RIMINI, Italy – Sigep is back. And with it the great world of dolce foodservice which, from March 12 to 16, has an appointment at Rimini expo centre under the banner of business and internationality.
The Italian Exhibition Group expo dedicated to Gelato, Pastry, Bakery and Coffee attracted a crowd of trade members right from the early hours of the morning, eager – after two years – to discover the sector’s new products and meet the market’s big names.
From kebab creams through Baba’ A La Bufala to flour with algae
In fact, Sigep 2022, occupying 90,000 square metres, opens with the sector’s great protagonists: on exhibit spaces standing out for their dimensions, architecture and avant-garde materials, there are the leading companies that form the various sectors of artisan dolce, bakery and coffee, with new products eagerly awaited by the international market, as well as curious innovative items. Artificial Intelligence systems for cash desks and integrated cameras: they recognize the food selected and “prepare the bill”. Exciting “origami” napkins, resulting from an artistic competition and soon to be found on bar counters.
And then the maxi Kebab cream made from 10 kilos of chocolate, mounted just like the ethnic food on a vertical rotating skewer and carved into flakes with a special knife. Also on the topic of extra-large items, a coffee bean measuring a metre and a half by artist Aurora Thomo: coated with over 40,000 coffee beans, it has the furrow in pure gold leaf.
On show flour with spices, algae and cereals: from curcuma, to spirulina alga and hemp seeds. And yet again, the consortium for the protection of PDO Campana Buffalo ricotta cheese launched the babà a la bufala. There is also a heated pizza box for home deliveries, which ensures hot tasty dishes. Then, to return to being kiddies again, space was dedicated to brightly coloured candyfloss: green/apple flavoured, lilac/cherry, blue with bramble/blueberry flavour and yellow/banana flavour.
A tribute to Ukraine
The opening ceremony had a touching start with a tribute to Ukraine, with a video of the national flag flying. The word then passed to the inaugurators. The president of the Emilia-Romagna Region Stefano Bonaccini began, “This expo is an extraordinary sign. IEG President, Lorenzo Cagnoni, fought to ensure that Sigep was held this year, instead of postponing it. And I think that this expo, in the excellence it presents, is symbolically the foundation stone from which to start again to try to make things go better.
This region’s economy was flying high: we ended 2021 with a growth of 6.9%, and had to go back as far as 1975 to find similar figures. For the sixth consecutive year, Emilia-Romagna is the first as far as growth is concerned, along with Veneto. Export data, and expos give an extraordinary contribution compared with the value of the agri-food product chains, and show that every citizen in Emiliano-Romagna exported the equivalent of 16,300 euros, double the national average. The prospects of growth and employment might drop due to the drama of this war, but there’s no GDP percentage that is not worth the right to fight for freedom and democracy.”
IEG President Lorenzo Cagnoni continued, “We tried to see how to give a response to the need for innovation in our sector. And we did so with digital technology, in order for it to become a value added to the quality of the products we offer, and trying to use possible alliances with other players to achieve indispensable synergies. We can now count on an alliance with Cologne Fair to export Sigep to Shenzhen in China, and with Hanover Fair to work with them on the Mexican and US markets. With Informa Market, starting from Dubai , we have begun to realize new expos in the jewellery and gold world. These alliances enable us to imagine new targets and give us strength on the domestic market.”
Jamil Sadegholvaad, Mayor of Rimini: “Sigep gives a sign of true recovery and inaugurates a new season of normality for the area. Proof of the great will to face the future as a challenge to overcome the difficulties of recent years and of the present day, to lay the foundations of a season of great interest for our citizens, trade members and enterprises. In this context the exploitation of our agri-food chain, with our excellent local products, must be considered as a decisive stimulus and an attractive force for the tourist component. “
Gian Marco Centinaio, Undersecretary of State for agricultural, food and forestry policies, concluded, “All the production chains are right in the midst of a perfect storm, with skyrocketing increases in the cost of raw materials, gas and fuel which have hit the production, distribution and consumption economies. As well as being oriented at optimizing the help from the PNRR (Italy ‘s Recovery and Resilience Plan) and European funds, the Government’s attention is aimed at fighting speculative phenomena that are also hitting the grain and agri-food chains. In this sector Italy is a protagonist at world level, with 52 billion euros of export. Our country doesn’t export products, but real dreams: we must start off again from this concept to ensure that even more products, territories and traditions become known worldwide.”
Focus on Sigep 2022
Dates: 12-16 March 2022; Organizer: Italian Exhibition Group SpA; Edition: 43rd; frequency: annual; info: www.Sigep.it
