SIAL Canada Returns to Montreal

Canada’s international food and beverage trade show, SIAL Canada, will return to Montreal for its ninth edition May 9-11 in the Palais de Congres de Montreal Exhibition Center.

The annual trade show alternates between Montreal and Toronto. The 2011 edition in Toronto set records for exhibitor participation and Pan-Canadian attendance. SIAL Canada 2011 featured 697 exhibitors – 44 percent international -- and 12,415 visitors from 62 countries on 200,000 square feet of exhibit space at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
According to show organizers, more exhibit space has been reserved for the 2012 show than for the last edition in Montreal. "After exceptional results in Toronto, the space already booked clearly establishes us as the place to be in North America,” said Xavier Poncin, SIAL Canada’s managing director. “Montreal, gastronomical capital of Canada, is attracting 30 percent new exhibitors."

SIAL Canada 2012 will host an official USA Pavilion endorsed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture featuring more than 25 U.S. companies on 3,000 square feet of exhibit space. To date, three U.S. trade organizations have plans to participate with booths in the pavilion including Southern United States Trade Association (SUSTA), the Vermont Specialty Foods Association and Food Export-Northeast, which is offering customized marketing assistance to U.S. exhibitors through their Food Show PLUS™ program. In addition, the International Dairy – Deli – Bakery Association and the Association of Food Industries will exhibit in the show.

With food and beverage from more than 40 countries and nine Canadian provinces, SIAL Canada 2012 will feature dozens of innovative products via four different signature competitions.

• The Trends & Innovations competition will evaluate the most inventive new food & beverage products by a rigorous selection process and independent jury. Last year's finalists included individual frozen potato gratins, birch syrup, onion confit with espelette pepper, duck fois gras appetizers and quinoa salad kits. The Grand Prize was awarded to Your Bar Factory’s 100% natural fruit bar from Lasalle, Quebec, Canada.
• The eighth edition of the Olive d’Or competition will bring together the best virgin olive oils from around the world. The contest posted record participation in 2011 with 124 oils from 14 countries; winners hailed from Italy, Spain, Portugal, Chile and Crete.
• Coffee Cup by SIAL will gather regular and certified coffees after a successful debut in 2011 where varieties from Colombia, Brazil and Ethiopia came out on top.
• The La Cuisine by SIAL demonstration stage will introduce a new contest for corporate chefs from the food processing, food retail and food service industries. Strict time limits, mandatory ingredients and the theme of “Our Health in Your Hands” will set the stage for the food industry’s first corporate chef competition.

SIAL Canada 2012 organizers are also preparing other added-value features to enhance the show experience. “Hot Products” Expert Pathways will guide visitors to up-and-coming product categories such as gluten-free, fair trade and halal. A three-day conference program will parallel the pathways’ themes.

Montreal, known for some of the best gourmet shopping and restaurants in North America, is the largest city in the province of Quebec and the second largest in Canada. The food industry is a major contributor to Quebec's economy, employing nearly 12 percent of the province's workforce. Quebec’s food exports are booming, thanks to the abundance of high quality pork, soybeans, berries, vegetables, maple syrup, refined sugar and fresh water reserves.

SIAL Canada will be co-located with the SET Canada exhibition of equipment, technology and services for the food retail, food service and food processing industries.