RIMINI – Rimini Fiera kicks off 2014 with an extraordinarily positive sign for Italy’s economy in a strategic sector with a very high export profile, with artisan gelato as a wonderful ambassador for Italian food worldwide.An unprecedented success that confirms the world leadership of Rimini Fiera and the surrounding area in this sector and which once more, with facts and figures, spotlights it throughout the country and on international markets.
Reality has exceeded all expectations.
173,904 trade visitors (subject to certification: ISO 25639international standard) attended the 35th SIGEP and RHEX Ristorazione, with an increase that almost reached 30,000 units compared with 2013, when the biennial A.B.TECH Expo dedicated to bakery was held simultaneously with SIGEP .
There was therefore a 20.1% overall increase in visitors – going against the international expo scenario’s trends and featuring an even more substantial performance as far as the figures regarding foreign trade visitors (from five continents) were concerned, which rose to 34,646: an increase of 32%.
Other significant figures: over 600 accredited journalists, 134 million contacts reached with articles and reports by agencies, daily papers, radio and TV, web and trade press, as well as almost 300,000 visits to the Web site www.sigep.it in the last ten days.
There was an exceptional audience for streaming coverage of the Pastry Arena (in Italian and English) and coffee Championships with 68,000 users connected during the five expo days, 23% of whom were abroad (in Argentine and France in particular). On the social networks: the reach on Facebook over the last week exceeded 2,200,000, while there were over 100,000 mentions on Twitter.
Taking up the entire expo centre, SIGEP and RHEX hosted the proposals of a thousand companies occupying 110,000 m2 and the great expo days at Rimini Fiera featured the very latest trends, useful for orienting strategies for 2014 for the Italian-made food sector.
The expo event was inaugurated by Flavio Zanonato, Italy’s Minister for Economic Development, who acknowledged that the Rimini Fiera days were “an international showcase in which entrepreneurial culture manages to combine artisan tradition and innovation.”
Alongside, at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Rimini’s Mayor Andrea Gnassi and Rimini Fiera chairman Lorenzo Cagnoni, as well as the leaders of all the trade associations.
There was an excellent result for the new expo section, Rimini Coffee Expo, which confirmed the growth of a sector that SIGEP ensures an ideal setting, integrated with the other artisan product chains. An excellent prelude for World of Coffee, the world-level event that will also be held at Rimini Fiera, from June 10th to 12th.
Rimini Fiera chairman Lorenzo Cagnoni comments, “The figures speak for themselves – in these conditions, the expo plays its role perfectly, multiplying business, generating relations, nourishing companies’ strategies with the contribution of the trends that emerge in the halls.
We are ready to support and develop this growth rate with activities running all year round, with projects under way and new initiatives to be taken together with all players in the chain.”
Rimini Fiera business unit manager Patrizia Cecchi confirms, “To the exceptional results regarding visitors, we must add the success of the intuition of holding RHEX Ristorazione simultaneously with SIGEP, forming an expo proposal in perfect sync with the changes in business formats, where there are activities able to integrate different catering formats, when can even be changed in the course of the day.
The satisfaction of participating companies for the business generated on the expo days urges us to continue in this direction, developing the event with content that targets innovation and internationalization.”
The appointment with SIGEP is from January 17th to 21st 2015, simultaneously with RHEX Ristorazione and the biennial A.B.TECH Expo.
Watch the official video of the event: http://youtu.be/mbSslMhhgZk.
