"Our surveys have shown that health food consumers are also the main consumers of natural beauty products, and holding the two events together to cater to both markets is a sensible business decision on our part," said Napawan Songprasertkul, managing director of Food Industry Network Co Ltd and the exhibition organiser.
"Although the health food and beauty products producers are affected by the flood disaster that hit Thailand, I am confident the growth prospects of Thailand's health food product exports are still on track. Before the floods, the Commerce Ministry announced it expected natural and organic food exports to rise by 10% in 2011 to around $120 million," she said.
"Similarly Thai exports of beauty, herbal and spa products should stay on growth track with exports on first half of 2011 already rising 20.64%'s over the same period in 2010. The Department of Export Promotion revealed total exports of these products amounted to $2.16 billion last year," Napawan said.
She confirmed that both exhibitions have slashed booth rates by 40% to support Asean health food and natural beauty products exhibitors partly offset their losses from the floods that have affected the region.
"We expect our slashing of exhibition rates by 40% will mitigate the impact of the floods on health food and natural beauty product companies and support the growth momentum of these sectors," she said.
She added the discounts policy would be applied to any exhibitor registered in an Asean country, although only five Asean member countries out of 10 were hard hit by floods, namely Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
Referring on the aftermath of the floods that hit the region, Napawan said outlets of health food and natural, as well as organic beauty products would have to replenish their supplies to service their customers.
Napawan said the first Health Food & Ingredient held in March 2011 generated 236 exhibitors and 24,206 visitors of which 1,568 were from overseas and 22,638 from Thailand, and co-locating BioBeauty & BioFit would boost the combined number of participants on both events.
