Sustainable Foods Summit comes to Asia

Ecovia Intelligence (formerly Organic Monitor) is taking the Sustainable Foods Summit to Asia. The premier Asia-Pacific edition of the Sustainable Foods Summit will hone in on organic market potential, food fraud & authenticity, sustainable ingredients, and marketing best- practices.

Taking place in Singapore on 28-30th November 2017, this is the first executive summit in Asia that focuses on eco-labels and sustainability in the food industry. The summit begins with an update on sustainability developments; with agriculture and food production linked to many of the environmental & social issues faced by the planet, how can Asian food and ingredient firms make a sustainable difference? Opening seminars will cover the role of soil fertility in sustainable agriculture, sustainable seafood outlook, environmental impacts of foods, and the retailer perspectives.

Interesting program with focus on the organic market potential

H.E. Lyonpo Yeshey Dorji, Minister of Agriculture & Forests of Bhutan, will share the country’s commitments to sustainable development. The Asian country has become the ‘poster child’ for sustainability since it leads in organic agriculture, climate change mitigation, as well as food security, and clean water. With metrics commonly used in sustainability, the minister will also discuss the implications of its Gross National Happiness Index.

The Organic Market Potential session will discuss approaches to encourage organic food production and consumption. Although Asia houses 60 percent of the global population and has some of the richest consumers, its share of the global organic food market is less than 10 percent. Raj Seelam, Founder and CEO of the leading Indian organic food enterprise Sresta Natural Bioproducts, will highlight the major obstacles operators face in Asia. Vitoon Panyakul, Executive Director of Green Net, will show how internal markets for organic products can be developed. With 4 million hectares of organic farmland, Asia is an important grower and exporter of organic crops, however not a significant consumer. Case studies will be given of Asian brands that have managed to ignite consumer demand for organic products. Another paper by Andrew Monk from Australian Organic will discuss consumer behaviour. What makes consumers buy organic foods? What are the triggers? What features should brand highlight when undertaking marketing campaigns?

Best-practices in marketing organic & sustainable foods will also be showcased at the summit. An international brand of organic baby food will state the issues when building distribution across geographic regions. A Malaysian chain of health food shops will share its experiences in retailing sustainable foods. Other speakers will discuss approaches to change consumer behaviour. How can Asian consumers be encouraged to purchase sustainable foods and consume products responsibly? With a burgeoning middle-class, sustainability issues like rising meat & seafood consumption, packaging impacts, and food waste are coming to the fore. Eugene Wang, Founder and CEO of Sophie’s Kitchen, will discuss the opportunities provided by plant-based seafood alternatives. The Taiwanese company has created a novel range of such products using sustainable ingredients.

A workshop will feature Food Fraud & Authenticity

With food fraud and mislabelling rife in Asia, a dedicated workshop will feature Food Fraud & Authenticity. Andy Morling, Head of Food Crime UK (Food Standards Agency), will show how organised crime syndicates are now targeting the food industry. Giving case studies of recent meat scandals (Brazilian beef and horsemeat), the vulnerabilities in global food supply chains will be highlighted. Guidance will be given to food and ingredient firms on how they can prevent food fraud and implement greater controls.

The premier Asia-Pacific edition of the Sustainable Foods Summit aims to help tackle some of the major sustainability issues facing the regional food industry. Comments Amarjit Sahota, President of Ecovia Intelligence (organiser of the summit): “There is a growing realisation that the food industry plays an important role in resolving many of the sustainability issues we face; by hosting this summit, we want to ensure Asia is also part of the solution.”

About the Sustainable Foods Summit
The aim of the Sustainable Foods Summit is to explore new horizons for eco-labels and sustainability in the food industry by discussing key industry issues in a high level forum. The Asia-Pacific edition will be hosted at the Marina Mandarin hotel in Singapore on 28- 30th November 2017. Other editions in this international series will take place in Latin America (São Paulo, 18-20th September 2017), North America (San Francisco, January 30-31st 2018) and Europe (June 2018). More information is available from www.sustainablefoodssummit.com