Nowadays many national and international trade fairs and events are organized. That makes it difficult to stand out as an organisation. Andreas Daroudis agrees, he is the Director of Exhibitions of TIF-Helexpo SA and the vice chairman of the European Chapter of UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry. He admits that it was a challenge to get exhibitors to participate in the new trade show for Fruit & Vegetables, which took place last week in Thessaloniki. “You have to differentiate with the right visitors and parallel events. We’ve attracted very nice Greek companies to participate in Freskon and we are very satisfied with the first edition.” Trade shows for several sectors
Freskon was organized in the Thessaloniki Exhibition Centre, which is partly owned by TIF Helexpo. “The organisation started in 1926 as Helexpo and organised one large trade fair a year. Now we organise an average of fifteen exhibitions per year, for several important sectors in Greece. The fairs take place in Thessaloniki and Athens. Greece focuses mostly on the Balkans at these fairs. All our trade shows have an international character. More than 4000 visitors, from all over the world, came to Freskon.”
A trade show just for fruit & vegetables
A trade show just for fruit and vegetables did not exist in Greece. “There was an increased need for it. This sector, together with tourism, is very important for Greece, even with the crisis the fruit and vegetable trade is doing quite well and we noticed that this sector is trying to expand to countries. So that is the reason we organised Freskon.” Several years ago another party organised a less specialized fruit and vegetable event. “This event was a big disappointment, we had a real struggle to convince exhibitors to participate, but luckily, and after a lot of hard work, we convinced almost 200 participants. Many important players in the Greek fruit and vegetable sector took part.” This area was new for Andreas Daroudis. “Of course everybody knows Fruit Logistica and there are many big businesses that participate in that fair, but it is difficult for smaller companies because of the abundance of exhibitors and visitors at Fruit Logistica closing a deal becomes more difficult, especially for smaller companies.”
The right match
He continues: “To stand out you really need to have unique selling points during and parallel to the trade show. We focussed on creating the right match between exhibitor and visitor. This way we can reach our goal, getting our exhibitors to close the right deals.” As well as the trade fair parallel events were organised. “We had a 'speed date' event with international supermarkets and people could visit the Cherry Congress. The interest was huge. Furthermore we got important international buyers with whom the exhibitors could meet.”
Make a difference
He emphasizes that they do not organise fairs and trade shows for the sake of it. “It is hard work to organize a trade show that is attractive for exhibitors and visitors. You really have to make a difference. Companies are more selective in the events they want to participate. However you have to keep the future in mind, and many trade shows become a repeat event. I truly believe that the first edition of Freskon is a success and we will organize the trade show next year again. We have promoted Freskon all over the world, which increased our fame; therefore we expect even more interest in the second trade show.” Daroudis considers the needs of the sector. “If this trade show didn’t have a positive influence on the sector then we wouldn’t organize it again. Our exhibitors are satisfied, so we have a good feeling about it.”
For more information:Andreas Daroudis
TIF Helexpo
154 Egnatia str.
546 36 Thessaloniki - Greece
T: +30 2310291143
F: +30 2310 291663
daroudis@helexpo.gr
www.helexpo.gr