Thanks for a successful debut World Confectionery Conference event
Tony's Chocolonely speaking at this year's World Confectionery Conference
Being on my work travels, this is just a very short thanks to one and all who attended last Friday’s debut live World Confectionery Conference event in Brussels.
What a fantastic showcase it proved to offer for our combined confectionery, snacks and bakery industries, which have shown renewed resilience despite increasingly challenging business conditions.
Our event shone a light on some of the most critical issues impacting the sector, with presentations from across the spectrum – including our opening address from Aldo Cristiano, president of Caobisco, who reaffirmed the need to deliver on due diligence in supply chains for the cocoa sector, as well as noting the importance of continued support of its thousands of members across the industry who are grappling with testing conditions.
We also heard some excellent insights right across the value chain, from equipment manufacturers and ingredients businesses, through to new product innovations that all formed part of our first World Confectionery Awards, which we believe were an excellent addition to the event.
Our QandA session also attracted plenty of interest on the day, offering a spotlight on how the sector can pull together in delivering on sustainability goals against the backdrop of present uncertain trading conditions, which proved another welcome addition to the programme.
On a personal level, it was certainly extremely welcome to be able to celebrate the industry again with you all, especially in light of the present energy and resourcing challenges that are impacting on many businesses out there, which remain of particular concern.
Hopefully, everyone found our conference presentations, exhibitions and networking opportunities extremely useful – I can surely say that I did myself. After waiting for such a long time amid the pandemic for it all to happen, it was very definitely well worth it.
We welcome your feedback of any kind as regards our future plans, so please do contact either myself at [email protected] or my colleague Amy Best, event manager: [email protected] with your views as a priority this week thanks to enable us to take forward plans for our next show.
Neill Barston, editor, Confectionery Production
- Keep in touch at [email protected] or via social media: @confectionprod
