Following the 2022 event in September, FHA-Food & Beverage will now run each year alongside ProWine Singapore at the Singapore EXPO, it has been announced.

Until now, FHA-Food & Beverage has taken place every two years. However, the show’s organisers have just revealed that following on from this year’s event (5 – 8 September), the show will return every year in tandem with ProWine Singapore.

The dates for 2023 have already been firmly fixed, with members of the food and drinks industry requested to put 25 – 28 April 2023 in their diaries for next year

According to the show’s organisers, the move to hold more frequent shows has been driven by “the industry’s strong demand for a quality annual sourcing platform in Asia.”

“We realise the need to embrace the ‘new normal’ within the F&B industry,” said Janice Lee, event director, Hospitality, Food & Beverage – Hong Kong and Singapore, Informa Markets. “By pivoting FHA-Food & Beverage to an annual platform, we can better cater to industry professionals who need a year-round solution to meet a larger audience in the fast-changing industry. It is a very exciting development.”

In the past couple of years, FHA – Food & Beverage has pivoted digitally to offer new ways to engage customers no matter where they are, including the launch of the FHA Match – a series of virtual platforms for business matching and product discovery. However, members of the trade agree that there is no substitute for the staging of a physical show.

“I am very pleased that we are able further intensify our cooperation with FHA – Food & Beverage. That the co-location of the fairs is ideal and offers the Southeast Asian market a complete range of top-quality products,” says Michael Degan, executive director, Messe Düsseldorf. “We are sure that also the wine and spirits industry will welcome the new rotation.”

More than 2,000 exhibitors are expected to attend this year’s FHA-Food & Beverage show, with 35,000 international guests slated to arrive at the four-day event. Those present will include distributors, importers, manufacturers and retailers from Asia who are on the hunt for new-to-market food ingredients, drinks, fresh produce, services and equipment.