Over 50,000 trade visitors from hospitality and foodservice met in Rimini at the Rhex Horeca Expo, the Italian fair organized by Rimini Fiera at the beginning of the year. According to the organizers, there were over 7000 business meetings held with international buyers during the event, which was attended by some of the most important names in the European foodservice.
RHEX was the result of the great experience of two of our historical exhibitions, events with a total of over 100 editions to their credit and which are perfectly summed up to provide the market a solution in sync with the evolution of the international markets involved. In fact, what is currently required is a greater concentration of events, rationalization of time and resources and operational appointments. The first edition of RHEX kept this promise and opened up the way to new strategic potential for future ideas and issues, starting right from next year,” said Rimini Fiera Chairman Lorenzo Cagnoni
Future trends and innovations
Among the main attractions for all those who attended the event there was the assignment of the 2013 Rhex Innovation Awards, a contest dedicated to products presented at the Rimini Expo – which remained on show for the entire duration of the expo in the Innovation Area of the South Foyer – divided according to sales channel. A panel of technical judges decreed the best products for each channel, which were:
• in the HOTEL category, the winner was Sanipill from Rack System;
• in the HOTEL/SPA category, FIT Pocket from Robotic Fitness Machines;
• in the BAR category, Bar Sharing from IFI;
• in the Large-scale Distribution category, pre-cooked FROZEN gluten-free products from Panificio Cremona Italia;
• in the CATERING category, the prize went to the pistachio and crayfish pesto sauce from Campo d’Oro di Licata Paolo.
Visitors also voted their favourite new 2013 products among those on show. The winner was the “Tela” model of hotel bedroom furniture proposed by R.G.R. di Pollini. The novelty this year was the Innovation Book, which contains the products competing for the awards, published online, as well as one of the “best practices” of Rimini Fiera, a highly sustainable expo centre, which has made respect for the environment a feather in its bonnet.
International participation
According to organizers, Rhex stands out as an international appointment able to bring together under one roof not only products, but also and above all cultural initiatives: success stories, exhibitions with new formats, contests and professional updating for all categories under the banner of innovation, solutions and market trends, thus offering a showcase for exhibitors from the hotel, hospitality, catering and entertainment industries. International business was successful thanks to the attendance of hundreds of foreign buyers, from Australia, Saudi Arabia, Belarus, Bosnia, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Arab Emirates, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Latvia, Luxemburg, Morocco, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine and Hungary, with top level managers, attracted by an expo that put on show the best of the eating out, hospitality design and food & beverage sectors, with real Italian-made excellence. Rimini Fiera Business Unit manager Patrizia Cecchi concluded: “From the business world of eating out and entertainment we received excellent response in terms of the quality of the participants, attention on behalf of visitors and contacts beyond expectations, above all thanks to foreign business. We were able to verify that Rhex is like the hardware of the system on which the tourist sector is based, a sector in which Italy still plays a leading role with ample margins for an upswing.”