Obesity, malnutrition among topics discussed at Food Vision Asia

Food Vision Asia held from 27 – 29 April at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Singapore was attended by over 160 industry figures from 25 countries.  This debut event gave delegates the opportunity to discuss various aspects of the nutrition and food and beverage markets in a series of presentations, debates, and panel discussions.

“Over the last few years, we’ve noticed an increase in interest for our events from industry professionals in Asia,” said Margarete Baltay, Food Vision’s Event Director. “Food Vision Asia was created to serve this region and to offer industry professionals more direct access to a Food Vision event. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and it reaffirms our decision to bring the event to Asia.”

Same issues, more solutions

Of the many topics that were explored at this event, several stood out, including critical global issues such as malnutrition and obesity, and niche areas like nutrigenomics. Presentations on these issues received many queries from the attendees and prompted numerous additional discussions.

Even as delegates catch up on the latest market developments and forge new connections at Food Vision Asia, the event serves a larger purpose for the industry - shaping its future by engaging the top decision makes across sectors and countries. Through the in-depth discussions and interactions, Food Vision Asia challenges conventional thinking and inspires new opportunities for sustainability and profitability in business, impacting the industry beyond the event’s duration.

Global Halal Alliance launch

The Global Halal Alliance, led by the Iskandar Regional Development Authority and set up in collaboration with AsureQuality and Haltex Group, aims to develop a worldwide standard for the creation, marketing, and sale of Halal products.

In addition, Food Industry Asia (FIA) hosted its Annual General Meeting in conjunction with Food Vision Asia, further testifying to the event’s prominence within the industry. The association worked in close partnership with the organizers to develop the programe and to reach out to the industry. Commenting on the success of Food Vision Asia, Steven Bartholomeusz, Head of Advocacy & Communications at Food Industry Asia, remarked, “We collaborated closely with the team behind Food Vision Asia to put the conference agenda together. The turnout is great and the feedback about the conference sessions is very positive.”

Knowledge-transfer and senior level networking

Patterned after the Food Vision event series, it follows the formula of knowledge transfer and senior level networking, and featured over 12 hours of knowledge-sharing and discussions, led by a panel of 25 industry leaders from diverse backgrounds, all of whom are experts in their respective fields.

Food Vision Asia would not be complete without networking opportunities, so there were ample time to interact through the speed networking session, roundtable lunch, and coffee breaks.

Feedback

Reflecting the positive sentiments felt during Food Vision Asia, results from a post-event survey revealed that 9 out of 10 delegates think Food Vision Asia succeeded in connecting leaders from the nutrition, food and beverage industry, while 86 percent are confident that the knowledge they gained will add value to their businesses.

“The various sessions at Food Vision Asia were very insightful,” said Hendra Adisubrata, Food Manufacturing Director at TPS Food. “The event provided a wide range of industry information, and enabled me to network with delegates from all over the world.”

Sara Aparicio Hill, Associate at K&L Gates LLP, concurred, saying that the event provided her an opportunity to glean new insights to the food industry. She revealed, “Food Vision Asia has been most impressive with its quality conference line-up. The topics are very relevant, and the speakers have shared some practical advice and refreshing insights that will be most helpful to industry professionals. In my line of work, it is important to stay up-to-date with the latest news about the F&B market. Being at Food Vision Asia has allowed me to gain an even better understanding of the industry.”

Don McLellan, Chairman & Managing Director of AFC Yeast, who is in search of business opportunities, shared: “I came to Food Vision Asia with the aim to commercialize our product, and I’ve had the chance to interact and connect with like-minded industry professionals here. I’m glad to be here and it’s been a really good experience.”

Food Vision Asia is slated to return to Singapore in 2017 as an annual event, running alongside sister events – Food Vision global forum in Europe and Food Vision USA.

Ms Baltay added, “Overall, we are very pleased with the success of this debut event, and the industry can look forward to an equally informative and interactive edition next year.”