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SANA 2023, International Exhibition of Organic and Natural Products: success for the first B2B edition

18/09/2023

More than positive results for SANA 2023, a leading appointment on the Italian and international exhibition calendar for producers, distributors, organisations, institutions and professionals in the organic and natural sector. The numbers confirm the priority role of the event, which closes its 35th edition with 650 exhibitors, 20 thousand square metres of exhibition space and 12,500 operators, 10% of whom from abroad.

The figure of 12,500 visitors (the same as the previous edition of SANA) is to be understood this time as exclusively in a B2B sense: the fact that the Show, although no longer aimed at a general public, maintained the attendance, while at the same time achieving the objective of a greater and more selective qualification of attendance, bears witness to the effectiveness of the new course taken.

SANA was organised by BolognaFiere in collaboration with FederBio, AssoBio (present with a collective stand of its associates) and Cosmetica Italia, with the patronage of the MASAF – Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, the MASE – Ministry of the Environment, Land and Sea, the Emilia- Romagna Region and the Municipality of Bologna.

SANA 2023 closes its 35th edition with 650 exhibitors, 20 thousand square metres of exhibition space and 12,500 operators

The Exhibition, which has benefited from the support and active collaboration of ITA ICE– Italian Trade Agency – in synergy with the Incoming Buyer office and the increasingly extensive network of agents of BolognaFiere, was visited – on invitation – by 200 buyers from the main international markets, including importers of organic products, representatives of large-scale retail trade and operators in the field of natural cosmetics and food service. 30 countries represented: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, South Korea, Denmark, United Arab Emirates, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Morocco, Mexico, Moldova, Peru, United Kingdom, Romania, Serbia, Singapore, Spain, Slovenia, Sweden and the United States.

These buyers and exhibiting companies from SANA’s three sectors – Organic & Natural Food, Care & Beauty and Green Lifestyle – took part in about 2,000 B2B appointments (networking and business exchanges) organised by BolognaFiere and ICE.

The number of exhibitors – 650 – and foreign attendance was also excellent, with the involvement of Austria, among others, Germany, Japan, Greece, South Africa, Ukraine and Latin America.

Turning our attention to the domestic front, 5 Italian regions have taken part in the 2023 edition of SANA and among these include some of the most significant in terms of agricultural surface area dedicated to organic farming: Calabria, EmiliaRomagna, Marche, Puglia and – back at the fair after a few years’ absence – Sardinia. Great interest was also interest was also aroused by the areas and companies of CIA, Coldiretti, the Bologna Chamber of Commerce and MASAF, the latter on air with the organic promotional campaign launched as a preview at SANA by ISMEA, testimonial Luca Sardella and ‘Elio e le Storie tese’ a famous singer and show man very popular in Italy.

Buyers and exhibiting companies from SANA’s three sectors took part in about 2,000 B2B appointments

“The B2B breakthrough meant a change of pace, in terms of operations and strategic vision. With this choice BolognaFiere wanted to respond to a precise request from companies and was able to enhance the export and internationalisation vocation of SANA and the organic and natural sector as a whole,’ commented Claudia Castello, Exhibition Manager -. The outcome of this turning point can already be said to be positive, as witnessed by the exhibitors themselves, by the significant presence of qualified buyers, and by the quality of the insights offered. The national and international scenario is complex and the economic situation critical, as the focus on the French and German organic markets, which are currently in the stagnation. Nevertheless, SANA has managed to consolidate its role as a stimulus for the sector and for the companies, whose products and innovations it promoted to a very wide audience, through a multiplicity of physical and digital channels”.

Positive feedback was received by the rich conference programme: meetings and talks registered approximately one appointment every hour, reaching a total of 80 and with around 4,500 attendees. Zooming in on this figure, 1,500 qualified operators took part in the programme of Sanatech, a benchmark for the development of the agri-food, animal husbandry and eco-sustainable wellness supply chain.

Remaining in the Organic & Natural Food area, excellent returns, in terms of audience and content, for the spaces dedicated to Cooking and Cocktail Demos. Interest in everything that is related to Breakfast and Aperitif, reinterpreted in an organic, natural and healthy key, is strengthened. The Veg and Free From areas, organised in collaboration with, respectively, V Label Italia and the World Gluten Free Chef Academy, also received full marks for intercepting new consumer needs and trends. The 40 appointments offered in this area (including demos) attracted over 1,400 professional attendees. There was also a high level of appreciation for the tastings and training sessions organised by the UIV – Unione Italiana Vini (Italian Wine Union) on the emerging topic of alcohol-free wines, a market segment with great potential for development and valorised by SANA for the first time in Italy in an exhibition context. The space of Slow Wine, BolognaFiere’s partner for the Slow Wine Fair (25-27 February 2024), was also much visited.

SANA 2024 will be held at BolognaFiere from 5 to 8 September

Particularly popular were the meetings in the herbal and cosmetics area, where the spotlight was on products and styles of consumption increasingly oriented towards vegan and sustainability. At exhibition level, the Care & Beauty Area confirmed itself as the elective showcase for previews of new products that will be available on the shelves during the coming festivities.

Of great appeal, as in past editions of SANA, were the themes proposed in the Via delle Erbe organised with Tecniche Nuove, and Rivoluzione Bio. The latter initiative, in particular, was organised by BolognaFiere with AssoBio and FederBio, as part of the BEING ORGANIC IN EU project managed by FederBio in partnership with Naturland DE, and consisted of two days of conferences and debates during which the data of the SANA Survey were presented by Nomisma with the support of ITA – ICE.