RIMINI, Italy — Sigep Exp in digital format teaches the world. An opening with 1,048 users connected from far and wide, this morning, for Italian Exhibition Group’s international exhibition of artisan gelato, pastry and bakery and the coffee world, for the first time on its online platform (reached from the https://en.sigep.it site). A compass of quality and vision for the dessert and coffee foodservice market which features the digital stands of 250 exhibitors and over 200 events organized by IEG and the companies in the two formats: Vision Plaza and Sigep Lab. The first step towards meeting again live in January 2022 in Rimini.
Italian Exhibition Group President Lorenzo Cagnoni, reminded, “We are here in digital format today because we cannot do otherwise and we do not want to relinquish our strategic commitment in favour of enterprises in a complex period like the current one. The route we have taken is that of live expos and Sigep Exp is conceived to be a reference point in this transitory phase. And the figures show we are right: 2,000 business meetings already scheduled on the agendas of international buyers from over 60 countries. We must cross a bridge, leading to the objectives of recovery and development that are ahead of us.”
Emilia-Romagna Region President Stefano Bonaccini said in a video link-up, “Sigep is a world level expo, it was only right to not have yielded to the temptation of renouncing. With the digital format we can continue to promote the excellent products of these chains, which is demonstrated by the number of buyers reported. Nobody wants to give in. And I am convinced that the next Sigep can be held live, to rebuild confidence and the future, thanks also to vaccinations, a tool we did not have last year.”
Jamil Sadegholvaad, Rimini Municipal Councillor for Economic Activities, said, “This expo is part of the city, an International reference point and worldwide ambassador of the Italian dessert sector. It is a difficult period for doing business, but we are confident that new opportunities will arrive from the Recovery Plan, for areas such as Rimini that have taken the road to sustainability and innovation and have in the expo the driving power for the development of the area. We shall overcome this period.”
And the lever of the artisan dessert sector confirms it is also strategic for the export of Italian-made products and services, as ITA Italian Trade Agency president Carlo Ferro stressed, “Italy is currently the second exporter in the world of coffee products, third in pastry and bread products, fourth in gelato and chocolate-based products. A record that is also confirmed as far as machinery is concerned: we hold 90% of the global market of machinery and showcases/cabinets for gelato and are first in the world for the export of machinery for bakery and desserts. In 2020, the Italian agrifood industry reported a rise in exports of 1.7% and in this area the gelato sector grew by 2%.”
To support the out-of-home dessert and coffee community, along with international company NPD Group IEG organized several meetings in its Vision Plaza to provide analysis tools able interpret and govern the change under way in the sector.
Italian Exhibition Group CEO Corrado Peraboni, opening the first talks, summed up, “Transforming an experience as physical as Sigep into something digital required a great effort. But each and every one of us, from the gelato maker to the machinery manufacturer, has had to create something unique in the last year. Sigep Exp talks are the second leg of what we offer the market, while the business discussions continue: knowing the contents and being informed on major trends, while waiting to meet again live in Rimini next January.”
Three main aspects of which professionals and enterprises must be currently aware emerged from this morning’s inaugural meeting. “Smart working, sustainable mobility and reduction of travel were trends already under way and have now been accelerated”, stated Matteo Figura, Director of NPD Group Foodservice for Italy. “Foodservice responds to the need for experiences that enrich the quality of life. Foodservice’s utility function must therefore be to reorganize and must be taken to new places, not only in towns.”
This was confirmed by Simona Tondelli, Professor of Urban and regional planning at Bologna University, “Cities change constantly – they are living organisms and adapt to changes. But the reorganization of spaces that follows physical distancing does not eliminate the need to socialize. The Mediterranean diet is on the UNESCO intangible heritage list, thanks also for the forms of relationships it implies, starting with sitting down for a meal together.”
“The seed of recovery”, concluded Francesco Bruschi, Strategy director FutureBrand Milano, “is there. In this transformation, we shall not lose food’s peculiarities, but will have to renew them. From a greater attention to the health aspects, to sustainability, the digital world will be involved above all in the diversification of the experiences that we associate with food and which are part of its identity.”
Focus on Sigep Exp 2021
Dates: 15-16-17 March 2021 (Full Digital); Organizer: Italian Exhibition Group SpA; Edition: 42nd; Frequency: annual; Info: www.sigep.it
