The 23rd edition of Food Hospitality World opened to business at KTPO Whitefield in Bangalore
on June 12, 2014. The three day B2B food and hospitality tradeshow, held from June 12 – 14, was
inaugurated by Ugo Ciarlatani, consul general of Italy in Mumbai. Other dignitaries present at the
inauguration were R Anand, vice president, The Indo-Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(IICCI), Cesare Saccani, vice president, IICCI, Mel Shah, managing director, Hannover Milano Fairs
India to name a few. The exhibition had many firsts to its credit this time.
FHW exhibition in association with IICCI hosted the Ospitalita Italiana awards for the first time on
the inaugural day. Ospitalit? Italiana, an initiative which aims to certify authentic and quality Italian
restaurants globally, was developed by Unioncamere in collaboration with ? Federazione Italiana
Pubblici Esercizi ? and with the support of IS.NA.R.T. ? Istituto Nazionale Ricerche Turistiche.
At the 23rd FHW exhibition, the awards felicitation was done by prominent Italian diplomats and
members of the IICCI. Speaking at the awards ceremony, Ciarlatani stated, “India and Italy have the
same commitment to promote food and food machinery. The demand for Italian food is increasing
in India. However, India needs to work on simplifying the regulations regarding labelling of food
products. India needs to attract international companies in sectors where the country is not a producer
like sparkling water. We want to increase our presence in India and India can export more products to
Italy.”
Another debut event at the exhibition this year was Hospitality Trailblazers. The hospitality industry
in Southern India has served up many iconic hotel brands that have set benchmarks and blazed a trail
for others to follow. At this year’s exhibition, 12 of these Hospitality Trailblazers to have made a
unique distinction in the southern hospitality space were honoured. The honours were given under five
categories – sustainability, wellness, heritage, MICE and homegrown brands. CGH Earth, Windflower
Group of Hotels and The Green Path were felicitated with the honour under sustainability; Our Native
Village and Soukya under wellness; St. Marks Bangalore, Taj West End Bangalore and ITC Windsor
under heritage; Lulu International Convention Centre and Hyderabad International Convention Centre
under MICE; and Orange County Luxury Resorts and Abad Hotels and Resorts under homegrown
brands.
Apart from these special events, FHW also hosted Hospitality Think Tank, a panel discussion on the
topic – The business of catering: what’s on the table? The three-day exposition witnessed exhibitors
coming from different segments of the food and hospitality industry like F&B, interiors, kitchen
equipment, housekeeping, bakery to name a few. Spread across 10,000 sq mtrs of KTPO, Whitefield,
the exhibition hosted approximately 200 national and international participants this time and consisted
of themed pavilions from different countries. The exhibition aims at providing solutions to various
industry-related problems faced by hoteliers, restaurateurs, facility managers, prospective students and
distributors. Organised by Global Fairs & Media ? a joint venture between Hannover Milano Fairs
India and The Indian Express, this year’s edition in Bangalore has set new benchmarks through these
special events.