Nordic Organic Food Fair reports 13% increase in attendees for 2014
Nordic Organic Food Fair – the Nordic region’s only dedicated international trade show for organic food and drink – has announced a 13% increase in total attendance for 2014. The event welcomed 3,558 natural and organic industry professionals from 51 countries to its second edition in Malmö, Sweden, last month on 26-27 October.
Having more than doubled in size since its launch last year, the show offered thousands of visiting retailers and foodservice professionals a vibrant showcase of healthy, sustainable, natural, raw, organic food and drink, and speciality ingredients. Co-located with Natural Products Scandinavia, the combined events featured 310 exhibiting brands.
Both visitors and exhibitors have hailed the show a great success, with 85% of surveyed visitors rating their experience as excellent/good. Exciting, inspiring, important and relevant are just some of the words to feature in feedback so far.
Danish distributor Henrik Munk, CEO of Natural Living, was just one of thousands of visitors who left with a host of new ideas. “It’s a great show to attend to build up your network and find new suppliers,” he says.
Cecilia Karlsson, assortment manager for organic and health products at ICA Sverige AB, was also very “happy with the diversity of suppliers”, praising the show’s range of “high quality products”.
“I enjoyed the show,” says Niki Bønnelycke, head of fruit & vegetable department at Nemlig.com. “It enabled me to broaden my network of contacts and speak to suppliers from around the world. Finding new products from countries such as Spain, without having to travel far, was ideal. I will definitely visit again.”
The show’s aisles were buzzing with a ‘who’s who’ of the sector, with many of Scandinavia’s biggest food retailers in attendance. Among them were Matse AB; SuperBrugsen; Mathem i Sverige AB; Coop Trading A/S; Coop Sverige AB, Dansk Supermarked; Lidl Sverige; EKO Supermarkets AB; SuperBest; Axfood; and 7-Eleven. Hundreds of wholesalers, distributors, commercial kitchens, and independent food outlets were also represented.
Swedish and Danish visitors were by far the show’s biggest audience (61% and 20% respectively), followed by European buyers at 12% (with the biggest majority from United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Germany, and Spain). Norway, Finland and Iceland made up a combined 5%, whilst around 2% of visitors flew in from further afield; including Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, USA, and China.
“We had another fantastic show this year, with visitor numbers increasing again and a very positive response from our exhibitors and visitors,” says event director Zoe Lacey-Cooper. “For a show that is only two years old, it’s amazing how Nordic Organic Food Fair has really caught the imagination – and attention – of everyone involved in this important sector. Big thanks must go to our association and media partners for their continued support, our exhibiting companies for helping to make the show look so vibrant (with amazing stands!), and the visitors who came out in their thousands from all across the world.”
For many the rapid growth of the show and its high attendance figures is a clear sign that the organic market in the Nordic region is thriving. Organic food and beverage sales in Sweden and Denmark alone, home to 81% of the show’s visitors, have both reported significant increases over the last five years. Indeed, according to research by analysts at Nykredit released earlier this year, there has been a 62% rise in the sales of organic food in Denmark since 2007. Whilst the latest figures from Ekoweb, report a 151% surge in organic sales in Sweden during the same time period.
Johan Cejies, sales manager at KRAV, is confident that this positive trend is set to continue. Speaking during the show in the Organic Theatre, he said that the Swedish organic market was likely to see further strong “growth of around 25%” in 2015. This can only be good news for exhibitors and visitors preparing to return to Malmö next year.
Exhibitors celebrate successful show
Looking ahead to 2015, the show’s exhibitor list already includes a host of big name brands – including Biolab Vegetarian & Vegan Organic Food, MaiaOrganic, DO-IT Dutch Organic International Trade, Ekologiska Saljbolaget, LOOV – Power of Nature, Intellifood Sweden AB, Machu Picchu Foods, Oaxacafe, and World Wide Cheese. Event organiser Diversified Communications UK has also announced a 30% increase in stands to accommodate growing demand from certified organic food and drink suppliers. The expansion will grow the show from 131 to around 170 exhibiting companies for its third edition.
“We are very happy with the fair,” says Helene Birk, export manager at Organic Denmark, which hosted a new pavilion promoting organic food from twelve Danish companies at the show. “The Nordic region is very important to us an exporting market, and we met many very good contacts here.”
“We are thrilled with the turnout – the quality of visitors has been great!” says David Blomgren, brand manager at B&P Handelskompagni AB.
“Superb show! It was our first time exhibiting and we couldn’t be happier. It was very busy, with the right people. We’ll be back!” enthuses Millan Gudka, CEO of Coco Zumi.
“This exhibition is such a good business solution for us,” says Peter Kirwel, senior sales manager at TOPAS GmbH. “The market growth in this part of the world is really impressive – and this show opens doors for us!”
