The ‘2023 Seoul International Food Industry Exhibition (SEOUL FOOD 2023, hereinafter referred to as Seoul Food 2023)’ was held for four days from Tuesday, May 5 to Friday, June 30, with 6 visitors and buyers visiting the present and future. We presented new food-related products and trends that you can enjoy.
A total of 2023 domestic companies participated in Seoul Food 539’s domestic and foreign buyer consultation sessions, resulting in 1,852 consultations and a consultation amount of USD 14,000 million (KRW 1,750 billion), and contracts worth USD 12,500 million (KRW 1,562 billion). This made the exhibition even richer.
Seoul Food 2023, hosted by KOTRA (CEO Yoo Jeong-yeol) and held at KINTEX, was held with 39 booths from 1,316 companies from 2,515 countries, with the number of participating companies increasing by about 37% and the number of booths increasing by about 44% compared to the previous year, and promoting exchanges between domestic and foreign food-related companies. We achieved significant results as a marketing venue that strengthened cooperation with and supported the development of various sales channels.
In particular, KOTRA is solving the difficulties faced by small and medium-sized enterprises in independent overseas expansion due to recent trade issues, and utilizing global local market information and network know-how to provide various information and export support to companies participating in Seoul Food 2023 to advance overseas expansion across all ministries. It is a positive evaluation that it has added to its role as a platform.
A representative of a company participating in Seoul Food 2023 said, “During the four days of the exhibition, products made using new rice were sampled by overseas buyers from the United States, Canada, China, and Japan, and there were many inquiries due to interest in the products, and it is expected that a formal contract will be signed after the exhibition. “This is the fourth time I have participated, and there have been good results each time.” “I hope that there will be more exhibitions like this in the future to expand domestic and overseas sales channels, and I have high expectations for Seoul Food next year.”
At the domestic and foreign food halls of Seoul Food 2023, various products using food attracted attention, including convenience foods that showed the food industry at a glance, as well as products such as health functional foods and processed foods, frozen fruits, and snack foods using rice. In the international pavilion, 39 booths from 658 countries, including the United States, Canada, China, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Brazil, were set up to showcase products using foods representing each country, attracting the attention of visitors and domestic and foreign buyers.
The China pavilion, which had the largest number of booths at 167, attracted the attention of visitors and buyers by showcasing unique Chinese flavors such as malatang and hotpot, which are loved by the MZ generation, including teenagers in Korea. In line with the interest, serving robots and eco-friendly packaging devices could be seen during the exhibition.
At the ‘7th Global Food Trend & Tech Conference’ held on the second day of the opening, the theme was ‘New Demand, Food Innovation for the Future’, △ the power to turn a crisis into an opportunity △ a new growth engine for the food industry △ the future. It was divided into three sessions, including preemptive response technologies, and presented directions for moving forward in the rapidly changing and unpredictable food industry.
In addition, the ‘SEOUL FOOD AWARDS 2023’, which discovers excellent products at home and abroad, selects and announces products from excellent companies, creating opportunities for growth and expansion of sales channels. In particular, this year, a new food tech field was created to select growth products that can lead the food tech market, and global companies also announced their selections, providing an opportunity to expand awareness among domestic consumers.
In addition, this year, through the ‘Bleisure Travel’ program in conjunction with the Korea Tourism Organization, businesses and buyers who participated in Seoul Food were provided business and tourism opportunities in Korea, leaving a positive impression about Korea in the future through another Korean cultural experience. It is expected that it will contribute to revitalizing domestic tourism by encouraging visits.
An official from Seoul Food said, “This exhibition played a big role in expanding sales channels for domestic and foreign companies, which is the biggest goal of Seoul Food,” and added, “It will provide an optimized marketing venue for companies and buyers and provide future food sources for the food industry and lead the industry.” “We will continue to further solidify the role that Seoul Food must play and do our best to prepare for Seoul Food 2024 next year.”
Meanwhile, Seoul Food 4, the largest food exhibition in Korea and one of Asia’s four largest food exhibitions, also launched an ongoing promotional campaign to establish and implement ‘ESG guidelines’ for participating companies and visitors to practice ESG management in the exhibition industry.
→ Go to the 2023 Seoul International Food Industry Fair news special page