SIAL Canada 2011 Shaping Up As Banner Year

For the first time in Toronto, the eighth edition of Canada’s leading international food and beverage exhibition, SIAL Canada, will open its doors May 11-13, 2011 in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

With three months to go before opening day, the event, billed as the “North American Food Marketplace,” is affirming its renewed vitality as organizers instate an exhibitor wait list and announce that 100 percent of exhibit space has already been reserved. “Space reservations for the upcoming SIAL Canada 2011 in Toronto show a 35 percent increase from 2010, and clearly validate our decision to bring the show to Toronto every other year,” said Xavier Poncin, SIAL Canada managing director. “We are looking at a record year for 2011.”

In 2010, SIAL Canada attracted 544 exhibitors (47 percent international) and 12,759 visitors at the Palais des congrès de Montréal exhibition center.

SIAL only admits food industry professionals and is exclusively devoted to food and beverage products, serving the needs of all market segments including large-scale distribution, import-export, wholesale distribution, specialty retail, foodservice as well as food manufacturing.

This year, SIAL Canada opens in Toronto, the fifth largest city in North America and the largest multi-ethnic city in the world. As the economic capital of Canada and capital of Ontario, Toronto is a major decision-making center for the food industry.

SIAL Canada 2011 will host an official USA Pavilion endorsed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture featuring 35 U.S. companies on 3,500 square feet of exhibit space. Five U.S. trade organizations will be exhibiting in SIAL Canada 2011: the Illinois Department of Agriculture; the Southern United States Trade Association (SUSTA); Food Export USA/Northeast; the Association of Food Industries (AFI); and the American Cheese Society. The show will also host a delegation of buyers from the Detroit-based Associated Food and Petroleum Dealers, while the Michigan Grocers Association is also hosting a contest among its members for a free trip to the show.

Space reserved by Canadian exhibitors has more than doubled from what it was at last year’s show. Canadian provinces already registered include Quebec, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta, Nova Scotia, the Atlantic Provinces, British Columbia and Ontario presenting a new pavilion co-organized by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA); the Canadian Food Exporters Association (CFEA); and the Alliance of Ontario Food Processors (AOFP).

Foreign exhibitor bookings are also surpassing those of 2010 by a large advance. Italy was named by SIAL Canada organizers the “Country of Honor” for this coming edition. New countries joining the exhibitor ranks to date include Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Columbia, Cuba, Germany, Guyana, Honduras, Japan, Pakistan and Portugal.

Beyond a world-class trade exhibition, SIAL Canada 2011 will unfold a busy program of conferences and special events offering something for everyone in the food industry. A series of Rogers Communication Conferences will expose timely topics such as attracting ethnic consumers, products for aging consumers and sustainable food supply chains. The show will also feature the Innovation Forum, the Trends and Innovations Conference, three product competitions awarding the most innovative products, the finest olive oils and coffees (new) as well as a platform geared toward foodservice operations: the “La Cuisine” demonstration stage animated by world-renowned chefs.

SET Canada, the national show dedicated to equipment, technology and services for the food retail and foodservice sectors, will again be collocated with SIAL Canada. New in 2011 will be an exhibit area dedicated to the food processing industry.

SIAL Canada 2011 is supported by the governments of Canada, Ontario and Quebec through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada; the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA); and the Ministère de l’Agriculture des Pêcheries et de l’Alimentation du Québec.

Produced by Paris-based Comexposium, SIAL Canada is one of the five SIAL food and beverage exhibitions organized in the world, the largest being held in Paris since 1964.

For more information on the SIAL trade exhibitions, contact Rebecca Long at: 704-365-0041, fax: 704-365-8426; or email: [email protected]. For general information, visit http://www.sialcanada.com.