Cafe Asia 2018: A Gathering of Coffee, Tea & Bakery Industries
Hey people!
Two weeks ago, key players of the coffee, tea and bakery industries gathered at Cafe Asia 2018 @ Marina Bay Sands to exchange ideas on the latest trends and explore collaborative opportunities.
As Cafe Asia 2018 was held concurrently with the International Coffee & Tea (ICT) Industry 2018 and the Sweets and Bakes Asia (SBA) 2018, the event also served as a one-stop sourcing hub for supplies like raw coffee beans, tea leaves and premixes as well as other products such as packaging and equipment.
Looks like a good platform for cafe owners to source for new products!
Although I'm neither in the cafe business or the coffee/tea/baked goods industry, attending an event like this gave me some knowledge about the industry and allowed me to understand things beyond the consumer perspective.
The boyfriend, who is more entrepreneur-minded than I am, has also garnered valuable insights from talking to the exhibitors about their products. I'm so glad that the organizers made this event open to public on its last day.
Visitors also got to watch a cake decorating demonstration by renowned international cake designer, Ms Molly Eleonora Coppini.
Her doll cake was an impressive work of art, don't you agree? I don't think I would bear to bite into this artistic cake, knowing that it took hours to prepare and design it.
While businesses strive to develop themselves to attract more customers, there are times when consumers' changing lifestyles have also spurred businesses to be creative so as to maintain their competitive edge.
Take cupcakes for example. In the past, cupcakes were really just a simple small cake with cream on top. But look at these artisan cupcakes now. The customers today want food that not only taste good; they have to look instagrammable too.
Best of all if the insta-worthy food comes with gorgeous packaging, like those attractive Maki-San sushi boxes supplied by Dillic International Pte Ltd.
I always feel like collecting these boxes after downing my sushi.
Konbini Vending Automation Pte Ltd supplies vending machines so if you want to go into a vending machine business similar to Chef In Box, you know where to look.
Besides Southeast Asian industry players, it was refreshing to meet other international exhibitors from as far as Brazil, Germany and Australia.
We got to try some pretty exotic coffee, tea and juices too.
Vietnam's Cong Caphe was one of the booths that caught my attention.
The brand started in Ho Chi Minh and has outlets all over Vietnam. Apparently, it will officially open an outlet in Singapore soon. So exciting!
They were serving coconut ice-blended coffee drinks at this booth so YX and I went to try.
Oh my, this frothy goodness truly won our hearts. The coconut-coffee fusion was a unique blend and tasted heavenly indeed!
Also checked out Oishi International Pte Ltd, a halal-certified manufacturer and wholesaler for gelato, soft serve and waffles. They supply the relevant machinery too.
Wow, I've never seen such eye-catching waffles before.
Although the vibrant colouring wasn't too appealing for me (because boring me prefers the usual brown or green waffles), I'd have to admit that the waffles had a great texture - nice and crisp on the outside while soft on the inside.
Oh cool, they also sell Japanese waffle premixes in the same vibrant colours. I told ya food aesthetics is very important in the F&B industry.
Premium Gelato, anyone?
There was a long queue for this because Oishi International was giving out free gelato generously. You could even go for more than 1 flavour if you like.
Had a hard time choosing my flavour and I really didn't want to over-eat so I went for Blueberry Yogurt only.
YX went for Rocky Road coz he couldn't resist chocolate gelato.
I'm a cookie fan so soft and chewy cookies like Lightsweet really drew me in like a magnet. They do not contain preservatives; have 0% trans fat and most importantly, tasted mega awesome.
Now I wish someone will tell me that they are healthy too. But who am I kidding? *drools* though.
There were many other booths we visited (in fact, we tried to visit every single one) but for the purpose of this entry, I have featured the ones that stood out to me. Overall, I had an eye-opening experience at Cafe Asia 2018. It made me curious to know how much the cafe scene would change in a few years to come. I guess I'll find out next year when I have the opportunity to attend Cafe Asia again.
Thank you for having me and for satisfying my sweet tooth at the same time. Till next time! :)
Disclaimer: Event feature is done in collaboration with The Rainmaker Marketing Group. Review is based on personal experiences.
