Nordic Organic Food Fair wins plaudits after successful opening event
Diversified UK’s new Nordic Organic Food Fair serves up 3,158 attendees
Nordic Organic Food Fair, the latest new trade launch from award winning event organiser Diversified Communications UK, has been hailed a big success; with nearly 90% of visitors rating the opening edition, which took place last month, on 20-21 October, in Malmö, Sweden, as excellent/good.
Co-located with Natural Products Scandinavia, the Nordic Organic Food Fair offered thousands of visiting retailers and foodservice professionals a vibrant showcase of healthy, sustainable, organic delicacies and speciality ingredients from around 100 international organic food and drink suppliers.
Such was the success of the new launch (which saw 3,158 attendees from 34 different countries walking the aisles throughout the two days), nearly three in four visitors and over 60% of surveyed exhibitors stated that they would be back again next year – when Nordic Organic Food Fair returns to Malmö on 26-27 October 2014.
Sam Sloan, Nordic Organic Food Fair’s marketing director, is delighted with how successfully the launch has been received: “We always knew that there was a real need within the organic food industry for an international event like this in Scandinavia but the way it has been so positively received has been beyond even our greatest expectations. Thanks to a great turnout this year and continuing support from our association and media partners, we now have a really solid foundation from which to grow and develop this event over the coming years.”
Organic farmer Thordur G. Halldorsson from The Green Link of Iceland was just one of thousands of visitors who left the show with a host of new ideas: “It’s a really fantastic show, very interesting. We are very glad we made the trip and look forward to seeing more Icelandic companies here in the future.”
“It’s been very inspiring!” agrees Mark Lewis, founder of Mark Lewis Food and Wine Ltd (who has previously worked as a senior buyer for Harvey Nichols and Whole Foods Market in the UK). “There are lots of interesting products and the show has a great atmosphere. It has been really useful to see the variation of products between the UK and Scandinavian markets.”
Aided by years of supportive government policies towards organic practices, when it comes to buying organic, and understanding the importance of natural, sustainable lifestyles, Nordic consumers have been driving market growth for years. According to the FiBL’s European Market for Organic Food 2011, Denmark and Sweden are among the top six European countries with the highest per capita consumption (second and sixth respectively) and this was certainly reflected at the show – with 81% of the show’s attending buyers visiting from both (Sweden 62% and Denmark 19%).
Nordic Organic Food Fair Innovation Awards
As imported brands continue to prove ever popular with Scandinavian consumers, specialist buyers increasingly have to look further afield to find the unique food and drink products they need to give them that lucrative market edge. As with many shows, sourcing new products topped the list of most important reasons for attending (ahead of keeping up-to-date with new developments and finding new suppliers in this year’s visitor survey), and the New Product Showcase was one new show feature that certainly generated a wealth of visitor interest.
Featuring over 50 entries for 2013, New Product Showcase visitors cast almost 500 votes for their favourites on Sunday 21 October. This year’s award-winning products (as voted for by visitors) included:
- Best New Organic Drink/Beverage: Clearspring Ltd – Japanese Organic Ceremonial Matcha (UK)
Runner-up: Guayaki Yerba Mate – Revel Berry (Norway) - Best Organic Food Producer: BMS srl – MAIA ORGANIC (Italy)
- Best New Organic Food Product: Biobandits – Delirious Dill Mustard (The Netherlands)
Runner-up: Nathalie’s Direct Trade AB – Nathalie’s Gently Dried Fruits (Sweden) - Best New Organic Special Diet Food: Biovita – Purasana Super Food (Belgium)
Runner-up: Bioflavia – Bioflavia Organic Grape Skin Powder (UK) - Best New Health Food & Drink Product: Little Big Shot – Little Big Shot- Healthy Energy (UK)
Runner-up: Bounce Natural Energy Balls – Bounce Coconut & Macadamia Ball (UK)
Exhibitors celebrate successful show
Thanks to a show floor that was buzzing with business throughout the two days, Innovation Awards’ winners weren’t the only exhibitors with reason to celebrate by the end of the event.
