Success of exhibitors from South Africa at ANUGA

SIPPO South Africa supported the dtic, the strategic BSO partner, as well as Wesgro and TIKZN with the implementation of the South African Country Pavilion at Anuga 2023, the largest global trade fair for the food and beverage sector.

The South African Pavilions at Anuga 2023, which were located in both the Fine Foods and Beverage Halls, showcased a wide range of products of the 36 exhibiting companies.

SIPPO’s support to the BSOs started several months before the fair. Together with the dtic, SIPPO provided support for the development of a trade fair strategy for Anuga, to ensure alignment with the BSO’s objectives, as well as to enhance the results of the event. The strategy included elements such as company preparation sessions as well as the construction of promotional tools to increase South Africa’s visibility at the show.

Following virtual preparatory workshops, SIPPO also supported the BSOs with their on-site workshops, which were hosted by the respective BSOs in Durban, with TIKZN, in Cape Town with Wesgro and with the dtic in Pretoria. At these workshops, a SIPPO international sector expert for the food and beverage sector guided the BSOs and their companies on the trade fair participation and on the important topic of sustainability. The workshops included both informative sessions and interactive exercises, which are methodologies that are being gradually transferred from SIPPO to the BSOs. As such, the workshops serve as real-life labs where the institutions can test, learn and obtain direct feedback from companies.

The thorough preparation of the exhibitors by the BSOs with SIPPO’s oversight, was particularly appreciated by the BSOs for their companies in that they were better prepared to meet with potential customers, as well as having good knowledge to properly communicate their sustainability efforts to buyers in Switzerland and Europe. In the words of one of the South African exhibitors of a range of dried fruit and other processed foods, “Thanks to the detailed preparation by Wesgro, supported by SIPPO, Anuga was an enormous success for us”. According to  Wesgro’s Senior International Trade Manager for Europe & United Kingdom, Nomsa Dlamini, she has greatly appreciated SIPPO’s support in assisting them to thoroughly prepare their companies for trade fair participation. She mentioned that the skills and tools shared with them have really given her confidence to implement these events and support their companies.

The dtic was also guided by SIPPO for the preparation of a comprehensive promotional campaign using social media, particularly LinkedIn, to promote the South African participation at Anuga.  The campaign was strongly endorsed by the other SIPPO partner BSOs and companies alike, creating a sense of unity within the national pavilion.

SIPPO’s capacity development efforts to BSOs continued on-site. At Anuga, SIPPO’s Country Representative and the international sector expert introduced the BSO representatives to importers and distributors and supported them in sharing valuable market insights and strategic advice for their companies. BSO exchange was facilitated at the fair for Wesgro with Peru’s Lima Chamber of Commerce and Tunisia’s CEPEX, which led to interesting conversations on good practices and to an open exploration of potential areas for collaboration.

In addition, SIPPO’s support will continue after the trade fair with follow-up according to the strategy. This includes the evaluation with the dtic and other BSOs, building on to their sector promotion strategy, looking towards 2024 and beyond.