New expo for beverage, liquor
Exhibition Management Services, organisers of Africa's Big Seven (AB7), is launching DrinkTech Africa, a dedicated exhibition and conference designed to service the continent's growing beverage and liquid food markets, the company announced on Wednesday, 4 November 2009. The inaugural DrinkTech will run alongside AB7 2010.
The exhibition will display equipment, technology, systems and ingredients for manufacturing, filling, packaging and distribution of beverages and liquid foods. Products such as non-alcoholic drinks, beer, spirits, milk and liquid dairy products, liquid food, fruit juices, wine, water, tea and coffee, energy and wellness drinks and all other beverages will be on show.
Africa's Big Seven will be held on 25 - 27 July 2010 at Gallagher Convention Centre and will include Agrifood; DrinkTech Africa; FoodBiz Africa; FoodTech Africa; Interbake Africa; Pan Africa Retail Trade Exhibition; and Retail Solutions Africa. DrinkTech Africa will be held every second year and alternate with IFMA (The Meat Industry expo).
Energy drinks top the bill
According to BMI Research, in South Africa, the top performing beverage categories are energy drinks with a 20% growth for 2007 - 2008, followed by bottled water, iced tea and carbonated soft drinks. In alcoholic beverages, flavoured alcoholic drinks lead growth whilst dairy beverages showed good growth due to milk surplus experienced from the last quarter of 2008.
AB7 is showing strong growth even in a recessionary economy with both exhibitor and visitor numbers growing and 90% of visitors polled in 2009 saying they would return again in 2010. This year's the exhibition had 238 exhibiting companies from 39 countries and 7542 visitors from 45 countries.
A full show report detailing demographics, visitor business profiles and their attitudes to the event is available on request from .
