The most prestigious food and drink trade event on the African continent is returning to the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg from 5 to 7 November. Hosted in South Africa for the first time last year, organisers, Specialised Exhibitions Montgomery, are going above and beyond to ensure that IFEA 2014 is bigger and better than any other industry trade show – and that includes hiring some big names to head up this year’s expo.
Says Chris McCuin, Business Development Director for Montgomery, who was instrumental in the growth of IFE, the company’s flagship international food and drink event in the UK, of which the African IFEA is a clone: “We are committed to investing in the Pan African show and are planning for it to be an absolute force to be reckoned with. We have in the past few months taken on a new Portfolio Director and are now bringing on a new Event Director locally, as well as enlisted the expertise of a Brand Director based in London, all of whom are working towards the one goal of cementing IFEA’s reputation as the leading international food and drink trade event on the African continent.”
McCuin joined Fresh Montgomery at the beginning of 2010 to take over the Directorship of IFE and was instrumental in launching IFEA in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2013. Christopher has a solid background in international exhibitions, having managed some of the largest, most established exhibitions throughout Asia and China since 2003 and through comprehensive international business travel has developed an extensive and active global network of industry and government relationships.
Heading up IFEA in South Africa is Werner Douglas, Portfolio Director of Specialised Exhibitions. Douglas, who studied at the Harvard Business School, has held various business sales, marketing, design and project management positions in the mechanical, engineering and technology sectors.
His wealth of knowledge and experience in the development of sales processes and techniques are proving to be a large contributing factor to the ongoing success of Specialised Exhibitions and of IFEA.
The most recent addition to the IFEA team, on board with plenty of time to take IFEA 2014 to greater heights, is Nicholas Sarnadas, Event Director at Specialised Exhibitions Montgomery. Sarnadas joins Specialised Exhibitions Montgomery from the South African Chefs Association (SACA) where he held the positions of Events Manager and National Culinary Team South Africa Logistics Manager. Sarnadas has been engrossed in the industry for the past six years, working closely through the Association with industry greats such as Bidvest, General Mills, Unilever, McCain, Tiger Brands, AEG, Rainbow Foods, Ciro, SAB Miller and others, gaining a wealth of knowledge and strong industry contacts. He has conceptualised and project managed major income earning events for SACA, including Hostex – Chefs Theatre, Infochef and The Careers Expo; managed the South African Chefs Village at a number of expos such as Grand Designs Live and the Good Food & Wine Show; and conceptualised and managed such cookery competitions as The Nestlé Golden Chefs Hat, Goldcrest Young Chef of the Tear, The Tabasco Restaurant Showcase, the Pillsbury Bake-Off, The Global Chefs Challenge, Checkers Championship Boerewors Challenge and others, as extra revenue streams for the Association.
“It is with an arsenal of immense industry knowledge held by our new directors that we are working non-stop to bring IFEA 2014 to the industry in just over three months,” concludes McCuin. “With everything from never-seen-before product innovations from the largest number of international food and drink suppliers ever exhibiting at any one time on the African continent, to a myriad of new product sourcing, networking and educational experiences, IFEA 2014 will be nothing short of extraordinary.”
For more information on IFEA 2014, to book your stand as an exhibitor, or to pre-register as a trade visitor, go to www.ifea.co.za.