SIRHA Budapest 2014: new content in a new form

A tradition has begun: between 10 and 12 March 2014 Hungexpo was the venue of the first SIRHA Budapest trade fair, attracting more than 15,000 registered trade visitors. The trade fair for the food, baking and confectionery industries and the Horeca sector was organised using a new concept and proved to be a great success. On 20,000m² stands were built for 300 exhibiting companies and there were nearly 60 presentations and conferences in the programme. One of the organisers’ most successful undertaking was the ‘hosted buyer’ programme with more than 70 international businesspersons invited from the sector. Accompanying events contributed significantly to SIRHA Budapest’s success. Perhaps the most important form these was the Bocuse d’Or Hungarian Selection, which was won by Gábor Molnár, the chef of Geisel’s Vinothek (Munich). At the opening ceremony on 10 March Trade magazine editor-in-chief and host of the event Zsuzsanna Hermann welcomed exhibitors and visitors. Hungexpo CEO Gábor Ganczer told in his speech that SIRHA Budapest provides a framework for the positive developments that had already started in Hungarian gastronomy. Dr Sándor Fazekas, Minister for Rural Development opened the trade fair officially. He praised SIRHA Budapest as the must-visit event of the trade in Central and Eastern Europe and told that the food industry is a key area in the government’s strategy. After the opening ceremony the results of the innovation competition Gourmet by SIRHA were announced. The contest was organised for the first time with 27 entries in four categories and the winners can be found in the table in this article. Trade magazine built its Future Store for the third time, in cooperation with 40 partners. The project featured innovative solutions from the parking lot to the checkout zone, presenting numerous technological, product-, store furnishing- and in-store communication-related novelties in the form of guided tours around the store. (You will have the chance to read a more detailed report on the Future Store in the next issue of our magazine – the Editor).