, with a focus on China and Asian food trends.

FBIF2019 is held at a time wher the “adventurous Chinese consumer” is being targeted. Last month, FoodIngredientsFirst reported on Investments and facility expansions from Firmenich, Wacker and Agrana. And earlier this month, FrieslandCampina Kievit research identified Chinese sensorial preferences for “the perfect milk tea.”

A 2018 Innova Market Insights survey found that two-thirds of Chinese consumers agreed with the statement “I love to discover new flavors.” Over 60 percent agreed that they “love to discover flavors from new cultures.” And, a surprisingly large 21 percent said that “the crazier the flavor, the better.”

Major suppliers are eyeing new growth opportunities that specifically target Chinese tastes. In the face of the fast-changing consumer needs, enterprises are more frequently using open innovation to build and maintain connections with consumers. More than 120 global speakers and 4,000 decision makers from companies will gather at FBIF2019. In the forum area, two award ceremonies and the roadshow will present  innovative concepts from the latest Chinese developments. Additionally, the FBIF 2019-Food Show will bring over ten planned theme activities and more than 200 exhibitors to create an exhibition that will cover every aspect of food innovation. 

“Open Innovation” is not a new concept but it did not lead the revolution of the whole food industry until today. In the past, it was still feasible to do business by first positioning attractive products, distributing and promoting with advertising campaigns to build brand awareness in the consumers minds. 

However, the traditional way of building barriers and coping with competition is changing with the rapid development of the Internet industries. It seems to be difficult for enterprises to speed up the internal innovation processes in response to the market demands under this constantly changing market and business environment. Meanwhile, small but rising companies also have difficulties in breaking through the resource barriers that big players have already built to become new players in the F&B space. 

Health and other new consumption concepts are increasingly influencing the innovation of packaged food. Consumers are paying more attention to the snacks and concepts with health claims, and thus, more snack brands are exploring the balance between good tastes and health to meet the higher consumer needs. Brands with new dietary philosophy and natural food claims, like organic products, alternative proteins, vegetarian, algae, products with clean labels, healthier nuts, and artificial meat are convincing the consumers with higher conscious of health and environmental issues, and demonstrating ways of saving our bodies and the planet from food. 

In the FBIF2019 Product Innovation Subforum, there will also be discussions around trends in different food categories, especially in dairy products, beverages and snacks.

In an age with scarce attention, brand owners are paying more attention to globalization, social media, entertainment and young generations. Internet and technology companies are also trying to persuade brand owners to use updated technologies, such as AI and blockchain, to solve five major problems in marketing: planning and publishing advertisement, content marketing, social marketing with e-commerce, data and management. 

Channels and creative idea, which helped giants succeed in the last century, are still important today. However, in the highly-developed Internet market, brands are facing the dilemma: choosing the most suitable one among a significant number of choices. At the FBIF2019 Marketing Innovation Subforum, trends, channel, technology and successful brand cases are expected to dive deeper into the marketing solutions in the age with scarce attention. 

In addition, FBIF2019 will release the rankings of the top ten innovative food companies in China.