The 2019 edition of Sirha promises to be bigger and better than previous years with more visitors, exhibitors and a new hall, adding another 10,000 sqm to the show floor. Organisers are expecting 3,000 exhibitors covering 12 sectors and over 200,000 visitors, including 25,000 chefs, from across the globe. This edition will see a spike in international visitors, which has gone up from 17% in 2017 to 25% predicted for 2019.
Organisers have identified seven industry influences and trends that will be presented throughout the show and is demonstration sections. Trends including flexitarianism and the demand for better and more local sourcing will be explored alongside other concepts that operators, consultants and other foodservice professionals can expect in the future.
Emotional experience
“Consumers are increasingly aware of the impact they have on our environment but also of what’s good for their health,” says managing director Marie Odile Fondeur. “They also want to find establishments that offer emotional experience. We have carried out some long-term projections in order to anticipate consumers’ future behaviour even further.”
Technology will be looming large over the show as digital innovation is changing the relationship consumers have with foodservice, especially where time is concerned. Among the emerging trends that will be featured at Sirha are ‘ecoaction’, which sees consumers seeking to preserve the environment; and ‘bodybalance’, used to describe the way people focus on a healthier diet without compromising on the pleasure of food.
Sirha will also play host to the Sirha World Cuisine Summit, an exclusive event featuring special guests, opinion leaders, top chefs and entrepreneurs who will come together to address the future of food. Contributors from across the world will share their ideas as they explain their vision for how to tackle the major challenge of eating better food.
Also taking place at the show in 2019 will be 24 contests that will demonstrate the best skills in the foodservice sector. Among them the Bocuse d’Or professional cooking competition, which will take place for the 30th year, and the Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie for pastry chefs. Both of these will reflect changes in the industry: in the Bocuse d’Or chefs will be expected to display more instinctive cooking while part of the pastry chefs’ challenge will be to create a vegan dessert.
“Our mission is to offer the keys to understand a market that is increasingly complex and competitive, and to encourage technical innovation, creativity and growth for businesses in the food service and hospitality industry,” explains Fondeur.
Award-winning innovation
The Sirha Innovation Awards will crown 12 innovations in the wider foodservice sector: eight awards in the category Products-Beverages-Ingredients and four in the Appliances-Equipment-Concepts category. A special Green award for a product or appliance featuring a beneficial advantage in terms of sustainable development will also be awarded by the jury.
Considering the show programme and the bigger picture in the foodservice industry, Fondeur sees many reasons to be positive. “I’ve always been concerned about health, nutrition and good food in general, and I’m very happy to see that foodservice professionals are more and more interested in starting or developing a sustainable policy in their restaurants (whether gastronomic or take away), their production units or their food outlets,” says Fondeur. “This makes me optimistic about the future of our plates.”
Further details:
Sirha will take place 26-30 January at Euroexpo in Lyon. For more information visit: www.sirha.com
