Kochi : Plates and bowls made of used/waste sugarcane fibre, biobag made of corn, pots and containers made of areca spathes... these are some of the environment-friendly products at display at the Chennai-based Fudpak's stall at the 14th edition of FoodTech Kerala, the state’s premier food processing and packaging expo which is underway at the Rena Event Centre in Kaloor, Kochi since Thursday. Venkat Hariharan, Partner, who has his roots in Thrissur's Wadakkanchery said granules made out of poly lactic acid found in corn and sugarcane will be a big thing in the packaging industry in the coming years. There are more than 60 such exhibitors at FoodTech who are displaying various products and services including food processing machinery, packaging equipment and materials, printing solutions as well as suppliers of ingredients and flavours for the small and big food processing units in the state. The expo will conclude today (Feb 11)
The event is endorsed and supported by Kerala Bureau of Industrial Promotion (K-BIP), CIFT, BIS and FICCI-Kerala. The key highlight of this edition will be the Industrial Pavilion featuring 20 SME units from the state which is sponsored by the K-BIP, Govt of Kerala. The presence of food processing and packaging equipment suppliers, along with the buyers and food processors will give a new dimension to the expo bringing the local buyers and national suppliers together in a single platform.
The receding of pandemic has given a major push to the food industry especially to the small scale units and home bakers in Kerala. “Food Processing Industry has made a major headway all over Kerala, with the Ernakulam district only having many food based units, employing more than 50,000 people. The food processing industry in the district has various products including spices, fish and meat, oil and extracts and ready–to-eat products," Joseph Kuriakose, Director, Cruz Expos, the organizers of FoodTech said.
The show is also an ideal opportunity for NRI-Returnees to set up food and bakery units to target the growing Food & HORECA sector in Kerala. The state has a fairly strong base of food processing industries. This sector plays a major role in the economic development of this region and various studies reveal that its contribution to the total output, value additions and employment generation have been regularly increasing during the recent years.
FoodTech Kerala 2023 is organised by Kochi based Cruz Expos. The company has been regularly organising the FoodTech and HotelTech series of B2B trade expos in the state since the past 14 years. Cruz Expos, in a short span of 15 years, has become one of South India’s foremost professional exhibition organiser in the B2B segment.
