Informa Markets and Saladplate launch Food & Hotel Digital Week series

A first-of-its-kind collaboration gathering global leaders and professionals from the food and hospitality sectors to connect in a virtual environment

Informa Markets today announced the launch of FOOD & HOTEL DIGITAL WEEK, a new series of bi-monthly online events to help food and hospitality businesses connect and fast-track recovery, transformation and growth after COVID-19. The event is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between its Hospitality, Food & Beverage portfolio in Asia and Saladplate, an online marketplace serving the food and hospitality sectors exclusively.

Hosted on Saladplate, the first FOOD & HOTEL DIGITAL WEEK will kick off from 25 May 2020 to 29 May 2020 with a platform for professionals to trade, exchange insights and deepen knowledge via real-time matchmaking, product galleries, live presentations and a library of resources.

The five-day agenda will entail full-day webinars, country pavilion highlights as well as a spotlight on the top 100 food and drinks that will shake up the food and hospitality industries. Themed ‘COVID-19 and the Future of Food’, the webinars on 28 May 2020 will feature a host of experts and exhibitors covering a range of themes from food security, F&B amid COVID-19 to hospitality management and foodservice.

Early confirmed speakers include:
• AgFunder – a global agri-foodtech venture capital firm. The firm’s investments in technologies for transforming the world’s food and agriculture system reached US$20 billion in 2019, a six-fold increase from 2012
• Big Idea Ventures – a venture capital and accelerator fund. The firm is raising US$50 million to invest in plant-based foods & ingredients, and cell-based meats through a combination of capital and partnership to support entrepreneurs
• Dole Food Company – one of the world’s largest producers and marketers of high-quality fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. Dole is an industry leader in many of the products it sells, as well as in nutrition education
• Impossible Foods – an American company that develops plant-based substitutes for meat products, Impossible Foods aims to give people the taste and nutritional benefits of meat without supposed negative health and certain environmental impacts associated with livestock products
• Pinduoduo – the fastest growing e-commerce startup in the history of China, attaining a GMV of US$15 billion only two years from launch
• Singapore Food Agency – a statutory board formed under Singapore’s Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources to oversee food safety and security for the country
• Sodexo – a French food services and facilities management company headquartered in the Paris suburb of Issy-les-Moulineaux. It is one of the world's largest multinational corporations, with 470,237 employees as of 2019 and a presence in 67 countries

Registration for FOOD & HOTEL DIGITAL WEEK is free, and attendees can select the days and sessions they want to attend, engage in live Q&A sessions, download latest whitepapers, reports and research from participating exhibitors, speakers and sponsors.

Mr Ian Roberts, Managing Director - Hospitality, Food & Beverage, Informa Markets, said “With the COVID-19 pandemic changing the way we communicate and how business is being conducted, the launch of FOOD & HOTEL DIGITAL WEEK is a signal of our commitment to drive value through digital initiatives for our customers and community in the industries we serve, and help them navigate these extraordinary times into a hopeful future.”

“FOOD & HOTEL DIGITAL WEEK is the perfect timing for the launch of Saladplate.com, a 365-day online marketplace where our communities engage with one another, discover new products and make trade connections around the clock with best-in-class technologies. This event will bring together the best of online sourcing and the best of content suited to our professional community in a highly accessible format,” said Mr Dave Chan, Vice President - Digital Business & Advanced Analytics – Asia, Informa Markets.

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