250 exhibitors from 19 countries, 90 international hosted buyers from 18 countries, 30 buyers from large supermarket chains and a plethora of side events
The exhibition goes out on the town in Thessaloniki with innovative actions
The Food & Drinks International Expo by Detrop, which will be held from Friday 1 November to Sunday 3 November at the Thessaloniki International Exhibition Centre, aims to make a new mark on the food and beverage industry. The event is taking steps to more closely connect to the city through new actions and it will bring together 250 exhibitors (direct and indirect) from 19 countries: Greece, Egypt, Bulgaria, Jordan, Cyprus, Hungary, Serbia, United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Spain, Israel, Italy, China, Netherlands, Tunisia and Finland. It will also host the Regions of Central Macedonia, Thessaly, North Aegean, Western Macedonia, and Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, while it will also include a wealth of side events.
Furthermore, with regard to organised trade contacts and meetings between exhibitors and visitors, the exhibition will welcome 90 international Hosted Buyers from 18 countries (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Germany, Hungary, Israel, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States of America), as well as 30 buyers from large supermarket chains, who will be participating in the B2B programme, enhancing the commercial dynamism of the event.
In order to organise all these trade contacts (and in collaboration with the Federation of Industries of Greece – FING), as a member
of the Enterprise Europe Network, Food & Drinks by Detrop is operating a B2B contact platform, which is the same as that of the Sial international food and beverage expo.
A reference point of Food & Drinks by Detrop are its side events, which will imbue colour, flavour, and aromas to the expo:
-All About Café is the largest coffee exhibition in Northern Greece, established with great success by TIF-HELEXPO, and including everything from the Latte Art Throwdown 2024 National Competition, to seminars, workshops, coffee tastings etc. All About Café is curated by Valantis Lambrianidis with Valenio, while Barista’s Gold by NOUNOU is the Grand Sponsor and Eurogat is the mechanical equipment Sponsor.
-The Pairing Bar is a unique tasting experience, designed to stimulate the senses and take visitors on a journey to the world of fine wines, spirits, and beers through eight separate events, where Food & Drinks by Detrop exhibitor products are presented. Chef Stories by Sylvia Koumentaki is the Pairing Bar’s partner.
-This collaboration also includes the All About Gastronomy section that offers the opportunity to exhibitors and visitors to get acquainted through the products presented and to discover potential synergies. The Herbs & Honey and Dairy thematic salons are expected to attract many visitors to this unit.
-Olives are the stars at the Golden Olive Events, which include the 3rd Olive Trophies 2024, the Olive Oil Bar, and many olive oil and table olive variety presentation events. The Golden Olive Events are being organised by the FILAIOS Friends of Olive Oil & Olives Association.
– The International Food Experts’ Awards (FEA) were created to reward innovation and excellence in the food and beverage industry and are an initiative by Cibum.
– There is a new project being carried out in the context of Food & Drinks by Detrop in collaboration with Gruppo FL, ‘Gastronomy EXPerience-Taste the Stories’, which aims at connecting small and large producers, and processors of unique Greek products with top Thessaloniki restaurants. The chefs of selected restaurants will use the fine raw ingredients at this year’s event to create original recipes and unique dishes, which will be included and made available at restaurants and bars on special menus on specific days.
-In addition, Food & Drinks International Expo by Detrop is also mobilising the city’s bars, encouraging them to create a unique signature cocktail inspired by the exhibition, through a relevant action that will highlight innovation in the beverage industry.
-The expo will also host many seminars, workshops, and fireside chats curated by the Hellenic Association of Food Technologists (PETET), New Agriculture-New Generation, the Association of Culinary Professionals Greece, Valenio, and FILAIOS.
NOUNOU is the Grand Sponsor of All About Café and NYMFI is the beer of the exhibition.
Today’s Press conference
This is a new exhibition, a successor of the renowned Detrop, according to the president of TIF-HELEXPO, Mr Tasos Tzikas, who explained that the aim is to spread the message that the food and beverage industry is very important for the Greek economy. Referring to the ‘Gastronomy EXPerience-Taste the Stories’ action, he stressed that the exhibition has always sought to achieve greater osmosis with the city, which is a goal served by this new project through the development of an interaction.
Thessaloniki’s promotion as a city of gastronomy through and by an exhibition was underlined by the general director of TIF-HELEXPO, Mr Alexis Tsaxirlis, while he announced that this year’s event has a surprise in store that will be revealed one day before its launch at Aristotelous Square, on the occasion of the opening of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, another “child” of the TIF, an action that will mark the opening of Food & Drinks by Detrop.
The Region of Central Macedonia is participating in Food & Drinks by Detrop with 46 businesses, as announced by Vice Governor for Extroversion, Mr Bane Prelevic, aiming at bringing them into direct contact with buyers from the food-beverage, catering, hotel, and distribution network industries. Macedonian Cuisine will also be promoted in the context of this participation.
All About Café will present the evolution of coffee, the second most popular non-alcoholic beverage after water, as stated by Valenio founder, Mr Valantis Lambrianidis, who is coordinating this thematic unit. He stressed that companies will be given the opportunity to present excellent varieties of coffee and their particularities, while he also referred to the 2024 Latte Art Throwdown National Competition, which has surpassed other national championships in participant numbers.
Ms Sylvia Koumentaki of Chef stories presented All About Gastronomy’s four thematic salons, while she underlined both the large number and the high quality of side events hosted by TIF-HELEXPO at its exhibitions. She also referred to the special masterclasses that will be held for trade visitors and buyers from the supermarket sector.
Ms Parthena Pastrafidou from Gruppo FL referred to the new ‘Gastronomy EXPerience-Taste the Stories’ action, which is providing Food & Drinks by Detrop with the opportunity go out on the town, while she noted that the action was warmly embraced by both producers and restaurants. In fact, she announced that six Thessaloniki restaurants are involved. “Food & Drinks by Detrop engages the local community with multiple benefits for producers and restaurants, as well for residents,” she said.
New Agriculture-New Generation Entrepreneurship Development Manager, Mr Stavros Papadopoulos, stated that Food & Drinks by Detrop will provide time and space to producers that have been supported by New Agriculture-New Generation, while he also spoke about the new exhibition, stressing that this is a very dynamic start to the day after for Detrop.
“It is very important to participate in such exhibitions, as we meet the people behind the products, services, and institutions,” according to Jack Levi from La Chef Levi culinary school, who stressed that as a school specialising in gastronomy, he believes that Food & Drinks by Detrop is an excellent opportunity for collaboration that will help promote the exhibition as a beacon of openness.
The opening of Food & Drinks by Detrop will take place on Friday at 18:00 and will be carried out by the Minister of Rural Development and Food, Mr Kostas Tsiaras. The opening hours of the exhibition are Friday and Saturday 10:00 to 19:00 and Sunday 10:00 to 18:00.
