The Anuga, the largest food and beverage fair in the world held in Germany every two years, gathered food producers from 187 countries last October, to showcase food products worldwide and discuss industry prospects and trends.
The Philippine representation brought to Anuga samples of the finest organic and specialty food products under the collective food exports brand, Premium Food Philippines.
Premium Food Philippines is made up of local food products carefully selected through the Design for Exports Program for the Food Sector (DEFood), for their excellent packaging, compliance with labeling requirements, and alignment to food safety certifications and standards, among others.
The DEFood program, implemented by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), seeks to promote product development and branding, food packaging development and enhancement, alignment to market requirements and promotion across the local and international market.
The program targets the development of what it dubs as the Philippine Premium 7 commodities — coconut, pineapple, mango, banana, coffee, cacao and tuna – chosen for their versatility, global demand and export performance.
The Philippine pavilion also presented a showcase of the country’s food artisanship and unique culinary flavors. The program of activities included cooking demonstrations of desserts and dishes from cacao, coffee, coconut, and muscovado and coconut sugar as well as barista demonstrations using Philippine coffee.
The Aruga forum identified five major trends in the food export industry:
1. Manufacturing focus on food values – which refers to freshness, taste, and sustainability of high-quality products
2. Convenience products – These must be developed to cater to changing lifestyles and changing food habits. Target groups include vegans, vegetarians and people with certain food intolerance.
3. Fair trade products – These are emerging to be the preferred products in Europe and Asia.
4. New products – New products and product innovations that can be sold to retail stores worldwide
5. Transparency and traceability of food – This must be recognized not as a trade barrier but as a responsibility to the consumer.
The Philippine representation to the fair was spearheaded by DTI’s export promotions arm, the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) and the Department of Agriculture’s marketing arm Agribusiness Marketing and Assistance Service (DA-AMAS).
Photo: from thecitemblog.files.com
