FBIF 2019 Was Successfully Organized by Simba Events in China, Discussing Open Innovation in the Food Industry

Shanghai, China, June 10, 2019 --(PR.com)-- The Food & Beverage Innovation Forum 2019 (FBIF2019), organized by Simba Events, was held in Hangzhou International Expo Center in China on April 23, 2019. The forum, themed as "Gaining New Momentum from Open Innovation," paid attention to the new format in the food industry. 120+ global speakers and 4000+ decision makers from 700+ leading companies, including Nestle, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Mondelēz International, Nongfu Spring, Yili, Mengniu and etc., were all involved in the discussion of the most cutting-edge industrial trends. 100+ media partners from the UK, Singapore and China also gathered at the FBIF 2019 to disseminate the global F&B industry trends and the views from industrial experts to the world from a variety of perspectives.

On the first day of the FBIF2019, the Plenary Session officially started after the opening remark by Isabella Hsu, the Founder & CEO of Simba Events. The Conference Chairman Aalt Dijkhuizen, the President of Dutch Topsector Agri & Food, pointed out that the tremendous changes in the F&B markets in China, such as the rising of new middle class, the growing spending power of the Millennials, the increasing demand for healthy aging and individualization, are urging the enterprises to be more open to the changes.

FBIF2018 Topics Continued: On the Internationalization of China's Domestic Brands

In the FBIF2018, the topic On the Internationalization of China's Domestic Brands was discussed. This year, they started with the same topic, to continue the thinking and start the new journey of this year. What does the global enterprise mean? What challenges does Chinese brands meet while going abroad? How to build and enhance the cultural awareness of the brand? Moderated by Aalt Dijkhuizen, panelists from CHIC Group, Nongfu Spring, Nestlé Xiamen Yinlu Foods, Ausnutria Dairy (China) Co., Ltd. joined the discussion.

The Overview of Trends in 2019: Consumption & Marketing

In the forum, Gisele Gurgel, the Director Global Business Information and Insights of Tetra Pak, shared the global consumption trend in 2019. "Today, at this moment, you are experiencing the slowest change in your future life." Gisele Gurgel conceived some future scenarios of the F&B industry: door-to-door delivery and small community stores will gradually replace large and medium-sized supermarkets; personalization will become the norm of manufacturing; brands will keep segmenting; sustainable food and packaging will become new rules all over the world.

Future consumers will be more interested in 360-degree health and sustainable choices, as well as convenience and personalized experience. Under this trend, products that have clear goals, that can bring obvious benefits and convenience to consumers and provide customized nutrition service, are more likely to achieve success.

Accordingly, brand marketing strategies also need to be upgraded and innovated. Helen Luan, the General Manager of Tencent Marketing Solution, delivered a speech entitled, "Succession after facing difficulties, from operating to sales: the Chinese smart way of global food and drinks industry."

Transformation of Large Food Corporations: Open Innovation

In the face of a rapidly changing market and business environment, many food giants at home and abroad have carried out joint innovation through external cooperation, or cooperated with start-ups to complement each other. In the panel discussion moderated by Aalt Dijkhuizen, panelists from General Mills and PepsiCo shared the innovative experience of large food enterprises with the theme "Embrace Open Innovation, Welcome New Growth."

Innovation means doing the same thing in different ways. Nini Chiang, the CMO of Greater China Region from Nestle (China) Ltd., delivered a speech on the theme of “Innovation Accelerates Business Transformation," introducing Nestle's innovations from four aspects, including core category innovation, experiential innovation, exploring gaps, and marketing innovation. Among those four aspects, the incubator model for exploring gaps is customized for Chinese consumers, which focuses on developing new and cross-category products. The incubator model shortens the research and development time from 18-24 months to 6-8 months.

As the last part of the first day of FBIF2019, the ceremony of Marking Awards 2019, a global food & beverage packaging design award, was successfully host by Shushu Li, the Awards Director of Simba Events, and Christophe Pradere, the CEO & Founder of BETC Design & BETC Asia.