Free Hostex conference to add value to industry

Published: 26 February 2013

A conference designed to offer real value to hospitality industry operators will be held in conjunction with the hospitality and foodservice industry’s leading expo, Hostex 2013, at the Sandton Convention Centre in March.

Hostex has served the industry for 26 years and has built a strong reputation for delivering an all-encompassing one-stop-shop expo that guarantees valuable information-sharing, networking opportunities, excitement with the prestigious competitions that run for the duration of the show, and more. This year it promises even more to its anticipated 11 000 visitors.

The conference follows the highly successful Unilever Food Solutions Hostex Inspirations Conference in 2011, proudly presented by Specialised Exhibitions and Unilever Food Solutions. This year, for the first time ever, the conference format will be free to view, on the floor seminars, with each seminar being held on a first-come, first-served basis in an intimate enclosed theatre in Hall 2.

“This year’s conference has been co-ordinated to enhance the Hostex experience for visitors and enable them to plan their trips to the exhibition around their preferred seminars,” says Brad Hook, Hostex Exhibition Director. “We believe that the high-level speakers and highly relevant topics they are covering will be a strong drawcard for visitors, who will hopefully be in a position to make improvements to their own operations as a result of their new learnings.”

The Hostex conference will consist of half-hour seminars and will run throughout the four-day show from 17 to 20 March 2013.

The leading speakers and topics, which will cover cutting-edge industry trends, technologies, and innovations, include Clem Sunter on Economic outlook for hospitality in SA; Caroline Ungersbock on Responsible tourism; Jodi-Ann Pearton on Growth of the deli; Toni Lea on Hotel of the future Lorraine Jenks on A practical guide to sustainable operations and green procurement for hoteliers & procurement directors; Keegan Eichstadt on Nutrition and understanding allergens and intolerances; Famous Brands on Packaging innovation in fast food and deli catering; HKLM strategic brand and communication design consultancy on A case study of successes in branding for hospitality businesses; Lindy Barbour on Franchising your hospitality business, Miguel Chan on Wine tasting; Craig Elliott on Seductive nutrition: how industry has responded; Candy Tothill on Implementing Enterpreneurial Development; Arnold Tanzer on Food trends; and several more talks and demonstrations.

A full programme of the Hostex conference can be found on the Hostex website http://www.hostex.co.za/EN/Content/Theatre