Saloni Bhatia – New Delhi
The 31st edition of Aahar recently held in Delhi showcased different products from the food industry like confectionery, chocolate, desserts, bakery products and ingredients, organic and health products, frozen, canned and processed products, meat, poultry and sea food, cheese and fine specialty food, snacks and convenience food, food ingredients, additives and preservatives, coffee and tea, syrups, juices and energy drinks, etc in the hotel, restaurant and catering industry. Amit Lohani, founder director, Forum of Indian Food Importers (FIFI) explained, “This time we are about 2100 sq m. The number of participants have gone up be it domestic or international. We have somewhere around 50 companies from all over the world: 40 from Canada, six from Norway and four from the US. Everyone has increased their space size as compared to last year. We were short by almost 300 or 400 sq m of space this time. We have tried to give the pavilion an international feel, offering WiFi to our members, doing a lucky draw to increase a bit of involvement by everyone, etc.”
Parthi Muthukumarasamy, councellor, Agriculture and Agri Food, Canada, shared, “This year Aahar is bigger and better. There are more participants and we have had better footfall in the two days. We have brought our business to the country promoting the various pulses and syrups. We look forward to better business opportunities.” There were many new brands that were showcasing for the first time. Gaurav Jain, director, Asbah, a new entrant this year, said, “We wanted to showcase the brand to the India market. We would like to reach out to more distributors through this platform.” Jaspreet, owner, Hi Cheese, shared, “The main motive is to come from behind the desk to the front and spread awareness about our brand. We wish to come forward as another player in the market.”