October 26, 2022
SIAL Paris 2022 excels with new benchmark for the future
Audrey Ashworth, Director of SIAL Paris, spoke to SIAL Daily about this year’s success and what the future holds
The 2024 edition will mark the show’s 60th anniversary and will continue to drive the industry towards achieving its goals.
How was the SIAL Paris 2022 for you?
It’s been a magnificent and unique edition, a restart and reunion after four years of absence. Although you can never be sure, we were certain of what we wanted to deliver and we have obtained the results which is very gratifying. 7,000 exhibitors, 127 countries, which is more than we have had before.
How important is this growth in diversity?
Out of the 17 new countries at SIAL, eight are from Africa. Africa has incredible potential and is set to become one of the major player in the agri-food industry. So it’s been an absolute pleasure to welcome them here and I think the industry has taken note.
How has the #OwnTheChange been received?
I think we made some serious progress on this topic, although there is still obviously work to be done. There are no small actions. Rather, if we all take action, we will be able to succeed together and if we want to feed 10 billion people on earth by 2050, we better get a move on.
To the exhibitors, I would say dare to put yourselves forward and present your innovations. I saw so many amazing products at the trade show which could bring real value to the industry.
How did this year’s special events go?
Part of our mission is to inspire the food industry and these events are there to encourage this dynamic. SIAL Innovation for example helped shine a light on around 10% of all the innovations at SIAL Paris 2022 – that’s quite an achievement, and I’m very proud of the OwnTheChange and Public prizes. Also the content of our SIAL Talks, which welcomed 116 speakers from 16 countries, plays a fundamental role in helping guide the industry. Of course SIAL Startup and SIAL Invest which were both new proved to be very successful. SIAL Insights as well, which offered incredibly valuable content. And finally we were also very proud to have Mauro as our patron. He really has a vision and an incredible level of engagement.
Do you have a message for the exhibitors and visitors at SIAL Paris 2022?
To the exhibitors, I would say dare to put yourselves forward and present your innovations. I saw so many amazing products at the trade show which could bring real value to the industry. So dare to present what you are doing and tell your story. To the visitors, I say thank you for coming and having answered the industry’s rallying call despite the challenging context. The result has been incredible. And please come back in 2024 because we will be celebrating the 60 year anniversary of SIAL Paris. I would also like to thank the journalists and official delegations who turned up in such great numbers.
What’s the plan for 2024?
We have several plans in the works to make the trade show more accessible so buyers can find tomorrow’s gems more easily and identify what companies they want to do business with. This year we have 10 sectors with many national pavilions, so our goal is to offer an even more detailed breakdown of the industry. At the same time, we are looking to make the whole SIAL experience as flawless and seamless as possible, with more impactful content so that we can offer the industry real solutions to tomorrow’s challenges.
