"What Are the Food Trends After COVID-19?"... KOTRA Hosts 'Seoul International Food Industry Exhibition'

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] KOTRA announced on the 27th that it will hold the "2021 Seoul International Food Industry Exhibition (Seoul Food 2021)" for four days until the 30th at Kintex in Ilsan.

Marking its 39th year, Seoul Food is the largest food industry exhibition in Korea and one of the top four in Asia. It is held to support domestic food companies in developing new products and establishing new global supply chains amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year's event is divided into the food machinery and food sectors. In Exhibition Hall 1, Halls 2-3, where the food machinery sector takes place, there are exhibitions for food machinery, hotel & restaurant equipment, packaging equipment, and safety equipment. A total of 302 booths are set up with participation from 102 domestic food machinery companies.

The food sector is held in Halls 3-4, divided into domestic and international pavilions. The domestic pavilion features 193 Korean food companies with 320 booths. The international pavilion operates 120 booths consigned through overseas embassies and agencies representing 165 food companies from 18 countries worldwide.

KOTRA provides a non-face-to-face remote visit service called the "Avatar Guide Tour" for overseas buyers who find it difficult to visit the exhibition hall directly due to COVID-19. Overseas buyers using this tour can remotely control and check products inside booths and conduct business consultations in real time through calls and chats with exhibitors' representatives.

As a side event of Seoul Food, the "Global Food Trend & Tech Conference" held on the 27th shared food tech trends based on changes in consumers' lifestyles, divided into sessions on △Valuable Life △Healthy Life △Convenient Life. Melanie Zanosa Batellum, a global food analyst from Mintel, delivered the keynote speech titled "Enriching the Mind: The Evolution of Well-being," and food industry experts from home and abroad participated as speakers.

In addition, several business events are held simultaneously, including the "Seoul Food Awards 2021" to discover and introduce excellent domestic and international foods, "Live Commerce" to support product sales and overseas promotion for participating companies, and the "Distribution Buyer Consultation Meeting" to support domestic market development.

Yoo Jung-yeol, President of KOTRA, said, "We will strengthen support projects to enhance the global competitiveness of the domestic food industry, which is struggling due to COVID-19, and to expand overseas business."

Meanwhile, KOTRA stated that, given the serious concerns about the spread of COVID-19, it plans to operate the event prioritizing quarantine and safety by establishing its own quarantine plan that is stricter than the government’s guidelines.