SINGAPORE, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Business people from the regional food and beverage industries gathered here Thursday for three shows, together with the initiation of another exhibition which is the Restaurant Asia 2019.
A total of 250 exhibitors from 28 countries joined in the Restaurant Asia 2019 and the three other shows, namely the 7th Cafe Asia 2019, the 7th International Coffee & Tea Industry Expo and the 6th Sweets & Bakes Asia.
The three shows are organized by the Conference & Exhibition Management Services Pte Ltd(CEMS), while the Restaurant Asia 2019 is organized by the Restaurant Association of Singapore in partnership with CEMS.
Covering a floor space of 7,000 square meters, the four shows were officially opened at the Marina Bay Sand Singapore Expo & Convention Center by Singapores Senior Minister of State for Education and Trade & Industry Chee Hong Tat.
Chee noted in his speech that while the rapid growth of the establishments of food and beverage in Singapore have outpaced the growth in demand and somewhat lowered the productivity of the food services industry, the business people in the catering industry must try to excel in product, service and experience.
For example, healthier as well as tasty dishes and more customized menus will help the restaurants remain competitive, he added. Moreover, the use of data might enable the diners to have more pleasant experiences and improve the efficiency of the providers.
A symposium will be held together with the three-day Restaurant Asia 2019 to share insights on productivity, capability development and ways to leverage on technologies, said Edward Liu, group managing director of CEMS.
The Cafe Asia 2019 and the 7th International Coffee & Tea Industry Expo are hosted by the Singapore Coffee Association. Victor Mah, president of ASEAN Coffee Federation and Singapore Coffee Association noted that the ASEAN Coffee Federation Specialty Coffee Auction will also be hosted for the first time as one of the highlights of the Cafe Asia 2019 to mark the hard work of those in the industry, who have witnessed a growing coffee scene in the region.
A memorandum of understanding was also signed at the opening ceremony between representatives from the restaurant associations in Singapore, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam to facilitate the forming of the ASEAN Restaurant Association Alliance.
