Issue_1_2016
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14<br />
VitaFoods Preview<br />
about the latest product launches<br />
in the nutrition industry.<br />
LaunchPad will take place in the<br />
Vitafoods Centre Stage, a new<br />
theatre that will play host to a<br />
wide selection of stimulating<br />
events.<br />
There will be further opportunities<br />
to discover what’s new in the<br />
industry with the Vitafoods<br />
Springboard. This will be a<br />
dedicated space for visitors to<br />
engage with start-ups and other<br />
entrepreneurs at the cutting edge<br />
of the nutrition sector. It will offer<br />
insights into the latest ingredients,<br />
products and technologies that<br />
make it possible to tap into current<br />
and future trends.<br />
The new Tasting Bar Spotlight,<br />
meanwhile, will be an extension of<br />
the existing Tasting Bar. It will give<br />
exhibitors the chance to present<br />
their products to visitors while<br />
simultaneously offering them the<br />
opportunity to taste and sample<br />
them.<br />
Greater consumer awareness<br />
Much has changed in the nutrition<br />
industry since Vitafoods Europe<br />
first took place in 1997. Chief<br />
among these changes, our survey<br />
results suggest, is that consumers<br />
are far more interested in diet and<br />
wellbeing.<br />
In our survey, 92% of visitors to<br />
Vitafoods Europe and 100% of<br />
exhibitors said they believed<br />
consumers are more<br />
knowledgeable about good<br />
nutrition now than they were two<br />
decades ago. In light of this,<br />
visitors and exhibitors both cited<br />
increased consumer awareness<br />
about nutrition as the biggest<br />
opportunity for the company they<br />
run or work for (50% and 62%<br />
respectively).<br />
The single health category area of<br />
most interest to the visitors in our<br />
survey was healthy aging, selected<br />
by more than a quarter of<br />
respondents (26%). Other popular<br />
choices were digestive health<br />
(chosen by 23%), cardiovascular<br />
health (22%) and weight<br />
management (21%). There will be<br />
a major focus on all of these topics<br />
at this year’s Vitafoods Europe<br />
Conference. Particularly exciting is<br />
the news that the conference will<br />
offer delegates a chance to hear<br />
the latest results from four major<br />
EU-funded nutrition projects<br />
exploring three of these areas:<br />
weight management, heart health<br />
and healthy aging.<br />
Organisers have<br />
announced changes<br />
that will increase the<br />
focus of the event on<br />
the key areas that<br />
matter most to visitors<br />
– helping them to meet<br />
the business<br />
challenges they face in<br />
today’s fast-moving<br />
market<br />
Health claims are important<br />
Another significant change in the<br />
nutrition industry in the past 20<br />
years has been the advent of new<br />
regulations that have made life<br />
much tougher for nutraceutical<br />
businesses. Most notable among<br />
these are the 2006 Nutrition &<br />
Health Claims Regulation and the<br />
Novel Foods Regulation, which –<br />
like Vitafoods Europe – also came<br />
into being in 1997.<br />
When our survey asked<br />
respondents to name the factors<br />
that represent the biggest<br />
challenges to the company they<br />
run or work for, stricter regulation<br />
was the most commonly selected<br />
answer, chosen by 39% of visitors<br />
and 37% of exhibitors.<br />
We also asked respondents how<br />
important they believed it was that<br />
a nutrition ingredient or product is<br />
associated with an EFSA-approved<br />
health claim. Among visitors, 84%<br />
considered it to be either quite or<br />
very important, and 81% of<br />
exhibitors agreed.<br />
Regulation is clearly a hot topic in<br />
the nutrition industry and<br />
Vitafoods Europe <strong>2016</strong> will offer a<br />
number of ways to catch up with<br />
the latest developments. A new<br />
attraction this year will be the<br />
Regulatory Advice Centre in<br />
association with EAS Strategies,<br />
in which visitors will be able to<br />
connect one-to-one with experts<br />
and discuss the implications of<br />
global regulations in the nutrition<br />
sector. There will also be major<br />
focus on regulation at the<br />
Vitafoods Centre Stage.<br />
At the Vitafoods Europe<br />
Conference, meanwhile, EAS<br />
Strategies will present a special<br />
extended and in-depth workshop<br />
exploring a roadmap for bringing<br />
new nutritional ingredients to the<br />
EU market. The conference will<br />
also feature a look at the<br />
regulatory aspects of packaging,<br />
including the tricky issue of<br />
intellectual property, from law firm<br />
Bird & Bird. Tickets for the<br />
conference are available to<br />
purchase at vitafoods.eu.com/prpreview.<br />
Increased focus on business<br />
challenges<br />
Despite its continued success,<br />
Vitafoods Europe isn’t standing<br />
still. Organisers have announced<br />
changes that will increase the<br />
focus of the event on the key<br />
areas that matter most to visitors<br />
– helping them to meet the<br />
business challenges they face in<br />
today’s fast-moving market.<br />
The show will continue to serve<br />
the nutraceutical market but will<br />
be focused on four distinct<br />
sectors, as follows:<br />
n Ingredients & raw materials<br />
n Finished products<br />
n Contract manufacturing &<br />
private label<br />
n Services & equipment.<br />
This means the event will offer<br />
more content specifically<br />
concentrating on each of these<br />
areas, ensuring a richer experience<br />
for visitors. Vitafoods Europe will<br />
www.foodmagazine.eu.com issue one | <strong>2016</strong>
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