Alimentaria Lisboa fulfils its international participation targets

Alimentaria Lisboa brought its eighth edition to a close with outstanding results. In close to 23,000 m2, more than 36,000 professionals gathered to visit an exhibition of food and beverage products presented by 1,400 companies from 40 participating countries. Jointly organized by Feira Internacional de Lisboa (FIL) and Alimentaria Exhibitions, the trade fair achieved its goal of having more foreign buyers on hand than in its previous edition two years ago, and managed to encourage more sales relations and business opportunities.

Direct foreign participation accounted for 58% of all companies, occupying 30% of total show space. These are figures that clearly reveal the show’s increasingly international aspect. Indeed, the rise in demand from foreign companies has led to the event being recognized as a leader within the trade triangle between Europe, Portuguese-speaking Africa, and Brazil. In fact, thanks to its location and the professional nature of the trade fair, Portugal has been able to strengthen sales ties between the three continents. And what was especially noteworthy in 2005 was the presence of Brazilian buyers – a record number in the show’s history, with more than 60 business professionals on hand for the occasion.

Foreign presence was led by Spain (23% of the total), which has traditionally been the greatest contributor in terms of the number of companies, followed by Germany (7%), Italy (7%), and France (6%) – with an impressive level of returns. And, for the first time, Alimentaria Lisboa boasted business representatives from China, Ecuador, Turkey, Argentina, Chile and Greece. The United States participated again – this time with more exhibitors – and certain new European Union members also joined in. .

Satisfaction among exhibitors and vistors
Of the exhibitors that participated in Alimentaria 2005, 66% considered that their targets had been met, 7% surpassed them, and 24% stated that being present at the show had been worthwhile. Likewise, 99% expressed satisfation, and said that they were willing to visit the show in its future editions. The main reason visitors attended was to discover new products and business opportunities. The Expobebidas and Intercarne sectors were most highly rated among professionals (*).

Utmost professionalism
‘Added-value’ features of the exhibition could be found in initiatives like the Business Center, or the promotion of projects like Business Meetings with Portuguese-speaking countries – Brazil, Angola, Mozambique and Cape Verde.

Parallel activities
In addition to sales-oriented activities, Alimentaria Lisboa also featured parallel experiences such as the ‘Taste of Portugal’ display, the ‘Made in Portugal’ programme, the Intelligent Shop, the ‘Opportunities in the markets of Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde and Brazil’ seminar and the ‘New Products’ area, the latter of which was very highly rated by 40% of exhibitors who generally agreed that it was both productive and profitable.

(*) Source: Figures taken from a survey carried out by consulting firm TZIRANDA consisting of 436 interviews, with a margin of error of approximately 1% and a reliability index of 98%.