Singapore’s food and beverage (F&B) industry is shifting its focus away from productivity to spotlight on value creation.
Spearheaded by the Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF) and International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore), the industry is transforming as manufacturers look towards innovation, growth, and internationalization.
From April 12 to 15, FoodAsia2016 will showcase a range of innovative home-grown companies with novel, first-of-a-kind creations, as part of the Singapore Pavilion led by SMF.
The specialized exhibition for food and drinks is a part of Food&HotelAsia (FHA).
Organizer of FHA, Singapore Exhibition Services, expects to attract more than 65,000 trade attendees from more than 90 countries and regions to the event in April.
F&B industry in Asia tipped for robust growth
The F&B industry is thriving in the Asia-Pacific region as the world economy shifts from the West to the East.
According to Euromonitor International, the region’s F&B industry is expected to achieve a turnover of US$3.23 trillion in 2016, and its expansion is forecast to outpace Western Europe and North America.
This prospect has attracted many foreign investors to expand into Asia, resulting in stiffer competition among local and regional F&B players.
To compete, the Singapore F&B industry is looking toward creating long-term value and developing strategies that will set it apart from foreign competitors.
“Despite a fall in global trade in 2015, Asia’s total trade with the rest of the world in packaged foods attained third spot in 2015, behind Europe and the Americas,” says Lee Yee Fung, group director for Lifestyle Business at IE Singapore.
“Asia Pacific is also projected to have the 2nd-highest growth rate for packaged foods in the next five years.”
“So even with a modest economic outlook for 2016, there are pockets of opportunities in the region.”
“It is thus imperative for Singapore companies to look beyond our market, innovate and transform their business models, in order to sustain future growth.”
“With a strong ecosystem of food companies in place, the Singapore food and beverage industry is at a prime spot to ride this growth trajectory.”
Value creation, internationalization
FoodAsia2016 will showcase new products pertaining to ready-to-cook meals, chocolates and fish otah.
For example, frozen retail pack Hargow Crystal Skin, developed by Tee Yih Jia Food Manufacturing, overcame the problem of making the skin of the dumpling by hand with inconsistent quality.
Meanwhile, Tan Seng Kee Foods uses pasteurization technology to manufacture fresh preservative-free noodles with a shelf life of six months when stored chilled.
The Factory Chocolat will showcase its range of freeze-dried fruit chocolates that is exported to China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
Networking
SMF has rolled out initiatives to help local F&B manufacturers create value and internationalize.
With its Working-in-Partnership (WIP) Programme, local food exporters can consolidate their efforts and directly ship their products to overseas supermarkets.
This will help the food companies to reduce operational costs, while leveraging on the strength of collective branding.
“The Singapore Pavilion at FoodAsia2016 allows exhibitors to build networks and distribution channels,” says Sunny Koh, SMF deputy president and chairman of SMF Food & Beverages Industry Group.
“SMF helps to make the internationalization process easier for our exhibitors through the Hosted Buyers Programme, whereby buyers from all parts of the world are brought to meet the exhibitors directly.”
“We are seeing some positive results of food companies’ efforts to expand overseas, especially as the ‘Made in Singapore’ brand becomes increasingly recognized for food safety and high quality.”
With IE Singapore, SMF will be inviting more than 130 buyers from over 60 companies across 18 countries and regions to meet the Singapore exhibitors through scheduled business matching sessions.
