RIMINI, Italy – The 2024 edition of Sigep – The Dolce World Expo, Italian Exhibition Group’s international artisan gelato, pastry, bakery and coffee show, which will fill Rimini Expo Centre from 20th to 24th January, confirms its enormous international calling by returning to pre-pandemic levels in terms of the number of exhibitors from abroad.
The more than 1,200 exhibiting brands in attendance will, in addition to the best Made in Italy offer, include a foreign share close to 18% with no less than 35 countries present; data that has not been recorded since the January 2020 edition.
The most represented – after Italy – will be Germany, Spain, France, Belgium and Turkey. There will also be groups from Ecuador, Brazil and Ukraine, proving the completeness of Sigep’s offer in terms of new products, technologies, raw materials, furnishings and services.
International buyers from 81 countries
IEG’s leading event will attract over 500 top buyers from 81 countries to Rimini, in particular from the United States, Spain, Canada, Turkey, Brazil, India, China and the United Arab Emirates.
A foreign incoming, mainly represented by importers, distributors and restaurant chains, made possible thanks to the valuable collaboration with ITA – Italian Trade Agency, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the support of the international network of Italian Exhibition Group’s regional advisors in over 60 countries.
Thanks to the MyAgenda digital platform, exhibitors will be able to view the profiles of incoming buyers and plan business meetings directly at their stands before the exhibition opens.
Vision Plaza and International Competitions
Vision Plaza will be back at the Expo Centre to stage the latest national and international trends in the dolce foodservice sector with comments and in-depth analysis from leading industry professionals.
Data on ‘out of home’ consumption will be thoroughly dealt with thanks to CREST analyses conducted by Circana, a leading company in consumer behaviour analysis and interpretation. Moreover, Vision Plaza, in cooperation with media partners and Italian and foreign sector associations, will also be hosting important talks on four specific areas: trends and innovations; market focus on the individual sectors at Sigep (gelato, pastry, chocolate, coffee and bakery); digital marketing and, of course, sustainability.
Sigep’s internationality is also confirmed by an abundant programme of competitions, 3 of which international, which will see the participation of no less than 25 countries. Starting with the Gelato World Cup, the most important international competition in the world that includes gelato, pastry, chocolate, catering and ice sculpture trials with 11 teams from Argentina, Brazil, China, South Korea, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Singapore, Taiwan and Hungary competing. During the three days of competition (from Saturday 20th to Monday 22nd), two juries will decide: one consisting of team managers, in charge of assessing aesthetics, and one from the World Association of Chefs’ Societies (the global voice of culinary professionals with more than 240 associations of reference) which will decide instead on taste.
The two jury presidents, namely Kenny Kong (Singapore Chef’s Association) and Martino Piccolo, a well-known Australian gelato maker, will also be newly appointed. The Gelato Lab, on the other hand, will be the venue for the European Challenge, the European stage of the Gelato Festival World Masters 2025 circuit, involving around twenty gelato makers from the old continent. Moving on to the Pastry Arena where the much-awaited Juniores Pastry World Cup, a globally unique team competition aimed at young, under-23 talents will be staged. This year’s theme is ‘Myths and Legends’: enhancing the culture and history of a country through the pastry chefs’ creations of a national myth or legend. As many as 12 nations will be competing: Australia, Chile, Korea, the Philippines, France, Hong Kong, India, Malta, Peru, the United States, Taiwan and Uzbekistan. The international jury will be made up of the Team Managers of the 12 teams with Maestro Iginio Massari as President of Honour and Maestro Eugenio Morrone as President of the Jury. The President of the Competition will be Maestro Roberto Rinaldini.
A glance at Asia
Sigep’s international expansion is intensifying at a fast pace all over the world: this is confirmed by the recent launch towards Asian markets, which saw the 1st edition of Sigep China organised by IEG China in partnership with Koelnmesse in 2023 in the city of Shenzhen, the heart of the Greater Bay Area, one of China’s fastest growing markets with strategic economic importance for the entire country.
The 2nd edition of Sigep China, scheduled for 24th – 26th April 2024 at the Shenzhen Convention & Exhibition Center (Futian), will be held at the same time as Anuga Select China, the main food fair in southern China organised by Anuga/Koelnmesse. Thanks to the Sigep China project, Italian Exhibition Group received the “Italian Excellence” award in the 18th edition of the China Awards 2023 organised by the ICCF – Italy China Council Foundation, which every year rewards Italian and Chinese businesses that have distinguished themselves in the reciprocal markets.
2024 will also see the grand launch of Sigep Asia, scheduled to take place in Singapore from 26th to 28th June, featuring Café Asia, International Coffee & Tea Asia and Sweets & Bakes Asia. A veritable showcase of the artisan gelato, confectionery, bakery, coffee and tea supply chains. Sigep Asia will be held alongside Restaurant Asia, co-organised with the Singapore Restaurant Association and in partnership with restaurant associations from the ASEAN countries.
Focus on Sigep 2024
Dates: 20-24 January 2024; Organizer: Italian Exhibition Group SpA; edition: 45th; frequency: annual; event: international trade show; entry: trade only; info: www.sigep.it
