The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) will be hosting its 13^th edition of Foodworld India virtually from 24-25 March 2021. The annual flagship event is steered by FICCI’s Food Processing Committee and has been supported by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

The theme of this year’s edition is Decoding the Future of the Indian Food Processing Sector. The objective is to identify emerging business opportunities and trends for the food processing industry for building a sustainable food ecosystem beyond the Covid-19 era.

The FICCI has slated five panel discussions on different topics for the two-day convention, which can be accessed for free upon registration at www.ficcifoodworld.com.

The first panel discussion would touch upon the future of the food processing industry. The panellists would be discussing how food brands are driving the consumption trends into opportunities.

The session will capture emerging trends shaping the future of the Indian food market and the underlying business opportunities for food manufacturers and retailers and the role played by brands to address the shift in consumer preferences. It will also focus on the impact of macroeconomic and attitudinal changes in driving the food consumption trends and the strategies that can be adopted for accelerating growth of the sector and achieving double-figure profitability.

The second session on building trust in the food processing ecosystem would touch upon government and corporate initiatives. The session will be focused on the shared responsibility of the government and food industry for providing a healthy and progressive ecosystem for the processed food sector in India and the important role played by the processed food industry in the socio-economic development of India.

It will capture the challenges faced by the industries in building consumer trust and initiatives required to be undertaken by FBOs and the government to gain consumer confidence & boost consumption of processed food in India. The session will also bring to light the initiatives and promotional efforts required by the government to boost the demand for processed foods in India.

In the third session, panellists will discuss how the untapped overseas export markets have remained a “golden opportunity” for the sustained growth of food businesses.

The session will be focused on competitive positioning and accelerating plans to increase India’s processed food exports across different categories of products, understanding the key issues that are holding back food processors in India from exporting and identification of strategies and support required from the government to give an impetus to exports of processed food products. It will also bring forth the steps for working with and encouraging more businesses to identify and overcome trade barriers for exports of food products.

The fourth session will elaborate on how identifying health-conscious food patterns and key trends in the Indian market will result in a resilient and sustainable food supply chain. The session will also highlight how the Covid-19 pandemic has come as an opportunity for building sustainable food systems.

The final session will be about the emerging trends in the food processing sector. It will revolve around the changing dynamics of the marketplace with a focus on how consumers are rapidly adopting new platforms, brands and retail models to have painless convenience.

The session will also bring forth the new business and service models adopted by food companies to cater to consumer needs for the creation of differentiated experience by removing customer pain in both physical and digital environments.

The session will also highlight major trends in food technology in the Indian scenario and the impact of technological developments on the future of the food ecosystem.