Two weeks ago, key players of the coffee, tea and bakery industries gathered at Cafe Asia 2018 @ Marina Bay Sands to exchange ideas on the latest trends and explore collaborative opportunities.
As Cafe Asia 2018 was held concurrently with the International Coffee & Tea (ICT) Industry 2018 and the Sweets and Bakes Asia (SBA) 2018, the event also served as a one-stop sourcing hub for supplies like raw coffee beans, tea leaves and premixes as well as other products such as packaging and equipment.
Looks like a good platform for cafe owners to source for new products!
Although I'm neither in the cafe business or the coffee/tea/baked goods industry, attending an event like this gave me some knowledge about the industry and allowed me to understand things beyond the consumer perspective.
The boyfriend, who is more entrepreneur-minded than I am, has also garnered valuable insights from talking to the exhibitors about their products. I'm so glad that the organizers made this event open to public on its last day.
Visitors also got to watch a cake decorating demonstration by renowned international cake designer, Ms Molly Eleonora Coppini.
Her doll cake was an impressive work of art, don't you agree? I don't think I would bear to bite into this artistic cake, knowing that it took hours to prepare and design it.
While businesses strive to develop themselves to attract more customers, there are times when consumers' changing lifestyles have also spurred businesses to be creative so as to maintain their competitive edge.
Take cupcakes for example. In the past, cupcakes were really just a simple small cake with cream on top. But look at these artisan cupcakes now. The customers today want food that not only taste good; they have to look instagrammable too.
Best of all if the insta-worthy food comes with gorgeous packaging, like those attractive Maki-San sushi boxes supplied by Dillic International Pte Ltd.
I always feel like collecting these boxes after downing my sushi.
Konbini Vending Automation Pte Ltd supplies vending machines so if you want to go into a vending machine business similar to Chef In Box, you know where to look.
Besides Southeast Asian industry players, it was refreshing to meet other international exhibitors from as far as Brazil, Germany and Australia.
We got to try some pretty exotic coffee, tea and juices too.
Vietnam's Cong Caphe was one of the booths that caught my attention.
The brand started in Ho Chi Minh and has outlets all over Vietnam. Apparently, it will officially open an outlet in Singapore soon. So exciting!
They were serving coconut ice-blended coffee drinks at this booth so YX and I went to try.
Oh my, this frothy goodness truly won our hearts. The coconut-coffee fusion was a unique blend and tasted heavenly indeed!
Also checked out Oishi International Pte Ltd, a halal-certified manufacturer and wholesaler for gelato, soft serve and waffles. They supply the relevant machinery too.
Wow, I've never seen such eye-catching waffles before.
Although the vibrant colouring wasn't too appealing for me (because boring me prefers the usual brown or green waffles), I'd have to admit that the waffles had a great texture - nice and crisp on the outside while soft on the inside.
Oh cool, they also sell Japanese waffle premixes in the same vibrant colours. I told ya food aesthetics is very important in the F&B industry.
Premium Gelato, anyone?
There was a long queue for this because Oishi International was giving out free gelato generously. You could even go for more than 1 flavour if you like.
Had a hard time choosing my flavour and I really didn't want to over-eat so I went for Blueberry Yogurt only.
YX went for Rocky Road coz he couldn't resist chocolate gelato.
I'm a cookie fan so soft and chewy cookies like Lightsweet really drew me in like a magnet. They do not contain preservatives; have 0% trans fat and most importantly, tasted mega awesome.
Now I wish someone will tell me that they are healthy too. But who am I kidding? *drools* though.
There were many other booths we visited (in fact, we tried to visit every single one) but for the purpose of this entry, I have featured the ones that stood out to me. Overall, I had an eye-opening experience at Cafe Asia 2018. It made me curious to know how much the cafe scene would change in a few years to come. I guess I'll find out next year when I have the opportunity to attend Cafe Asia again.
Thank you for having me and for satisfying my sweet tooth at the same time. Till next time! :)
Disclaimer: Event feature is done in collaboration with The Rainmaker Marketing Group. Review is based on personal experiences.