Thousands of seafood industry professionals from around the world are arriving in Brussels, Belgium this week to attend the 27th edition of Seafood Expo Global/Seafood Processing Global – the largest iteration of the event since its inception, according to organizer Diversified Communications.
Taking place from 7 to 9 May at the Brussels Expo, the 2019 exposition will feature a record 2,007 companies – an increase of 61 companies over 2018 – from 88 countries exhibiting their newest seafood products, services, processing innovations, and packaging equipment. The event is set to cover 40,559 net square meters of exhibit space, surpassing last year’s record by 1,237 square meters, Diversified confirmed.
“We’re excited to see the event’s healthy growth over the years. It is an indication that companies find value in the face-to-face meetings and see the event as an opportunity to maintain current relationships, develop new ones and expand their business into new markets,” said Wynter Courmont, event director for Diversified Communications, the producer of Seafood Expo Global and Seafood Processing Global [Editor’s note: Diversified Communications also owns and operates SeafoodSource]. “The expo in Brussels continues to be the most important annual event for the global seafood industry.”
To accommodate the event’s recent growth, Seafood Processing Global will be expanding into Hall 3 in 2019. The expo’s processing segment now encompass both Halls 3 and 4, Diversified said, with Halls 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, and the Patio reserved exclusively for seafood exhibits.
Several new exhibiting countries will be represented at the expo this year, including Angola, Greenland, Guyana, Honduras, Ivory Coast, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Solomon Islands, Swaziland, Tanzania, and Uganda. Additionally, 74 national and regional pavilions will also be present, including new regional pavilions from South Korea and Taiwan.
Among the event’s attendees will be global seafood buyers, including owners, executive purchasing managers, category managers, private label program buyers, and equipment and packaging buyers from restaurants, supermarkets, hotels, catering services, importers, distributors, and seafood markets.
High-volume buyers from Ahold Delhaize, Aldi, Asda, Auchan, Bidfood, Brakes, Carnival, Carrefour, Colruyt Group, Coop, Compass Group, Costco, Edeka, Eroski, Esselunga, Foodbuy, Groupe Casino, Jeronimo Martins, Jetro Restaurant Depot, Jumbo, Lidl, Lulu Group, Marks & Spencer, Mercadona, Metro, Migros, Monoprix, real Gmbh, REWE, Sainsbury’s, Sodexo, SonaeMC, Sysco, Target, Tesco, Transgourmet, Unicoop, Waitrose, Whitbread, Whole Foods Market, Woolworths, and many more, are expected to do business this week at the expo.
The winners of the Seafood Excellence Global Awards will be announced on the evening of Tuesday, 7 May at 18:15, with a reception to follow until 20:00, to close out the expo’s first day. Honorees will include the Best Retail Product and the Best Hotel/Restaurant/Catering (HORECA) Product, as well as products specially recognized on the basis of Innovation, Convenience, Health and Nutrition, Retail Packaging, and Seafood Product Line. All participant and winning product entries will be on display at Seafood Expo Global in Hall 8, Diversified said.