Mikael Robertsson, CEO of Ekopallen and a driving force behind the development of new association Organic Sweden, was equally upbeat – calling it a “thoroughly enjoyable show”. He was the deserving recipient of a prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at the event’s Innovation Awards.
“I would really recommend this exhibition for companies with organic products. I’ve met some great people, and it’s amazing to see how Nordic Organic Food Fair has grown!” says Robertsson.
Show highlights included live cooking demonstrations from renowned Swedish chefs Paul Svensson (who also opened the show) and Anders Ramsay (on the Menigo and Biolab stands), plus Organic Theatre sessions from IFOAM EU council member Kjell Sjödahl Svensson; Rolf Bjerndell; Cecilia Ryegård from Ekoweb; Morten Hammerich, CEO of Fazer Food Services; and Lee Holdstock from Soil Association Certification.
“Even better than last year! This is the fair that everyone in the organic sector wants to participate in – it’s the perfect place to make contacts and get a good sense of the market,” says Mimi Eriksson Dekker, project leader at EkoMatCentrum, which announced the winners of its annual Lilla Ekomatsligan awards during the show.
Nordic Organic Food Fair – Innovation Awards
As with many shows, sourcing new products and finding new suppliers topped the list of most important reasons for attending, and this year’s New Products Showcase certainly generated a wealth of interest over the two days. Featuring over 90 entries for 2014, visitors voted for their favourite products throughout the show’s opening day. This year’s award winners included:
- Lifetime Achievement Award – Organic
- Winner: Mikael Robertsson, Ekopallen & Organic Sweden
- Best New Organic Food Product
- Winner: Union Rexi – Organic Dehydrated Persimmons
- Runner up: Scandinavian Organics AB – Svenska Ekologiska honskottbullar
- Best New Organic Drink/Beverage
- Winner: Primewine – Duval-Leroy Brut Organic
- Runner up: Biofood – Ekologisk Gurkmeja Juice
- Best New Organic Special Diet Food (Vegetarian/Gluten Free Food)
- Winner: Bioglan Superfoods – Bioglan
- Runner up: Curanderia – Pistachio Vegan
- Best New Packaging Design
- Winner: DO-IT Dutch Organic International Trade – Amaizin
- Runner up: Go: Experience AB – SAXbags
- Best New Natural Food Product
- Winner: Goodtrade Scandinavia AB – Jeezly – Vegan Cheese
- Runner up: Honey Company de Traay B.V. – de Traay Organic Spelt Syrup
- Best New Natural Drink Product
- Winner: Mabroc Teas (Pvt.) (Ltd) – Mabroc Ayurveda Boutique Range
- Runner up: PRAANA Herb and Tea Company – Praana Herbal Teas
Save the date for 2015
“Nordic Organic Food Fair is a great place to meet new suppliers. It was very interesting and we hope to visit again next year,” concludes Lennart Olsson, purchasing manager for Kung Markatta AB.
Nordic Organic Food Fair will return to Malmö, Sweden, on 1-2 November 2015. For more information, please visit www.nordicorganicexpo.com.
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Nordic Organic Food Fair has been shortlisted for the Best Tradeshow Exhibition (UK & International) under 2,000sq.m Award at the UK’s Association of Event Organisers’ annual Excellence Awards. In April 2014, it was named a finalist in the Best International Launch category at the UK’s Exhibition News Awards.
Natural Products Scandinavia won Best International Launch at the UK’s Exhibition News Awards in May 2013. In June 2013, it was named a finalist in the Best Trade Launch Show category at the UK’s Association of Event Organisers’ annual Excellence Awards.
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Diversified Communications UK (Diversified UK) is a fast growing trade event organiser and publisher based in Brighton, Peterborough, Leamington Spa, and Nailsworth, Glos. In addition to lunch!, Diversified UK’s portfolio includes Casual Dining; Natural Food Show at Natural & Organic Products Europe; Natural and Organic Awards; Nordic Organic Food Fair in Malmö, Sweden (co-located with Natural Products Scandinavia); camexpo; Natural Products magazine; Natural Beauty Yearbook; office*; Ocean Business (including Offshore Survey Conference & Ocean Careers); OceanBuzz; MARELEC Marine Electromagnetics conference (in Philadelphia, USA); SITS – The Service Desk & IT Support Show; ServiceDesk360; Euro Bus Expo; Coach and Bus Live; Best of Britain & Ireland; The Route One Operator Excellence Awards; The National Coach Tourism Awards; Route One magazine; and Coach Monthly. For more information, visit: www.divcom.co.uk.
Diversified UK is part of Diversified Communications, a leading international media company providing market access, education and information through global, national and regional face-to-face events, eMedia, publications and television stations. Diversified serves a number of industries including: seafood, food service, natural and organic, healthcare, commercial marine, and business management. Based in Portland, Maine, USA, Diversified employs over 800 staff, with divisions in the Eastern United States, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Thailand and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit: www.divcom.com
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