Nearly 5,000 attendees gathered at Spain’s leading professional organic sector event
Ifema Madrid has hosted for two days the offer of almost 300 product companies at the Organic Food and Eco Living Iberia fair, great figures of organic retail, as well as owners of multiple natural products shops, supermarket buyers, distributors and wholesalers have been very happy after the celebration of this second edition.
A highly anticipated event that closed with a total of 4978 attendees, around 5% less than the last event, an exceptional achievement considering the challenges posed by the pandemic. Susana Andrés Omella, project director, indicated that the fair is made by and for the sector and that the figures for the first day were around 3000 visitors, “much more than expected for a first day”. Despite the challenges for international travel, the trade show welcomed international buyers, from 35 countries, including Germany, United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, Peru, Venezuela, Austria, United States of America, Chile, and many more.
Carsten Holm, managing director of Diversified Communications UK, was very pleased with the way the show went, “the feedback from exhibitors and visitors alike has been incredible, commenting on the high quality of the products, the buyers and the professionalism. It has exceeded everyone’s expectations and has highlighted the importance of face-to-face contact,” he stressed.
On a national level, there were large representatives from autonomous communities such as Madrid, Navarra, Valencia, Castilla La Mancha, La Rioja, Murcia and Extremadura, which are consolidating the organic offer from their regions. Andalusia could not miss this event with fruit, vegetables, oil and nuts from the area. In addition, the Ecovalia Association of Ecological Value was also a main sponsor of the fair, which was celebrating 30 years of defending and growing the sector nationally and internationally. The organisers wanted to highlight the importance of events such as these to recognise the efforts made by ecological companies.
The exhibitors were also satisfied with the susceptibility raised by the pandemic, “people have been very receptive, we have had a lot of people and we have been able to create a good database,” explained Natruly. From the Eco Living section, No+Plastic Waste, winners of the prize for the natural finishes product, indicate that for their first time they have had a great reception, “we have only been here for a year but it has been very interesting because we have made contacts to meet up next week,” they emphasise.
A wide range of activities
The event had two specialised spaces for conferences and seminars, the Organic Theatre and the Eco Living Theatre. This included a wide range of contents in Spanish, English and Portuguese, such as organic products in the supermarket, the organic wine boom or the organic market worldwide. These events were very well attended by visitors and served as a bridge between the most relevant personalities in the industry.
Another area that attracted the attention of visitors was Organic Wine Iberia, dedicated to organic wines, beers, cavas, liqueurs and other spirits, where many companies were able to highlight the best of their land of origin. From Murcia, the Jumilla D.O. stated that “there was fear and we are in the middle of the grape harvest, but we are very happy, we have found a business opportunity for our wineries and we couldn’t miss out on such a proposal”, they indicated.
The exhibitors were able to highlight their most notable products over the last year in the two areas of Innovation which gave them the opportunity to win prizes in twelve categories in the second edition of the Organic Food Awards and Eco Living Iberia Awards (with ECOVALIA as the premier Sponsor). Around 150 companies participated in the Awards, which were presented at a ceremony on Wednesday 8th September. The winner of the Judges Choice Award was Natucomex (from Valencia) with its exclusive Jackfruit Bolognese with seaweed, which was highlighted for its innovative character and high quality as a vegan food.
Organic Food Iberia 2022
Internationalisation is one of the key draws to the fair with important representatives such as Portugal, which is growing in terms of consumption and exports. Portugal Foods indicated that, “we wanted to be here, in our territory there is a lot of diversity and quality and we had to present these products as a union with the Iberian peninsula.”
Likewise, other European countries such as Austria, France, Belgium, Switzerland and Italy have also shown their latest products to the Spanish market. Despite the difficulties for international travel, we had the pleasure of having international buyers from 35 countries.
In addition, the organic food and beverage event opens a new edition on 8 and 9 June 2022 in which the expansion of organic markets in America will have special relevance, opening up new business opportunities with European buyers. As Caio Rocha, representative of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and Rommel Betancourt, president of the Inter-American Commission for Organic Agriculture (CIAO), pointed out, “we feel that our contribution can increase the supply in Europe and offer diversity, and we will promote it as much as necessary.”
Organic Food Iberia and Eco Living Iberia will return to Ifema – Feria de Madrid on 8-9 June 2022. For more information, please visit www.organicfoodiberia.com and www.ecolivingiberia.com.
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