Fiera Milano : joins forces with Veronafiere to build a system that will support the agrifood sector

Veronafiere and Fiera Milano, Italy's two leading trade show organisers, have signed an agreement that will give the country a single annual international trade show for fruit and vegetables. The main focus will be on innovation and international markets.

The new event, stemming from the union of Fruit Innovation in Milan and Fruit&Veg System in Verona, will take place yearly, with Verona taking even years and Milan odd years. The show in Verona will concentrate on manufacturing and farming technologies, whilst the Milan show will focus on the finished product.

The new partnership was announced today in Verona at Fruit&Veg System.

The first edition of the new event, Fruit&Veg Innovation, will run from 8 to 11 May 2017, in conjunction with TUTTOFOOD in Milan, with the participation of operators from all over the world. The event will round off the offering of the emerging organic and vegan products segment, in which Milan today plays a leading role, and will also benefit from the concomitance of Spazio Nutrizione, the major medical and scientific conference organised by Akesios in conjunction with Fiera Milano, due to will take place during TUTTOFOOD 2017, thus reaching out to a new target of nutritionists and dieticians.

Today's agreement calls for joint initiatives to be staged during TUTTOFOOD also in the wine sector, which as of in 2017 will be featured in a space organised by Veronafiere.

The agreement between Fiera Milano and Veronafiere, which includes a non-compete clause, will also create a new event to be called 'Wine Discovery', managed by Veronafiere.

The staging will be courtesy of the Vinitaly International Academy, and both Italian and international products will be featured; expert wine growers and authorities on wine will also attend, as well as sommeliers; 'Wine Discovery' will organise promotional events and educational/training courses for operators attending the show in Milan.

Fiera Milano and Veronafiere are thus meeting the need to generate synergies across the length and breadth of the Italian agrifood industry, for the obvious benefit of the trade.

'It's thanks to this agreement,' explains Corrado Peraboni, Chief Executive Officer of Fiera Milano, 'that two trade fair organisers are pooling their expertise and setting aside rivalries to build an offering capable of meeting the expectations of a mature market that is increasingly and keenly focussing on internationalisation. This exciting development confirms first and foremost that Fiera Milano has put itself on the right strategic track in embedding various trade show formats into TUTTOFOOD, all of which have the potential to thrive in their respective sectors; arguably, only a dynamic and organic business tool delivering a comprehensive offering for trade visitors can generate profit for its organisers. However, this mindset is hard to find among Italian trade show organisers,' concludes Peraboni. 'Nevertheless we believe there is no other way for the overall country system to evolve and grow. Just as importantly, this partnership proves that Milan acknowledges Verona's standing in the wine business: Vinitaly is a prime example of genuine Italian excellence, which it is up to all of us to safeguard.'

'The new strategic partnership between Verona and Milan,' says Giovanni Mantovani, General Manager of Veronafiere, 'should set an example for Italy's entire trade fair industry. The agrifood sector has long urged narrow localisms to be set aside so that all the players involved can join forces and together support an industry which, in 2015, reported exports to the tune of 36.8 billion euros, up 7.4% compared to the previous year. In an increasingly aggressive international trade show environment, we are optimising our resources and seeking industry-wide synergies among our events, in the business interests of exhibitors and operators alike. The agreement represents the actual implementation of the rationalisation drive embarked upon by former Italian Deputy Minister for Economic Development, Maurizio Martina. Through this partnership with Fiera Milano we will further capitalise on our know-how in the fruit and vegetables sector, as well as our expertise in wine and wine making, on the strength of the outstanding 50th edition of Vinitaly and the Wine-A Taste of Italy pavilion at Expo 2015.

Veronafiere and Fiera Milano have also agreed to look into the feasibility of drafting a business plan to continue staging SaMoTer and Transpotec Logitec (Verona, 22/25 February) concomitantly, after the joint event makes its debut in 2017. The decision will be made within a month of next year's combined edition.