India’s largest International Exhibition for Food & Drink Technology - 16th ANUTEC – International FoodTec India 2022, came to a successful conclusion with over 21000 unique visitors with over 450 exhibitors from 52 countries along with a series of seminars, workshops, and full-house conferences discussing the sustainability of food industry challenges and solutions, food wastage, nutritional value of food, policy makers’ involvement to a broader audience, thus making the conversations more engaging and wider in scope.

Glimpses of many success stories while setting guidelines for a roadmap for the country’s food manufacturing hub

The expo was marked by the presence of high-profile dignitaries, from ministers to associations and media from the food processing industry. Various industry bodies discussed innovative solutions suited to India’s agroclimatic and socio-cultural requirements.

Inaugurating the 16th ANUTEC – International FoodTec India 2022, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, Hon’ble Minister of State (MOS) for the Ministry of Food Processing and Jal Shakti of India underlined the need for the right techniques & machines for the food processing sector said, “Reducing compliance is important but that alone will not suffice to ensure the growth of Food Processing Sector, as there is also an urgent need to adopt the right techniques and momentum for processing our farm outputs, particularly items like fruits and vegetables with a short shelf life. I am happy to experience the innovative technologies at display that will help create a modern infrastructure that can help in efficient supply chain management across MSME large and small segments. We will do all that we can to simplify the food policy and support the food processing industry.”

Commenting on the success of 16th ANUTEC, Milind Dixit, managing director, Koelnmesse India YA Trade Fairs said “Not only did we have an increased number of visitors, but 16th ANUTEC also had many success stories, UNIPACK Engineering closed a bulk order from a single customer, Siddhivinayak Agri Processing announced a joint venture with its Netherlands partner Kuipers for their engineering division business. And success stories are still pouring in.”

The event witnessed participation from leading domestic players including Heat & Control, Clearpack, Syntegon, Hassia India, Mamta Machinery, Nichrome, Kanchan Metals, Vedic Pac Systems, and Keron Food Processing Technologies, among others.

The conferences also saw various industry bodies discuss innovative solutions suiting to our agroclimatic & socio-cultural requirements as well as relaying the Food Industry’s concerns to Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, Hon’ble Minister of State (MOS) for Ministry of Food Processing and Jal Shakti of India.

Conferences & seminars at the 16th ANUTEC

‘Central Government's Ministry of MSME Schemes and Support to Food Industry’ organized by Chamber of Advancement of Small & Medium Businesses (CASMB) on Day 1, where Praful Umbre, Assistant Director (Grade-II), Office of Development Commissioner (MSME) spoke about the growing MSME sector in India and discussed measures to strengthen it further. Umbre also highlighted the benefits and financial & training support that the Government of India extends to the MSME sector.

‘Intelligent Intralogistics - Experience The Flow’ by Siemens conducted by Ashwinkumar Inamdar, manager of business development, Siemens on Day 1, was aimed at enhancing knowledge about the need for digitalization or a digital twin. He shed light on the problems faced by manufacturers, such as the changes or disruptions in technology brought about by artificial intelligence and robotics.

‘Star Awards & Conference’ starting off with a talk on ‘Packaging at Crossroads’ organized by IFCA on Day 2, concluded with the awards ceremony – ‘IFCA Star Award’ a prestigious award for the flexible packaging and carton packaging industries that serves as a platform for encouraging creativity and drive continuous improvement.

National Seminar on ‘Sustainability of Food Industry Challenges & Solutions’ hosted by All India Food Processors Association on Day 2 focused on technical and policy requirements that can elevate the Indian food industry to global benchmarks. While raising Industry’s concerns & challenges to Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, MoFPI, Dr Subodh Jindal, immediate past president, AIFPA highlighted “We request the government to help by letting adjudications take place within the state of registration of the entrepreneur that will give him more time to attend to production rather than running to distant locations and getting stressed under unnecessary harassment and exploitation, which kills sustenance.”

This was followed by a panel discussion on ‘Ease of Doing Business’ chaired by Dr. Prabodh Halde, Chairman, West Zone-AIFPA & head-Technical Regulatory Affairs, Marico, which discussed the need for adequate training and benefits of the right policies & measures required for an optimal business operation.

‘Technical session’ organized by FSSAI, chaired by Dr.Ravishankar CN, director and vice-chancellor, ICAR – Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmer Welfare, Govt of India, focused on consumer quality and brand building tools. M.A Tejani, former president, AIFPA & managing director, Gits Foods Products spoke about the challenges of extended producer responsibility (EPR) & central ground water authority (CGWA) issues.

