Setting sights high for ihe 22
India International Hopsitality Expo (IHE) will hold its fifth edition from 3-6 August 2022, and its highlight event will be one-day conference dedicated to bakery and confectionary, mithai, and namkeen sectors.
An important new attraction at this conference will be a Franchise Forum, where businesses exploring franchising options for further growth can network with their potential partners. This activity will be a part of the special event planned for the fifth anniversary year of the show, which was first held in 2018 at the India Expo Mart & Centre, Greater Noida, in Delhi-NCR. Other activities planned for the fifth anniversary edition include a focussed activity with hotel and restaurant purchase managers around the food and hospitality products being developed by the MSME sector in the North-East. The North-East Mart will be accompanied by a forum to highlight the work being done by our exhibition partners in that region. Another new addition will be a Startup Pavilion, which will host startups that are either active or starting out in the food and food tech verticals.
At the last edition of IHE, which was the first physical show, held from 24-27 September 2021, as many as 160 exhibitors representing the major industry-relevant verticals, from food ingredients and new-generation beverages to kitchen equipment, furniture and furnishings, and tableware, were present in strength. Over 8,000 visitors who thronged IHE2021 included members of the Purchasing Professionals Forum-India (PPFI) and Hospitality Purchasing Managers Forum (HPMF), the leading ladies of WICCI, chef-members of the Indian Culinary Forum (ICF), founders of the Professional Housekeepers Association (PHA), and other hospitality industry decision-makers. Commenting on the response to IHE2021, when the country was just recovering from the second wave, Rakesh Kumar, Chairman, IEML, and Director-General, Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH), said, “The response to IHE2021 far exceeded our expectations. We were able to prove that the IEML is ready and equipped to present physical shows. Our calendar is filling up fast for 2022 and 2023. And yes, we are returning with a much bigger and better edition of IHE on 3-6 August 2022.”
The highlight of the programme was the conclave which saw animated conversations involving industry leaders such as Rajeev Menon, President, APAC excluding
Greater China, Marriott International; Rattan Keswani, Deputy MD, Lemon Tree Hotels; Samir MC, MD, Fortune Park Hotels; and Anurag Katriar, President, National Restaurants Association of India (NRAI). Our who’s who roster of speakers included top educators and recruiters such as Kamal Kant Pant, Principal and Secretary, Catering and Nutrition, IHM-Pusa and Dr. Swarup Sinha, Principal, ITC Limited-Hotels Division, ITC Hospitality Management Institute; renowned chefs, notably Manjit Gill, President, Indian Federation of Culinary Associations (IFCA) and Devinder Kumar, President, Indian Culinary Forum (ICF) and VP, F&B, Le Meridien New Delhi; and housekeeping decision-makers such as Dr. Madhu Chandhok, Director and Founding Partner, pip2020 and Meenu Tongatta, Executive Housekeeper, ITC Hotels.
We are returning with a much bigger and better edition of IHE on 3-6 August 2022”
IHE has established itself as a three-in-one event—a showcase of new products and services; a networking platform; and a festival of ideas. It will be built on this tradition to achieve the goal of making IHE2022 an unmissable event for decision makers in the food service and hospitality sectors.