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Gama with Nicolas Trentesaux, SIAL Network Managing Director
The landmark 2024 edition of SIAL, the self-styled “must-attend” biennial event for the food industry, reinforced the show’s central place in the European consumer goods calendar, building on a 60 year run that was marked in both celebratory and contemplative fashion.
Gama with Secretary of State for Fisheries of Portugal Claudia Monteiro Aguiar
As the organizers themselves acknowledged, attending SIAL on its 60th anniversary offered visitors a unique opportunity to reflect on six decades of innovation and change in food, but perhaps more importantly, a chance to consider how the industry would continue being reshaped in the years to come. Answering this call in particular was SIAL Summits – a conference programme that was the show’s main new feature for 2024 – bringing together 50 renowned speakers from a diversity of disciplines including business, research and anthropology. And with subjects such as corporate social responsibility (CSR), deep tech and artificial intelligence (AI) on the programme, the subject matter remained very much future focused. The overall theme of the show was “Own The Change”, encouraging “collective ownership of change to meet the world’s food challenges”.
Gama with Minister of Agriculture of Italy Francesco Lollobrigida
Future-gazing aside, SIAL’s main selling point once again proved to be heft, with some 285,000 visitors absorbed into the myriad pavilions of the Paris Nord Villepinte showgrounds, as attendance returned to pre-pandemic levels. Altogether 7,500 exhibitors from some 127 countries were on site to showcase their wares, with 650 of these classed as startups, and 150 of these exhibiting in the dedicated SIAL Startup zone. As ever, pavilions were otherwise split by product category, with dedicated halls for savoury foods, dairy products, confectionery and bakery, meat and drinks.
Read this Tradeshow Insight in the latest issue of Gama News.
Out on the show floor, meeting the demand for health-oriented convenience foods emerged as the main preoccupation for the companies exhibiting, with sugar free, high protein and plant-based products in abundance, even in surprising categories such as beer and bread. Sustainability was also on the agenda for many companies, exemplified by launches such as iced tea made with upcycled superfruit and olive oil in paper bottles.
A “festive evening” and “spectacular show”, held on the second day of the show, allowed organizers and vistors alike to celebrate SIAL’s 60th anniversary in style.
The next edition of SIAL is confirmed for 17th-21st October 2026.
