Food Vision Asia program announced

THE program for the world’s first Food Vision Asia event highlights developments in the region’s food and beverage sector as presented by leading figures in the industry.  

“Food Vision Asia’s issues-driven agenda addresses the challenges of the Asian marketplace and showcases the innovation going on within the region. At a time when the industry is facing greater complexity with regard to nutrition and global/regional trade deals, Food Vision will draw our industry together, elevate its position on the world stage, and demonstrate that Asia’s food market is very much meeting those challenges head-on,” explains Matt Kovac, FIA Executive Director.

FIA will hold its Annual General Meeting on the first day of Food Vision Asia, and on the third day chair an industry debate that will challenge Asia’s food leaders to tackle the region’s nutrition challenges through innovation and public-private partnership.

Food Vision Asia’s two-day schedule of debates, discussions, and presentations will encourage interaction, networking, and the exchange of ideas between food and nutrition industry leaders from across Asia and around the world. “Our program will investigate opportunities for collaboration across global geographies,” says Food Vision’s Events Development Director, Christina Wood.

Line-up of speakers and contributors, and their presentation topics:

 -  Zee Yoong Kang, CEO of Singapore’s Health Promotion Board, will address the role of public and private partnership in consumer education to encourage positive nutrition.

 -  Anirban Mukhopadhyay, Professor of Marketing at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, will argue that corporate ‘lean-washing’ is contributing to consumer misconceptions about nutrition and driving up levels of obesity.

 -  Jerome Del Porto, Senior Director of International Operations for convenience retail giant 7- Eleven, will address the potential for constructive collaboration between food manufacturers and retailers.

-  Karen Hocking, Head of Government Relations and Industry Development at Complementary Medicines Australia, will speak on a blue print for success for international businesses looking to enter the Asian nutrition market.

-  Sunny Koh, Managing Director of one of Asia’s leading food exporters, the Chinatown Food Corporation and Deputy President of the Singapore Manufacturing Association, will address east-west trade opportunities arising from a new partnership between Singapore and the European Enterprise Network (EEN).

-  Siti Noorbaiyah Abdul Malek, Director of AFBA, will consider what the creation of the ASEAN Economic Community and the recent signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership will mean for Asia’s food industry.

-  Jack Sim, food entrepreneur and founder of BoP Hub, will reveal how a new social business model is transforming the diet of Singapore’s migrant worker community and creating sustainable growth for local businesses.

-  Dr Ahmed El-Sohemy, Canada Research Chair in Nutrigenomics at the University of Toronto, will discuss personalized nutrition and its implications for today’s food and nutrition industries.

-  Jane Barnett, Mintel’s Head of Insight for Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia and India, will reveal key trends impacting Asia’s food and drink market.

Global Halal Alliance

Food Vision Asia will also be the location for a world-first event, with the launch of the Global Halal Alliance. Led by the Iskander Regional Development Authority and in collaboration with AsureQuality and Haltex Group, the Alliance will create a worldwide standard for the creation, marketing, and sale of Halal products. By doing so, it will enable both Muslim and non-Muslim organizations to thrive in the Halal economy, confident that their products meet a common standard that consumers can embrace. The creation of the Alliance will be formalised at Food Vision Asia and witnessed by His Excellency Dato Seri Mohammed Khaled Bin Nordin, Chief Minister of Johor State Malaysia.

 Food Vision Asia 2016 will be held between 27 and 29 April at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Singapore, within an exclusive event suite that combines business, networking, and residential facilities. The social highlight will be the event reception and dinner held at the Fullerton Hotel on Singapore’s Marina Bay. “Social as well as business networking is an important component of the Food Vision agenda,” says Ms Wood.

Food Vision Asia is supported by high profile industry partners including Platinum partner DSM, as well as Cosucra, and the Welsh Government. The latest to join the group is BASF, which, in the coming year, will be a Platinum partner of Food Vision Asia and its sister events in Europe and North America.

On Food Vision Asia’s final day, DSM will challenge delegates to reflect on the nutritional value of their hotel breakfast and consider how it compares to what Asia’s population typically wakes up to. “We’ll demonstrate how easy it can be to redress and rebalance the nutrient intake of any population,” says James Bauly, Marketing Director, Asia Pacific, DSM.

From 2016 Food Vision Asia will be held annually and will complement the Food Vision global forum held annually in Europe, as well as Food Vision USA. The Food Vision events program is managed and delivered by William Reed Business Media, publishers of FoodNavigator.com and NutraIngedients.com on three continents.

The full Food Vision Asia 2016 program can be downloaded from www.foodvisionasia.com.