Intercarn 2016 – more space, more companies, more business opportunities
The growth of Intercarn, the Alimentaria meat and meat products show, will be noted in both the exhibition space and the exhibiting companies at the 2016 edition. With five months to go until the trade fair is held, the amount of exhibition space and the number of participating companies is already higher than at the previous edition. The show currently has 11,000 m2 of net exhibition space booked, representing a 21% growth over 2014, and foresees the participation of 500 industry companies. All of the above will see Intercarn give buyers from every corner of the globe a full indication of the current range on offer and the latest trends in the meat industry.
The increase in exhibitors is the outcome of Alimentaria’s firm commitment to strengthening the presence of global operators and reflects the power of the meat industry and its international focus. Consequently, Intercarn will welcome companies from the UK, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Brazilian, French and German markets, among others, and will facilitate contact between buyers and exhibitors to generate new business opportunities.
“In 2016, Intercarn aims to consolidate and expand the road to internationalisation promoted in previous editions. We are opening up new international marketing channels in order to join the best supply and demand in the industry and to provide the best business opportunities for international and national companies whose exporting role is gaining relevance by the day,” the trade fair’s chairman, Juan José Guibelalde, explains.
In addition to its pronounced international character, Intercarn will keep the “made in Spain” product at the forefront through the presence of regions with the finest meat products in Spain. The regional communities that will participate at Intercarn include: Asturias, Extremadura, Castilla y León, Galicia and La Rioja.
Moreover, the show will maintain a high degree of customer loyalty, with 80% of the participating companies in the 2014 edition already confirming their presence next year. Major brands such as Torres de Núñez, Can Duran, Grupo Jorge, Aurelio Castro, Corporación Alimentaria Guissona, Los Norteños, Industrias Cárnicas Tello, Aljomar, Marcial Castro, Compañía General Carnia, Campofrío, Vall Companys, Breher, Industrias Cárnicas Villar, Grup Baucells, Friselva, Señorío de Montanera, Coren, Arcadie, El Pozo, Joaquim Alberti – La Selva, Noel Alimentaria, Cárnicas Toni-Josep, Alejandro Miguel and Jamones el Chato have already confirmed their presence at Intercarn 2016.
An export industry on the rise
The Spanish meat industry is currently the third biggest in the food sector, with 3,955 companies and 110,249 employees, 23% of the industry total. In the first six months of 2015, the industry confirmed its upward trend, registering a 6.6% growth in production, and exceeding, for the first time, the 3.05 million tonnes of meat produced, according to data from the Statistics Service of Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment. The meat industry in Spain has been registering huge growth in exports, reaching overseas sales worth 4.217 billion euros in 2014, while imports reached 1.313 billion euros in the same year.The Intercarn Committee, made up of leading representatives from the Spanish meat industry, has traditionally played a key role in designing the show’s strategy as it aims to become a reference point for industry professionals and companies.
Business opportunities
For the forthcoming edition, Alimentaria will raise the number of invitations to key international buyers from the top companies in the industry and in distribution to ensure meetings with exhibitors and also to fully maximise the profitability of their presence at the show. In the 2014 edition, the trade fair invited 497 buyers from 65 countries and set up around 10,000 meetings; in the 2016 edition, further efforts will be made to increase this number to 800 guest buyers.
The business opportunities generated will also be boosted through the buyers invited by the Spanish Food and Drink Industry Federation (FIAB in its Spanish acronym), with the support of ICEX (the Spanish acronym for the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade), MAGRAMA (the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment) and Alimentaria, who will participate in the Food & Drink Business Meetings, and the Brokerage Event programme, organised by ACCIÓ (the Catalan acronym for the Agency for Business Competitiveness), with the support of the Enterprise Europe Network and Alimentaria. Moreover, the contact between companies and technology centres will also be promoted in order to close deals and promote the transfer of technology. Among the guest buyers, the show will also feature the presence of the main importers and distributers from the international hotel and catering and hospitality industries, with the notable presence of companies supplying cruises in the Caribbean and Mediterranean.
40 years of Alimentaria
Alimentaria will celebrate its 40th anniversary between 25 and 28 April at Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via venue. The International Food and Drink Exhibition is gearing up for its most up-to-date edition – a streamlined trade fair concept looking to expand its exhibition range and strengthen its strategic position in gastronomy, hospitality and hotels and catering in order to represent a broad spectrum from the industry and to reflect new market trends and consumer habits.
In 2016, Alimentaria will be divided into five shows, joining the main food and drink markets: Intervin (wine and spirits), Intercarn (meat and meat products), Restaurama (hospitality), Interlact (dairy products) and Multiple Foods (multi-products in sweets, preserves, oil and Premium products).
The exhibition will round off four decades as a consolidated benchmark space for food in Europe. In its last edition, it brought together more than 140,000 visitors from around the world and 3,800 representative companies, including the participation of over 1,000 international companies.
