Free From Food 2023, Europe’s leading trade event dedicated to the health ingredient and free from markets, has unveiled its hotly anticipated educational programme for 2023.
Plus, as a first for this year’s event, the new Captain of the Category Award will take place on the show floor, and the Healthy Innovation Award for health ingredient innovations will return to recognise the outstanding innovations in the health ingredients sector.
The event, which returns to the RAI Amsterdam from 21-22 November 2023, promises to educate visitors on the latest trends and innovations — covering allergy free options, functional foods, nutrition and more — through a series of features that shine a spotlight on the ever-evolving health and wellness sector.
Conference programme: an opportunity to learn
Spread across three theatres on the show floor – Free From Retail, Vegan & Plant-Based and Supplier & Insights – the conference will enable visitors to gain invaluable industry insights and broaden their sector knowledge in more than 60 keynote sessions during the 2-day event.
In the Free From Retail Theatre, Simona Bernatonyte, Senior Food and Nutrition Market Analyst at Euromonitor International, will share her expertise on "Drivers of ever-evolving health claims: mastering market fragmentation."
Her session will delve into the dynamic health and wellness market, providing valuable insights into consumer awareness of nutrition's impact on overall health.
Also speaking in the Free From Retail Theatre, Manon Verberne, Strategic Insights Analyst, Circana, will focus on the Dutch health food market during her session on "The Development of Health Foods in the Netherlands," whereas Marit Veenstra, Brand Strategist at The Healthy Marketing Team will unveil the secrets of transitioning from a niche start-up to a thriving branded business in "Evolve from a start-up niche to a successful branded business: Consumer Triggers and barriers for mass market entry."
Over in the Vegan & Plant-Based Theatre, the first session on Tuesday 21 November will come from Leo Koning, Community Manager at The Protein Community/Foodvalley, who will offer insights for those looking to update their knowledge on the ever-changing plant-based food landscape in "3 Trends in the Protein Transition."
Minke Burgers, Project Manager at The Protein Community/Foodvalley will continue this conversation on Wednesday 22 November.
Elsa Guadarrama from ProVeg International will present a session entitled "From Data to Action: Leveraging Consumer Attitudes towards Plant-Based Foods for Market Success," whereas Esther Rabofski from Albert Schweitzer Stiftung will look at "Unlocking the potential of reducing animal products in the food industry."
Elsewhere, the Supplier Theatre will welcome Marjan van Ravenhorst, Director and Consultant at the Allergenen Consultancy to inform attendees on "Developments in Precautionary Allergen Labelling (PAL)," providing valuable insights to ensure food safety and transparency for consumers.
A global culinary showcase
In addition to the ever-popular conference, more than 250 exhibitors from more than 60 different countries will showcase a global array of food and beverage products in the 2023 Country Pavilions.
These include Hungary, Italy, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Ecuador amongst others, as well as the Start-up Pavilion for new companies entering the market.
Visitors to the Italian pavilion will be able to discover high quality products from a large number of suppliers including Agrumarie Riunite Siciliane, which combines the taste and flavours of Sicily to produce concentrates of fruit, natural juices, products for ice cream shops and essential oils.
Elsewhere, Turin-based company Fudex will highlight its service to attendees searching for organic products, products with no added fats or sugar, gluten-free products, as well as foods for babies.
Also helping brands to meet consumer demands for natural and clean-label options, global leader of premium quality plant-based functional ingredients and solutions, Layn Natural Ingredients, will exhibit its highest quality natural, botanical ingredients and solutions.
Gluten-free growth
The gluten-free products market is predicted to be worth $8.3 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 8.1% between 2020 and 2025. More brands are now producing safe, reliable gluten-free foods that inspire consumer confidence for those individuals with coeliac disease or gluten sensitivities.
DelMoli will showcase its products that are 100% free from gluten, lactose, and soy, but also feature the coveted "free-from" seals, making them a safe choice for individuals with dietary restrictions.
Also using functional ingredients and natural additives to develop innovative, tasty, healthy, safe and sustainable foods, Chile-based IIMAS will highlight its ranges of powdered products obtained from lentils, chickpeas and turtledove beans as well as its functional ingredients based on oat fibres and legumes.
Celebrating innovation
Free From Food 2023 will recognise outstanding innovations in the health ingredients sector through its Healthy Innovation Award.
This award, organised by Foodlog, celebrates excellence within the industry and will be unveiled during a prestigious awards ceremony on 21 November 2023.
This year will also welcome a selection of the Awards’ jury members, last year’s winners, new nominees and retailers to copresent a conference session.
This will cover healthy innovations in the supermarket, purchasing policies surrounding healthy foods and what makes a healthy product successful based on consumer demand.
In addition, the show’s collaboration with FoodPersonality will bring the legendary Captain of the Category Award to the event this year.
New for the 2023 edition of Free From Food and co-organised by the Trade Marketing Association (TMA), the award recognises leading suppliers within the retail industry and will take place on the show floor for the first time on 21 November 2023.
Ronald Holman, Event Director of Free From Food 2023, commented: “Free From Food 2023 is set to be a fantastic example of the transformative power of the health and wellness industry."
"With a programme of speakers who are pioneering the free from sector, the educational, networking and commercial opportunities are not to be missed. I am excited to see our industry unite once again for the 11th edition of Free From Food, and facilitate those all-important business-building relationships once again.”