All 530 stands available to companies have been purchased in (8-10 September 2020) at Macfrut Digital, the first digital fruit and vegetable fair, organized by Cesena Fiera instead of the usual event in Rimini. We talk about it with the chairman Renzo Piraccini.
FreshPlaza (FP): Chairman, as of today (21 August 2020) what is the registration situation?
Renzo Piraccini (RP): We have exhausted all our stands, 530, purchased by 400 exhibitors. We are doing fine on the buyers' registration front as well, with 600 attendees. Now we are working on visitors who are required to register: for these too there is a maximum number set at 30,000.
FP: But how will the fair take place, in detail?
RP: It can be explained in this way: there are two distinct levels, one for buyers and one for visitors. Buyers, 70% of whom are foreign, have a privileged path in meeting with companies. It is a planning work carried out by our staff, in order to bring together the agendas and the specific interests of buyers and companies. The other level concerns professional visitors: as in any fair, the visitor enters, looks at the stands, that is to say the company videos, and then if he is interested he can meet with the company to do business.
Renzo Piraccini, chairman of Cesena Fiera.
FP: As Cesena Fiera, are you satisfied with this choice?
RP: We took a risk, in a certain sense, because we ventured on a totally new path for our sector. And we have been proven right: the participation have exceeded expectations, since the international situation would not allow any real meeting. We feel like pioneers.
FP: Is this the future of trade fairs?
RP: This is a possible future and we are proud to have anticipated it. Obviously we all hope to be able to return soon to normal fairs, but in the meantime this alternative is fine. It is not a market place, it is a real way to meet and do business. The exhibiting companies have understood this and the quality of the videos reflect that: in 58 seconds all the features are explained and those interested can see if the company is right for them or not.
FP: For a trade fair organization, however, the revenues are lower than for a traditional event.
RP: The future cannot be stopped, at most you can anticipate it and draw the greatest possible benefit from it. We were not afraid of this and the companies understood it. The cost/benefit ratio is all to the advantage of companies; but, as we all know, if companies do business, it is the entire sector, the entire supply chain, that advances. You need to have a broad vision of the sector and not limit yourself to your own small garden. Moreover, a trade fair organization has to act as a driving force for companies.