Vitafoods Europe 2016, Geneva, Switzerland, May 10-12

Vitafoods to showcase nutrition innovation boom

The PalExpo halls will be bursting with bright ideas at this year's Vitafoods conference and expo in Geneva

92% of 800+ ingredient and product exhibitors that attended Vitafoods Europe in Geneva last year said they would launch at least one product in the following year.

Research undertaken by Vitafoods owner Informa found 21% planned to introduce 10 or more with another 19% planning between five and nine debuts.

Informa found similarly high innovation commitments among a sample of last year’s 15,627 visitors from more than 100 countries. 88% said they would launch a new product or ingredient in the last 12 months.

“As our research shows, innovation is very high on the agendas of both the companies exhibiting and the industry professionals who will visit,” said Chris Lee, Vitafoods portfolio director.

“That’s why we’ve worked so hard to create such a wide range of attractions that will make it easier for visitors to find the innovations they need to help them meet the business challenges that matter most to them.”

Innovation incubator

VF-finprods-small — There will be two finished product zones at this year's Vitafoods.

These include the new LaunchPad which allows innovators to detail their debuts in detail in the manner of a case study and Springboard Pavilion where nutrition-focused start-ups can gain exposure for their projects.

Spotlights at the Tasting Bar will give visitors the chance to put the concepts in their mouths and there will be two New Products Zones for both ingredients and end-products. Last year more than 200 exhibitors showed off their cutting edge wares.

A Packaging Innovation Centre will feature for the first time to throw a light on an often overlooked yet vital part of any product’s success or failure.

Innovation Tours will focus on five topics: the importance of food origin; vegan food; free-from formulations; healthy snacking and future food forms.

The event includes an extensive conference programme tackling subjects from infant nutrition, to QC, to brain health to sports nutrition and more.

The NutraIngredients Awards appear for the second year with an awards ceremony and dinner on May 11 at the Starling Hotel, located next to PalExpo where Vitafoods takes place. Already 200 have booked places so it's a great chance to taste the best of the industry and network with peers and media. More here.

Vitafoods Europe runs between May 10-12. There is more here.