Seafood Expo Global, the world's largest seafood fair, lands this week in Barcelona, after leaving its previous location, Brussels. The new venue for the show has provided an opportunity for local companies like Ferrer. Based in Vic, this family company specializes in the purchase and distribution of fresh and frozen fish. Mònica Ferrer, its marketing manager, explains that until now they only knew this event as visitors, previously traveling to the Belgian city; but they had never before had their own stand. They had exhibited at Alimentaria, but with the arrival of Seafood in Barcelona, they opted to focus on the latter, which attracts the type of client that best suits them, with more professional and international profiles, even if it gathers fewer congress attendees. "We had to be there no matter what. It's the strongest fair in the sector," she summarizes.
Mercabarna has been another exhibitor that has participated for the first time in this fair. About 15 companies from the central market have a stand at Seafood, which is serving them to have in-person meetings with potential clients. Before the fair began, Mercabarna had already closed about 20 meetings for them, a figure they expect to grow as the days pass. Many attendees are also taking advantage of their visit to Barcelona to get to know the market's facilities, which expects to receive delegations from Scotland, the United States, France, Norway, India, and other countries.
But not everything is new. Catalan companies such as Barrufet, Easy Fish, and PH7 Food Technology already had experience at Seafood as exhibitors. PH7 Food Technology, dedicated to the manufacture and distribution of food additives for fish, is taking advantage of the fair being held in the city for its clients to visit its factory in Cornellà de Llobregat. The family company Barrufet, located in Mercabarna, used to travel to Brussels and with the choice of Fira de Barcelona as a new destination, it saves on tickets and hotels. The Girona-based Easy Fish, an importer of frozen fish for distribution companies, has added another task to its participation in the fair: finding accommodation for its clients, as they know the place better and ask them where it is best to stay.
These early and veteran companies have been some of the 1,550 exhibitors who have traveled to Barcelona to participate in the 28th edition of Seafood, organized by the American communication group Diversified Communications. Fresh fish, frozen fish, canned goods, pre-cooked dishes, and organic products are some of the protagonists of the fair, which also exhibits packaging, assembly lines, and containers for companies in the sector. In its debut in the city, after the facilities in Brussels became too small, it occupies four pavilions of the Gran Via exhibition center, with almost 40,000 net square meters of exhibition space. The companies, from 76 countries, are accompanied by 59 regional and national pavilions. An economic impact of 100 million euros is expected for the city.
The vice president of Diversified Communications, Liz Plizga, confirmed the good feelings they had walking on the first day of the fair through the corridors of the Fira, full of congress attendees who went from one stand to another to learn about new products or introduce themselves to companies with which to close deals. "It's very refreshing. It's essential to be able to build relationships in person," Plizga said. Without specifying the number of attendees they expect to register, the executive noted that it will be at the level of the last edition, in 2019, around 29,000 participants.
The organization expects around 29,000 participants in this first edition in the Catalan capitalSeafood chose to move to Barcelona due to the possibilities of growing the event in the Fira de Barcelona complex in Gran Via and the accumulated experience of the institution, as well as the city's hotel, restaurant, and leisure offerings, and its position in the maritime industry. As always happens with premieres, there are things that until they are done, you don't know how they will turn out.One of them has been the accreditation process, which has generated long queues at the entrance. Plizga attributed this to last-minute registrations due to the uncertainty still caused by covid, considering implementing digital accreditations for future editions. "Everything is new, we will learn," remarked the executive.
The novelty has not only been the arrival of Seafood, but attendees have been able to see each other's full faces again, without masks in between. "It's a special feeling. We had gotten used to wearing masks and now it feels strange not to wear them," said the CEO of Fira de Barcelona, Constantí Serrallonga. Not everyone went without a mask, but an immense majority decided to take it off, putting it on if they saw that many people were concentrated in one place. Some felt strange and others were happy to finally leave them behind.
Galicians and Belgians
For Galician companies, the new location of Seafood in Barcelona has not been neutral, considering that in Vigo they organize Conxemar, a fair also specialized in seafood products, with a focus on frozen foods. Some Galician congress members believe that Seafood Barcelona will end up replacing Conxemar, considering that they offer a similar product and target a very similar audience. Even so, from Frigomar Burela, a company located in San Cibrao, they point out that there is space for several salons, especially considering that the Galician one is held in October. The same is believed in Marfrío, from Marín, which will continue to attend both, hoping to find in the Barcelona one a more international market that covers more stages of the value chain.
On the other hand, the Belgian companies participating in this new edition have had to say goodbye to the comfort of attending this fair close to home. For Epic, a company from Antwerp, it has meant that some clients from countries like Germany and the Netherlands will not come to see them, as the new Seafood venue is further away. Despite this, their spokespeople see this destination as cheaper and think that, if the aim is to encourage congress attendees to do tourism, the dates of the fair should be closer to the weekend. However, from Seacrets, based in Ostend, they are very excited to have come to Barcelona. "I am in love with Spain. I love the change," says its founder, Caroline de Reu, interested in finding local clients to sell her products to, which she hopes to resolve in the three days the fair lasts.