The 10th edition of India’s largest food intelligence event – India Food Forum will kick start from 31st January to 2nd February 2017 at MMRDA Ground, Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai.
The three day event will kick off its 2017 edition with thoughtfully designed, three structured exhibition zones Food & Grocery Forum India (FGFI), India Food Service Forum (IFSF) and India Food Retail Tech (IFRT) and a powerful conference that promise to keep its delegates connected with the next big consumption trends and innovations in food retailing, HoReCa and food technology, ensuring that they are empowered with the products and insights to maximise the opportunities offered by India’s vast consumer universe.
The theme for INDIA FOOD FORUM 2017 – ‘Catalyzing and building the appetite for food consumption in this digital, connected and convenience driven consumers landscape and feeding the online consumers of tomorrow’ will build the roadmap for food retail business to accurately read the underlying opportunities and predict future consumption paths the Indian consumer will tread.
Formed in the year 2008 with the mission of taking up a series of support initiatives for the Indian food retail business under the chairmanship of the then Food Processing Minister with India’s leading manufacturers, marketers and retailers of food, grocery and FMCG products, India Food Forum 2017 will be chaired by President & CEO, Walmart India, Krish Iyer.
A panel of industry experts, including Krish Iyer (Chairman, India Food Forum and President & CEO, Walmart India), Arvind Varchasvi (Trustee, Sri Sri Ayurveda Trust and Group Advisor – International Affairs, AYUSH Advisory Group), Devendra Chawla (Group President, Food & FMCG Brands, Future Group), Henrik Osterstrom (Country Food Manager, Ikea India), Saugata Gupta (MD & CEO, Marico), Priyank Sukhija, Founder, Lazeez Affaire Group, Jamshed Daboo, CEO, Trent Hypermarkets and Nandan Reddy, Co-founder, Swiggy.com will be speaking at the Inaugural Session on ‘how innovation is leading to growth and potential for food market and how the current trends are shaping the 10 growth areas of tomorrow’.
As the business landscape gets more competitive and consumers get more demanding and unforgiving, those with informed, first-mover advantages will clearly have an edge. Knowledge is power and in the tech-empowered world of today, the customer is truly king. Staying ahead of the curve is no longer a choice, it is an imperative. This is the defining mission of India Food Forum, the foremost outlet of India’s best-in-class practices in innovation, retail strategy and technology.
“As an economy with a strong agricultural base, India is blessed with immense natural resources, which if harnessed in a responsible and far-reaching manner, have the potential to propel us to sustainable economic growth for next few decades. Our honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has already spelt out his dream of a strong, self-reliant nation through his visionary ‘Make in India’ campaign. As businesses, directly or indirectly connected to the food business, we should now take it upon ourselves to imbibe global best practices, innovation and bold initiatives to become a world-class food retail economy,” said Krish Iyer.
“For the past decade, India Food Forum has gathered key decision makers from every part of the food supply chain – from processors, producers to distributors, marketers, service providers, restaurant and hospitality companies and retailers – to push for best-practices in food and grocery retail and foodservice sectors in India. Our dream is to facilitate the evolution of India into a world power in food retail, and that is not possible without the collective thought and effort of global experts, policy makers, private enterprises and all those who have invested in the food & grocery supply chain in India. Now in its 10th edition, India Food Forum 2017 will feature international pavilions of various foreign trade bodies and countries, including USA, UK, UAE among others, alongside leading food brands and retail concepts,” he added.
Referring to the ongoing shifts in consumer behavior brought on by technology, CMD, IMAGES Group, Amitabh Taneja said, “Increased diversity and channels of convenience are key to growth in the Indian food industry and hence the food industry keeps up to speed with new technology and makes adequate investment in relevant food infrastructure areas. In recent times, Indians have seen a dramatic shift in culinary habits. The trend towards drive-ins and quick home delivery services has gained immense popularity and has in turn led to the evolution of numerous other innovative trends. INDIA FOOD FORUM is a platform which will provide a sense to create truly disruptive food experiences using a multisensory approach to rethinking what, and how, we eat for tomorrow.”
India Food Forum 2017 endorses India’s status as possibly world’s most exciting marketplace, and empowers everybody of the industry with rich insights, innovation and market-ahead ideas that can enable sustainable and profitable growth. Considering the multiplicity of experiences, highs and lows and the constant excitement of what next!
Key Highlights & Spokespersons:
- 35 Conference sessions & master classes on every aspect of food innovation, marketing and retailing
- Over 100 new products and food innovations for Chefs and Hospitality businesses
- Platform to connect with 500 of India’s most influential food retail leaders
- 13 Live Kitchen cooking sessions featuring leading chefs
- Key spokespersons present at the forum: Damodar Mall (CEO, Grocery Retail, Reliance Retail) Rajeev Krishnan (MD & CEO, Max Hypermarkets), Ramesh Menon (Chief Executive Officer, Hypercity Retail), Unnat Varma (MD, Pizza Hut – Indian Subcon, Yum Restaurants), Vikram Kamat (MD, VITS hotels & Kamats Restaurants), K Radhakrishnan (Co-Founder, Grocermax), Sadashiv Nayak, (CEO, Big Bazaar), Siraj Chaudhry (Chairman, Cargill India), Mahesh Kanchan, VP – Marketing, Carlsberg, Jamshed Daboo, CEO, Trent Hypermarkets, Mohit Kampani, CEO, Aditya Birla Retail, Priyank Sukhija, Founder, Lazeez Group, Arvind Mediratta, MD & CEO, METRO Cash & Carry, Saurabh Kochhar, (Co-Founder and CEO, Foodpanda.com), among many others.
- Ashraf Ali Mahate (Chief Economist, Trade & Export Development, Dubai Exports) will talk on Dubai exports – global food at your doorstep – highlighting the choice, quality & affordability and how the Indian food industry can collaborate, partner, benefit, grow and associate with it
- Trade commissioners of Canada, Peru, Chile, UK, US, EU etc. will be discussing how embassies, trade commission can play a role in promoting food trade in the country
- India Gate powers Coca-Cola Golden Spoon Awards 2017 to honour India’s most exciting and innovative food retailers, foodservice formats and food retail professionals.