“One of our KRAV pavilion exhibitors actually got two large orders within 24 hours after the fair closed – which is superb! There was a good crowd, both in quality and numbers, and we have received a lot of requests from new customers,” says Johan Cejie from KRAV (Sweden).
“It’s been incredibly busy,” says Soil Association Certification’s trade relations manager Lee Holdstock. “What makes this show so different is that it’s reaching a territory that is so important for UK organic exporters. There’s impressive growth in this region and a deep understanding of organic. This market has also got ambitious targets in terms of public procurement for organic. The Swedish and Danish governments and local authorities are going to have to find this organic food from other nations and other markets – and we want to ensure that Soil Association licensees get the opportunity to be part of that.”
“This is the best show that we’ve done in two years! It has hugely exceeded all our expectations and we’ve already re-booked for next year,” says Max Wehrle, managing director at Estilo Sales Europe (Germany).
“Another great show in Malmö. We’ve been meeting all the right people here,” says Peter Kirwell from TOPAS Klaus Gaiser GmbH (Germany).
“It was a great show – vibrant and very positive. All the visitors we met were absolutely our target market,” says Pieter Bas Alferink, owner of BioBandits BV (The Netherlands).
Other companies that have already booked their exhibiting space for 2014, include Guayaki Yerba Mate and Super-Helse from Norway; à la eco, HGM Dryckservice AB, and Malmo Chokladfabrik from Sweden; Ogilvys S.A (Soil Association Pavilion), and Clearspring Ltd from the UK; LOOV (Power of Nature) from Estonia; BMS Srl – MAIA Organic, and Consorzio Marche Biologiche Societa Cooperativa – con marche from Italy; Buslak Oil s.r.o from Slovakia; Fondo Forestal Iberico S.L – Pistachos Ecolgicos Ibericos from Spain; CBL National Foods (PVT) Ltd from Sri Lanka; and DO-IT – Dutch Organic International Trade from The Netherlands. Whilst numerous new organic suppliers that visited this year, were so impressed with launch that they asked to be added to the show’s exhibiting waiting list for 2014.
The full Nordic Organic Food Fair exhibitor list for 2013 is still available to search and view online athttps://onlineexhibitormanual.com/divNPS13/exhifa/exhibitorList.aspx.
Nordic Organic Food Fair and Natural Products Scandinavia will return to Malmö, Sweden, on 26-27 October 2014. For more information, and to stay up-to-date with all the latest news and exhibitor information, please visitwww.nordicorganicexpo.com.
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Media enquiries & photography requests to:
Emma-Louise Jones, PR Manager
t: 44 (0)1273 645134 e: ejones@divcom.co.uk
http://www.twitter.com/DiversifiedUK
http://www.divcom.co.uk
Exhibitor enquiries to:
Zoe Jackson-Cooper, Event Manager
t: 44 (0)1273 645141 e: ZoeJC@divcom.co.uk
www.twitter.com/NordicOrganic
www.nordicorganicexpo.com
Scandinavia office:
Lars Larsson, Nordic Manager
Nordenskiöldsgatan 13, S - 211 19 Malmö, Sweden
t: 46 702 661170 e: lars.larsson@halsofackhandeln.se
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 Organiser’s annual Excellence Awards.
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Diversified Communications UK Ltd (Diversified UK) is a fast growing trade event organiser and publisher based in Brighton and Nailsworth (Glos). Diversified UK’s portfolio includes Nordic Organic Food Fair in Malmö, Sweden (new for 2013, co-located with Natural Products Scandinavia); The Natural Food Show (part of Natural & Organic Products Europe); lunch! (winner of Best Marketing Campaign of the Year at the Association of Event Organisers Excellence Awards in 2012, and Best UK Trade Show Exhibition (under 2,000sqm) in 2010 & 2011); Casual Dining (new for 2014); Ocean Business (including Offshore Survey Conference & Ocean Careers); MARELEC Marine Electromagnetics conference in Hamburg, Germany; camexpo; office*; SITS – The Service Desk & IT Support Show; SITS Europe in Berlin, Germany (new for 2014); Natural Products magazine; and the Natural Beauty Yearbook.
Diversified UK is part of Diversified Business Communications, a leading international media company with a successful portfolio of sector leading exhibition, conferences, publications and websites.
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