Anelia Karanova, Project manger

The Bulgarian market opens up for foreign companies

Great interest towards the anniversary edition of BalkanPac

Mrs. Karanova, the tenth edition of the international exhibition BalkanPac for packaging, machines and materials and the ninth edition of Balkan Food & Drinks for food, drinks and equipment will take place from 1 to 4 November in Festivalna Hall. How do you evaluate the past years performance?

The packaging industry is developing very fast in all parts of the world. According to a research of Freedonia Group, the demand for packages in the USA is growing with 2,8% every year. Plastic packages have registered the biggest increase – 4,4% on the average. The most serious consumer in all countries is the food industry. These trends are observed on the Bulgarian market as well, although they are developing at a slower rate. The economic changes in the country during the past years had a great influence on the quality of the produced packaging. The increased import and the intensified competition lead to bigger demand for high quality and attractive packages.

And yet what are the most characteristic features of the exhibitions?

Our exhibitions are visited exclusively by specialists – manufacturers and dealers. Such is our company philosophy that we have worked out through the years. Besides, it has proved that the market needs professional solutions and we try to show them. More than 50% of the exhibitors are companies that are presented on our market for the first time. These are either Bulgarian importers and manufacturers or foreign companies looking for partners in Bulgaria. In 2005, for example, we had direct exhibitors from 14 different countries in Europe and Asia, which showed their products at Balkan Food & Drinks and BalkanPac. The exhibitions offer a great opportunity to meet new people and exchange experience. And this always creates new ideas.

What show the results of your statistics – where are the most visitors from?

Approximately 40% are from all regions of the country. Here I would like to make a small parenthesis. Managers of leading companies in the country spare their time to come to Sofia for a few days. They understand how important is to meet face-to-face with colleagues and partners. And as we are talking about figures, 5 to 11% of our visitors are from abroad. Most of them are from Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Turkey, Greece. But there are also visitors from Western Europe. The Bulgarian companies are much wanted subcontractors. It is important to mention that during the exhibitions contacts are established not only between exhibitors and visitors, but also among the visitors themselves and among all participants in the various parallel events. We are trying to open the Bulgarian food, drinks and packaging market for the European consumer and manufacturer.

There is also a big interest from foreign companies. Do you expect new exhibitors this year and from which countries?

Yes, there is an interest and it is growing with every year. This is revealed by the observations and researches that we carry out during and after the show. We work long and hard in order for our exhibitors to feel comfortable and which is more important to do their job. Again this year the visitors will be able to meet exhibitors from Bulgaria. But there will be also new for our market companies from Turkey, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Spain, Italy, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Poland.

What is the future of these exhibitions? What do you think about their development on the threshold of the European Union? This is the last year and you are probably prepared for the upcoming membership with new ideas for the exhibition industry.

The exhibitions will continue to offer visitors and exhibitors more and more opportunities for establishing new contacts and for proving the qualities of their products in one highly competitive environment. It should be clear that many more foreign companies will enter our market. On the European market the Bulgarian manufactures will have more opportunities for potential partnerships with visitors from abroad who come at our exhibitions with a purpose and bring with them their business and technological culture and new management. Our exhibitions are in fact unique business, training and brainstorming events, during which visitors, exhibitors, lectors and VIP guests form a joint mix that stimulates the future development of the food and packaging industries.