MONTREAL, Canada — The 17 th edition of the International Food & Beverage Tradeshow (SIAL Canada) and its section for the equipment and technology sectors (SET Canada) was 100% virtual this year, allowing the industry to come together and do business despite the restrictions in place. The show was held from September 28 to October 2 as Food Week , and this extraordinary edition ended on a remarkably successful note!
With 250 exhibitors and brands from more than 31 countries and roughly 18,340 connections from more than 112 countries , this edition of SIAL Canada and SET Canada has once again proven to be a success—both in terms of its offerings and its visitors! According to Xavier Poncin , SIAL Canada’s Executive Director, the 2020 edition confirms the necessity for such an event, especially in the current circumstances where the food industry is looking for business-related support: “As in many other industries, it’s been a difficult year for event organizers. However, with tremendous support from the food industry and an incredible team, we were able to find the energy to rapidly reinvent ourselves.
The results exceeded our expectations for a first edition of this type—whether in terms of participation in the virtual show itself, the buyers program, or the virtual conferences—and we have rarely witnessed quite this much enthusiasm. The conferences even attracted more people than we had face-to-face! These results all confirm several parts of our strategy: Firstly, our position as food-inspiration leaders allows us to attract the industry, even in a virtual setting—but beyond that, we were also able to confirm that virtual formats are added opportunities to conduct business! Never have we had so many visiting countries at our show—112 is an extraordinary number! We will continue to combine our efforts across both virtual and face-to-face platforms, to the benefit of all our participants. SIAL Canada 2021 in Toronto next September will be in a hybrid trade show!”
Sial Innovation
During the first day of the show, the three big winners of the prestigious SIAL Innovation contest were unveiled as part of a live virtual ceremony bringing together 120 participants! A total of 38 applications were submitted to take part in this 13 th edition of the competition. We would like to thank everyone who participated and congratulate the 10 finalists for their incredible innovations: LOC Industries, Fromagerie l’Ancêtre, JuçaÃ, Art Kombucha, Ideal Aluminum, William Spartivento Coffee, Top Glaciers Inc., WOW! Factor Desserts, and Boréal Foods !
Congratulations to Art Kombucha for its beer fermented using kombucha culture which won the Gold Grand Prize , Ideal Aluminum for its 100% compostable box for roast chicken which won the Silver Grand Prize and LOC Industries for its vegan butter which won the Bronze Grand Prix !
More information about the winners: https://sialcanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/SIAL-Innovation-winners.pdf
The Pitch Competition
On the third day of the virtual show, the Pitch Competition ceremony took place, bringing together more than 50 participants. This competition is incredibly close to SIAL Canada’s heart—and the hearts of its partners Niagara College Canada, Mitacs, Nielsen, CTAQ, the City of Montreal , Mycélium, and Sobeys—who are keen to support up-and-comers!
Congratulations to Art Kombucha and Novagrow which won first prize in the food company category and in the technology company category respectively!
Congratulations to Les Snorôs and Bello Solutions which won second prize in the food company category and in the technology company category respectively!
More information about the winners: https://sialcanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Pitch-competition-ANG.pdf
Olive D’or
For this 15 th edition of the biggest international extra-virgin olive oil competition in Canada , the jury, presided over by olive-oil expert Christine Cheylan, selected the 16 best extra-virgin olive oils to be named the Golden, Silver, or Bronze Drop or the jury’s Coup de Coeur in the ripe fruitiness, light fruit, intense fruit, medium fruit categories and design.
Discover the 16 winners here: https://sialcanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Olive-Or-winners.pdf
Inspirational content driving record participation in live and rebroadcasted virtual conferences!
Each of the 32 virtual conferences was presented by bona fide experts from the field, making it possible to provide high-quality, varied content. With more than 1,700 live participants and 1,850 replay views, our content has never before been viewed and shared at this volume!
Among the key themes, innovation was the common thread across all our conferences through topics related to food tech, food service, packaging, robotization, industry 4.0 or the future of consumption by generation. Another particularly topical subject was the impact of COVID-19 on consumption and how companies are adapting to this new challenge.
Special thanks go out to all our partners involved with the conferences! Replay our conferences on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/SialCanada
The Central Experts Hub – Thanking our experts!
Once again this year, SIAL Canada was proud to welcome 14 experts from 12 fields of e xpertise . In the Discover SIAL Expertise hall, participants could make appointments with each of the experts to discuss various topics. We’d like to thank each of them for their active role in the success of this 17 th edition and their unconditional support!
For the complete list of experts: https://sialcanada.com/en/experts/
Another successful Buyers Program
The SIAL Canada buyers program — which is the only international program of its kind in Canada and is supported by every level of government—once again produced spectacular numbers this year! Nearly 170 meetings took place between 70 buyers and 111 exhibitors from 34 different countries over the 5 days of the show. We would like to thank our official partners: MAPAQ and Agriculture Canada.
The entire SIAL Canada team would like to congratulate each of the participants who made this special edition a success at every level! We look forward to seeing you next year for SIAL Canada’s 18 th edition at the Enercare Centre in Toronto . Change will again be at the heart of next year’s event, since it will be the SIAL Canada’s first hybrid edition, featuring both face-to-face and online components ! Mark these dates in your calendar: September 21 to 23, 2021 !
To ensure you don’t miss a thing, visit the Facebook event .
About SIAL Canada:
Organized by the Comexposium Group, SIAL Canada is a member of the SIAL Network, the world’s largest group of food and beverage tradeshows. These nine regular events (SIAL Paris, SIAL Canada in Montreal and Toronto , SIAL China, SIAL Middle East, SIAL InterFOOD in Jakarta , SIAL India in New Delhi , Gourmet Selection in Paris , and Djazagro in Algiers ) bring together 16,700 exhibitors and 700,000 professionals from 200 countries. www.sial-network.com
About Comexposium:
The Comexposium group is a world leader in organizing professional and consumer events. It holds 135 B2B and B2B2C events worldwide, covering various sectors of activity, including agri-food, agriculture, construction, fashion, health, distribution, leisure, real estate, security, education, tourism, and works councils. With a presence in more than 30 countries each year, Comexposium welcomes more than 3.5 million visitors and 48,000 exhibitors. www.comexposium.com.
