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Time Out
3 days ago
- Business
- Time Out
Bangkok once again hosts THAIFEX – ANUGA ASIA, cementing its place as the global pantry
In the food and beverage world, it's not just what ends up on the plate or cup – it's the power plays behind the packaging, the flavour trends dressed up as lifestyle ideologies, the supply chains zigzagging across continents. In Bangkok, the act of eating is always loaded, whether it's a streetside bowl of noodles or a deal sealed over coconut milk lattes. So when THAIFEX – ANUGA ASIA made its annual return from May 27-31, it wasn't merely another entry in the events calendar. It was a billboard for where the industry is headed. One part trade show, two parts economic choreography, the 2025 edition arrived with the energy of possibility – transforming the city's steel and glass into a playground for culinary futures. The name might suggest something cinematic, but in reality, it's where the brightest minds in food come together to shape what – and how – the world eats next. Now in its 2025 edition, the event doubled down on its reputation as Asia-Pacific's command centre for all things edible. Yet this year, the energy felt different – more trends, more transformation, more impact for a better food future. Asia-Pacific's most influential F&B gathering has long been a place for people who think about food as more than sustenance. This year, it leaned further into that ambition, showcasing how eating has become an act of innovation, identity and even ideology. The geography of taste If borders are imaginary lines, this event blurred them entirely. With exhibitors from over 50 countries and first-time participants from Central Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe – including Gabon, Slovenia and Uzbekistan – THAIFEX took on the air of a diplomatic mission, albeit one conducted in bite-sized samples. Pavilions from Australia, Hong Kong and the Netherlands added to the show's international sprawl, turning Bangkok into a temporary capital of global sourcing. It wasn't just about new names. It was about new access. Emerging markets made their debut, and in doing so, expanded the definition of what (and who) belongs in the conversation about global food futures. Beyond the bite: food as function The central theme – 'Beyond Food Experience' – sounded like something out of a tech keynote, and the content lived up to it. What we're eating is changing, but so is why. Exhibitors pushed products that claimed to do more than satisfy hunger: brain-boosting drinks, gut-friendly snacks, climate-conscious proteins. At the Trend Zone, curated by Innova Market Insights, regional and global obsessions were decoded with the precision of data science: functional beverages, clean labels, alt-proteins rebranded as gourmet indulgence. Taste mattered – but so did utility. Chefs, Startups and Culinary Showdowns It wouldn't be THAIFEX without spectacle. The Thailand Ultimate Chef Challenge saw over 400 chefs compete in more than 20 categories, from reimagined Asian staples to molecular showstoppers. Judged by 57 experts from 12 countries, the event doubled as both sport and performance art. Meanwhile, THAIFEX – ANUGA Startup carved space for 30 disruptive newcomers, who pitched edible futures in front of buyers, investors and executives. From lab-grown seafood to mushroom-enhanced snacks, the message was clear: the food industry isn't just keeping up – it's driving forward. Tasting tomorrow In the Alternative Protein Taste and Flavour Challenge, trade visitors were invited to do what all trends eventually demand – have a taste. On May 27, they chewed, sipped and judged a line-up of plant-based and lab-grown contenders. Winners were announced the next day, though the larger point lingered: if the future of food is going to be radically different, it still needs to be delicious. By the time the final sample cup was tossed and the last exhibitor packed away their signage, it was clear that THAIFEX had once again managed to distil the mood of an entire industry. No longer content with just feeding people, the F&B world is now trying to rewire the way we think, shop, eat and live. And in Bangkok, where ancient recipes meet futuristic solutions, the future of food doesn't just feel possible – it feels inevitable. And if 2025 was anything to go by, next year's edition won't just pick up where it left off. THAIFEX – ANUGA ASIA will return bigger, better, bolder. You can catch it from May 26-30 2026 at IMPACT Muang Thong Thani. Bring an appetite – for ideas.
Time Out
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
THAIFEX – ANUGA ASIA is back in Bangkok
In a world where oat milk has outlived common sense and lab-grown salmon is no longer the stuff of science fiction, it seems only fitting that the food world's most elaborate trade show is doubling down on reinvention. There are trade shows, and then there's THAIFEX – ANUGA ASIA, bringing with it an unsettling number of buzzwords, ambitious chefs and alternative proteins. From May 27-31 at IMPACT, Muang Thong Thani, the region's most sprawling food and beverage gathering is set to occupy Bangkok's cavernous exhibition halls, with over 3,100 companies hawking everything from drinks, fine food, food technology, frozen food, fruits and vegetables, meat, rice, seafood and sweets and confectionery – and if you're wondering what that actually includes, you can check right here. It's all orchestrated by Thailand's Department of International Trade Promotion, the Thai Chamber of Commerce and German events heavyweight Koelnmesse. Expect 90,000 industry visitors, 2,000 serious buyers, and a rotating cast of regional policymakers, trend forecasters and flavour evangelists. This year's iteration casts its net wider, welcoming newcomers from Central Asia to Eastern Europe, with fresh national pavilions from Australia, Hong Kong and the Netherlands. The theme? 'Beyond Food Experience' – a catch-all phrase for the industry's growing obsession with functionality and virtue. Expect edible optimism in the form of gut-friendly sodas, brain-boosting snacks and plant-based proteins that swear they taste like the real thing. It's food reimagined not just to nourish, but to align with whatever lifestyle, identity or algorithm we're currently subscribing to. Standouts include the Trend Zone, partnered with Innova Market Insights (a sort of crystal ball for supermarket shelves), THAIFEX – ANUGA Startup, which showcases next-gen kitchen disruptors, and the Thailand Ultimate Chef Challenge, judged by culinary powerhouses like Willment Leong and Aiden Jongsung Ahn. There's even an Alternative Protein Taste & Flavour Challenge where visitors get to crown the best faux-meat.
