The SIAL Shanghai food & beverage exhibition was held on May 18-20, 2023 at the Shanghai New International Expo Center. More than 4,500 exhibitors from more than 60 countries and regions from around the world participated in the exhibition in 12 thematic pavilions.The Slovak Investment and Trade Development Agency (SARIO) organized the first business mission to China in more than three years, led by Michal Dutko, Consultant of the SARIO Foreign Trade Department, who is in charge of East Asian countries.During the fair, the delegation attended a number of B2B meetings, some of which resulted in personal visits to production plants, specifically in the cities of Hangzhou and Suzhou. The entrepreneurs were personally accompanied by Vladimir Hodal, Head of the Economic Section of the Slovak Consulate General in Shanghai, who, thanks to his knowledge of the region, significantly contributed to the flawless business mission.Our Consulate General in Shanghai got the opportunity to use its own exhibition space free of charge and thus present Slovak products. It was the first national stand that the Slovak Republic had in the history of the SIAL exhibition (in the past, Slovak companies exhibited separately or under the stand of EU countries).Within the stand, the products of St. Nicolaus, which was personally represented by Matej Sabol, CEO St. Nicolaus, the products of Sonrisas, Kolatch, Fit4you, Gentlejam, Descanti, Pomfy., Barzzuz, Zdravia, Tanawa, Sulínka and Fatra mineral waters were also exhibited.Among the products on display, our mineral waters attracted the most attention, which are in demand on the Chinese market thanks to their design packaging and high mineral content.SIAL is the French abbreviation for "Salon International De L'Alimentation" (translated as International Food Exhibition). SIAL is a private brand of the Comexposium Group, the fifth largest exhibition organizer in the world, and was founded in 1964 in Paris. SIAL global exhibitions are held annually in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Paris, Montreal, Toronto, Las Vegas, New Delhi, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta, among other cities.The events have grown into the world's largest food and beverage exhibition series, providing a significant platform for F&B companies. Comexposium Group introduced SIAL in China in 2000 in an effort to improve the food industry there.During 23 years of operation in the Chinese market, SIAL China has organized two major F&B exhibitions: SIAL Shanghai and SIAL Shenzhen. Covering an area of 180,000 m2, this year's exhibition showcased products from the dairy, non-alcoholic beverage, food, meat and poultry, seafood, alcoholic beverage sectors, as well as various national and regional pavilions.
