Presentation of the First International Convention for the Food Service Sector, Eatin'Out

The presentation took place last 18th June at IFEMA's facilities, the organiser of the Hotel and Restaurant Equipment Show, HOREQ, which partially coincides with the Convention The current boom in the eating-out sector, which represents more than 30% of total food consumption in Spain and represents a market valued at around 30,000 million euros, justifies the staging of this kind of event

Last 18th June, the Spanish Federation for the Food and Drink Industry, FIAB, presented the First International Convention for the Food Service Sector, EATIN'OUT, at Feria de Madrid.  This event will take place at the IFEMA's exhibition centre on 26th and 27th November next, coinciding with the staging of the fourth edition of the Hotel and Restaurant Equipment Show, HOREQ 2007 (24th to 27th November). This initiative, which has been promoted by both the Federation and IFEMA, aims to provide a boost for this industry and, in particular, for its export and internationalisation drive. 

The media presentation was carried out by the Assistant General Secretary of FIAB, Horacio González Alemán, featuring the subsequent participation of the Head of HOREQ, María Valcarce, and the Managing Director of Rabobank Internacional, Carlos Gómez Arroyo; the Secretary General from the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation (CEHAT), Ramón Estalella and the Head of Internationalisation of Promomadrid, Alberto López San Miguel.

During his address, the Assistant General Secretary of FIAB pointed out that, in Spain, bars and cafeterias account for some 32.1% of the food-service market, whilst restaurants account for 26.9% and modern catering for 13.8%. The rest of the market is made up of social catering, hotels, alternative sales channels and other bodies within the sector. As a whole, more than one third of all food consumption in Spain takes place outside the home, whilst the market corresponding to the hotel, restaurant and catering channel is estimated to have a value of around 30,000 million euros. This is, therefore, a growing sector, one that presents an excellent business opportunity for the entire supply chain.

International Convention

The expected success of EATIN'OUT is founded on the rising expectations surrounding the strong growth prospects regarding food consumption outside the home and, therefore, regarding the business models associated with this field on the part of both the Spanish food and beverage industry and the food service sector. In this respect, we might highlight the figures that have been achieved in the United States, where eating out accounts for almost 50% of all food consumption. In Spain, this trend has grown from being practically residual to a figure of more than 30% of total consumption, based on a market that boasts an approximate value of 30,000 million euros. This still incipient hotel, restaurant and catering segment (horeca) is especially attractive, based on the alternative options it offers to companies, providing an ideal complement to the harsh conditions surrounding commercial distribution today.

EATIN'OUT is also the only meeting forum with a European scope, a monographic event that seeks to cater for the specific trading and dialogue-based needs of the food and beverage industry and the food service sector, in their widest possible sense.

From this point of view, the level of interest on the part of the associations and bodies representing the different sectors involved has been unanimously high. Their active participation at EATIN'OUT will be coordinated through the auspices of an Advisory Committee, which features the participation of FIAB, along with that of the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Foodstuffs, MAPA, the Spanish Foreign Trade Institute, ICEX; the FEHR, Spanish Hospitality Federation; the CEHAT, Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation; PROMOMADRID; ACEX and Rabobank.

Due to take place on a biennial basis, the Convention has been designed around three complementary events: an International Seminar plus Workshops, which will offer participants an analysis of the development of the business from the international perspective of a number of outstanding operators and experts; an Exhibition Area, located in Hall 2 at IFEMA, featuring the participation of companies from the Spanish and European industry, accompanied by their products and services that especially target this segment; and a series of Trade Meetings, designed to boost business links between Spanish companies and European buyers within the hotel, restaurant and catering channel (horeca).

The International Seminar will take place in the South Auditorium at IFEMA on the morning of Monday 26th November and is expected to last half a day. The Seminar Programme will include the following contributions: a perspective on "Global Trends in the Food Service Sector" - Rabobank Report; a series of presentations by leading companies throughout Europe within the hotel, restaurant and catering distribution channel, as well as within modern catering and group catering, regarding the requirements that are needed in order to operate within this market, plus their different experiences within the field; agreement on the "Strategic Report Regarding the Hotel, Restaurant and Catering Channel" produced by MAPA, Rabobank, Grupo Greco and FIAB. With regard to the Workshops, these will be based on the exposés of a series of market studies carried out by the Spanish Foreign Trade Institute (ICEX) regarding the hotel, restaurant and catering channels in different countries, thus offering participants an opportunity to discuss with the authors of the respective studies and with representatives from the trade offices in the countries that are analysed. These workshops will be staged intermittently throughout a period of one and a half days (the afternoon of Monday 26th and Tuesday 27th), taking place in a series of rooms set aside for this purpose in Hall 2.

As far as the Exhibition is concerned, the offering will be presented mainly by food industry representatives interested in developing their business within the food service market, although the event will also be open to service companies associated with this field. The Exhibition will be located in Hall 2 at Feria de Madrid, featuring a connecting-point with HOREQ, but with its own visitor control procedures. The Exhibition will be open throughout the Convention's two-day duration, on Monday 26th and Tuesday 27th November, between 10.00 a.m. and 7.00 p.m.

Finally, the Trade Meetings will feature a series of interviews between representatives of supply and demand, based on a previously-designed appointments schedule. These interviews will take place throughout an entire day and a half, namely the Monday afternoon and the whole of Tuesday. These bilateral trade meetings will bring together a number of Spanish companies with 60 buyers within the hotel, restaurant and catering channel from different European countries. This measure is based on a Buyers Programme that has been developed by FIAB with the support of ICEX, focusing on the European hotel, restaurant and catering trade. The Programme will include more than 600 interviews. These meetings will be complemented by a series of guided visits to the Exhibition.

The demand sector targeted by EATIN'OUT is made up of potential buyers from the hotel, restaurant and catering channel: the modern catering trade, hotel chains, food franchises, restaurants, catering companies ... at both a national and European level.

Furthermore, another of the highly valued aspects of staging this First International Convention for the Food Service Sector is the opportunity it provides for generating an interesting synergy with regard to the Hotel and Restaurant Equipment Show, HOREQ 2007, an IFEMA fair that will take place between 24th and 27th November 2007, thus partially coinciding with EATIN' OUT.  In this respect, it has been estimated that nearly 70% of the more than 16,000 trade visitors at HOREQ -Restaurants (21.03%), Hotels and Accommodation (15.20%), Cafeterias and Bars (14.83%), Catering (7.57%), Distribution (7.05%)- have a strong interest in this new initiative, which will share the same venue as the fair at Feria de Madrid. EATIN' OUT will maintain its own visitor control and registration procedures, thus enabling the organisers to determine which of the visitors from HOREQ have a profile that best corresponds to the Convention's objectives.

This aspect was highlighted by María Valcarce, the Head of HOREQ, for whom "this initiative represents an ideal complement to the exhibition that this trade fair offers its thousands of visitors, a large number of whom are potential participants at the EATIN'OUT Convention."
 
Other members of the EATIN'OUT Advisory Committee such as Carlos Gómez Arroyo, General Manager of Rabobank Internacional; Ramón Estalella, Secretary General of the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation, CEHAT, and Alberto López San Miguel, Head of Internationalisation of Promomadrid, also expressed their support for this Convention, which will benefit a large number of the trade visitors who attend each edition of HOREQ.