The Ruby Jubilee edition of Food&HotelAsia (FHA) closed last Friday on 27 April, marking a resounding 40 years of excellence in enabling business transformation.

The event saw 81,896 attendees from more than 105 countries/regions, an increase of 14 per cent from 2016. From first time exhibitors to decades-long partnerships, FHA played host to 3,500 exhibitors from 76 countries/regions and 71 international group pavilions, including new entrants Latvia, Tunisia and Qatar.

Recognising and Rewarding Partnerships

For the first time, FHA2018 saw a large number of foreign and local dignitaries attend the four-day event with Singapores Senior Minister of State Dr. Koh Poh Koon kicking off the opening ceremony with highlighted key trends in the food and hospitality landscape. New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister, Rt Hon Winston Peters; Hungarian ministers - Ms. Katalin Toth, Deputy State Secretary for International Relations, Ministry of Agriculture and Ms. Pana Petra, Deputy Minister of State for Foreign Economics Affairs; the Polish contingent led by Mr. Jacek Bogucki, Secretary of State, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Vietnam Prime Minister, H. E. Mr. Nguyễn Xuân Phuc, also visited their respective country pavilions at FHA2018.

Ms. Hayley Horan, New Zealand Trade Commissioner to Singapore said,It is my job to build connections between companies from New Zealand and Singapore that will help them grow across the region. Asia is our largest export destination, and as a country that exports 80 per cent of our produce to over 100 different markets, it is incredibly important to us. Food&HotelAsia presents the ideal opportunity to build partnerships in the region that will help up us grow in this essential market. I am excited to see how the partnerships and collaborations our companies have built at FHA will develop in the coming months, and look forward to bringing more New Zealand companies to FHA in 2020.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed by Mr. Geoffrey Keating, Ambassador from the Embassy of Ireland for Irish duck supplier Silver Hill Duck, for two regional distributorship agreements: one with Malaysias Food Age Trading, the other with Indonesias Indoguna.

FHA presents a huge opportunity for food exports to Singapore and the wider Asia region. Silver Hill Duck has really taken off in Singapore and we are back again this year. To be able to sign distribution deals with Malaysia and Indonesia is great news for us,said Mr. Keating.

We are very proud to be working together with Silver Hill Duck. There is a huge market potential in Malaysia, as we consume about 20 million ducks a year. Silver Hill Duck will allow us to provide more options for the Malaysian consumers,said Nasser Bin Ismail, Vice President of Malaysia Food Age Trading. We have already received enquiries from all over Malaysia and they cannot wait for the product to come in.

Of the many highlights at FHA2018, one of the noteworthy success stories who scored big was Cretel Food Equipment, a distributer of high quality food processing machinery. The company clinched a half million-dollar deal with Chun Hong Enterprise, on the first day of the event.

This is the very first time that Cretel Food Equipment is exhibiting products from FES (Shanghai) Technologies. We are happy that the FHA platform has enabled us to secure a deal for the self-stacking spiral freezers from FES on our very first day,said Mr. Andrew Khoo Kok Beng, Managing Director of Cretel Food Equipment, Singapore.

Harnessing opportunities and growth

Several conferences were also held at FHA2018, which served as a thought leadership platform for the robust exchange of ideas about the industry. Spanning across four key tracks ??ìC Hotels & Resorts, Food Manufacturing, Central Kitchen, as well as Food Services, delegates gained several insights and engaged in thoughtful discourse.

It was great to have a technology focus on the conference programme for Hotels & Resorts, wher diverse groups of people from startups, tech professionals, to hotel veterans came together with the goal to deliver the best customer experience possible,said Ms. Ramya Ravikumar, Head of Business Development, Anquan. The honest conversations were definitely worthwhile in exchanging knowledge to further fuel the hotel industry,she added.

Interesting and very insightful sessions from speakers. It is a good platform for participants to network and understand what are the current trends in food manufacturing, best practices, etc,said Mr. Bryan Lim, Liquid Project Scientist, Diageo.

Conference speaker Mr. Nick Halla, Chief Strategy Officer, Impossible Foods, who visited the exhibition said, Were going to start expanding through Asia really quickly, and FHA is a great place for us to start meeting people and think about how we can introduce our products throughout Asias food system.

Platform for new innovations

From robotics at RESTAURANT 3.0 to a universal plug & play 3D food printing solution, FHA2018 played host to several new innovations and worldwide launches. It showcased technological innovations as companies look into digital initiatives to transform consumers dining experiences and revolutionise businesses.

One of the innovative products on display is the 3D Food Printing System from Procusini, brought in for the first time by Continental Equipment. The machine prints designs using chocolate, pasta, cassis, fondant and marzipan.

FHA is a platform for connection and for reconnection. We have been exhibiting since the very first FHA exhibition and have always used it as a launch pad for new products. This year, we have already garnered sales for the innovative 3D Food Printing machines, said Mr. Y M Seow, Managing Director, Continental Equipment, Singapore.

RESTAURANT 3.0 at Suntec was a major highlight at FHA2018, wher new concepts for enhancing consumersdining experiences and improving back-of-house processes through technology were showcased. The exhibit included digital, robotics and technology-enabled modular systems that can improve the overall supply chain ??ìC from farm to processing and production, to service at the table. RESTAURANT 3.0 is a multi-agency collaboration between Enterprise Singapore, Workforce Singapore, Singapore Productivity Centre and Restaurant Association of Singapore.

The newer technologies on display, like robotic cooking arms and food vaults, show the potential that technology has to offer. We are pleased to partner with FHA this year to showcase these concepts, and hope that RESTAURANT 3.0 was able to inspire food and beverage operators to embrace innovation,added Ms. Kee Ai Nah, Executive Director of Lifestyle & Consumer Cluster, Enterprise Singapore.