The world in a coffee cup. Every two years we get a snapshot of what’s happening in the business at SIC, the International Coffee Fair. It is an integral and indeed a key part of Host, whose 40th edition will run from 20 to 24 October 2017.
Fundamental to all of this, of course, is the traditional presentation of all the sector’s very latest ideas, but plenty of attention will also be focused on the high-end, independently-run training initiatives, on the unique insights that are given into the market and on the tasting of the most sophisticated blends, to say nothing of the world-level contests and other events involving the very best baristas.
It is no coincidence that Bars, Coffee-Making Machinery and Vending is the sector which, 18 months ahead of the next edition of Host, is among the liveliest when it comes to firms confirming their presence.
No less than 65% of the available space has already been taken up.
And confirmation of the ever more elaborate, international nature of the world of coffee comes from the wide range of foreign firms that will be there in force: Spain (accounting for 19%), Switzerland (14%), Germany (12%) and the United States (9%) have all signed up. In the coffee sector, though Italy still leads the way in terms of reconfirmed presences.
As for foreign “repeaters”, as they are known, Germany, Switzerland, Spain and the United States once again make up the “top 4”.
So, businesses are already gearing up for 2017. And the next edition of Host promises yet again to be one of those not-to-be-missed moments for bars everywhere, but also for bakeries, pastry concerns, hotels and retailers interested in using coffee to entice into their shops the ever greater numbers of consumers who now demand a little TLC when they go shopping …and a steaming hot cup off coffee certainly delivers up plenty of “tender loving care”.
The aim next time round is to make SIC even richer and more exciting, building on a 2015 edition that already saw a 40% increase in display space and the participation of over 500 firms, including all the sector’s top players.