‘Plant-based: A Canvas for Innovation, a conference by Innova Market Insight on Day 3, focused on innovation in the plant-based sector. Talking about the myriad ways how brands could garner and retain the interest of Indian consumers, Padmaja P.B., Research Analyst presented major insights and identified future trends to drive this ever-evolving category.

Concurrent events

Guided Factory Tour – It provided a live technical demonstration of the latest technology and innovation in the food & beverage processing and packaging industry. The tour displayed live and running equipment on the exhibition show floor. It was aimed at giving buyers a feel of visiting factory premises, evaluating and experiencing the live machine, and gathering technical insights from the experts of the respective booth.

Packaging Theatre – Innova Market Insights displayed India's top trends and concepts in sustainable and innovative packaging by setting up product examples to inspire manufacturers to develop their own innovative packaging. Bhushan Patil, lead consumer insights, Innova Market Insights added, "The aim is to drive packaging innovation, and as well as approach them in terms of helping them develop their brand and their packaging."

When asked about his experience at the event, Michiel van Erkel, agriculture counselor, Council General, Netherlands Embassy, shared, “I think it's very impressive to see the size of the exhibition and the number of companies being represented here. You see a lot of high-quality equipment being exhibited. I'm impressed. Overall, a very positive atmosphere with a lot of companies, and fruitful discussions with the audience. So yeah, positive overall.”

Talking about the arrangements and the footfall at the exhibition, Uday Kshirsagar, managing director, PIAB commented, “Coming here made us feel that we are on the right track. We are focussed towards understanding the fast-changing dynamics in the market and getting along with it and delivering at that level the output which is in sync with our five-year plan,”.

Anant Chitale, Chitale Group said, “I think ANUTEC – International FoodTec India has been a grand success. This is a really big event after a long time, and it’s good to see and meet a lot of people here. When you visit such kinds of events, you meet a lot of people on one platform, which would otherwise take months to visit. Apart from the meeting, you also learn about the latest trends and ways to grow your business”.

Sunil Kumar Marwah, CEO, Sector Skill Council for food Processing FICSI, said, “I think the ANUTEC and ANUFOOD are taking place at the right time; with the industry getting restarted in the positive frame of mind, such an event is most welcome. I could see so many new things, new machinery, and foreign suppliers displaying their solutions. This is a constant process, a new technology means efficiency, effectiveness, and cost reduction”.

The event was supported by the All-India Food Processors Association (AIFPA), Association of Food Scientists & Technologists of India (AFSTI - Mumbai), Chamber for Advancement of Small and Medium Businesses (CASMB), Indian Flexible Packaging & Folding Carton Manufacturers Association (IFCA).

About Koelnmesse

Koelnmesse – industry trade fairs for the food technology sector: Koelnmesse is an international leader in organizing trade fairs in the field of food and beverage processing. Anuga FoodTec and ProSweets Cologne are established, world-leading trade fairs, hosted in Cologne/Germany. In addition to the events at its Cologne headquarters, Koelnmesse also stages further food technology trade fairs with different sector-specific areas of focus and content in key markets across the world, including India, Italy, and Columbia. These global activities enable Koelnmesse to offer its customers bespoke events and leading regional trade fairs in a variety of markets, thus creating the foundation for sustainable international business. Koelnmesse is also ideally positioned in the field of food and beverages with its leading international trade fairs Anuga and ISM and its global network of satellite events.

About Koelnmesse YA Tradefair

Koelnmesse YA Tradefair is an Indian Subsidiary of Koelnmesse GmbH, Germany a leading Tradefair organizer in the world. KMYA is one of the leading trade fair organisers in India through their offices in Mumbai (HO), Delhi, and Hyderabad with expertise in Food, Food Processing, Dairy, Foundry & varied industries.

Koelnmesse India is the most preferred partner by leading trade bodies & industry associations like the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), The Institute of Indian Foundrymen (IIF), Indian Dairy Association (IDA), India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) among others.

Upcoming events

Cibus Tec Forum, Parma, Italy, 25.10.2022-26.10.2022

ProSweets, Cologne, Germany, 29.01.2023 -01.02.2023

Cibus Tec, Parma, Italy 24.10.2023- 27.10.2023