Las Vegas food, beverage week has a taste of everything

Food industry professionals from around the globe are eating up the idea of bringing four different food and beverage trade shows under one roof at the Las Vegas Convention Center this week.

The Las Vegas Food & Beverage Industry Week opened Tuesday for three days with exhibitors and attendees of the International Pizza Expo, SIAL America, the Bar & Restaurant Expo and the World Tea Conference + Expo gathered in the West and South halls of the Convention Center.

The Pizza Expo is in its 38th year, while SIAL America is in Las Vegas for the first time. The Bar & Restaurant Expo is the new name for the event formerly known as the Nightclub & Bar Show.

They’re all together for the first time, thanks to co-location, an industry term that means attendees of one show can use their identification badges to access the other shows.

“The shows themselves really had the idea and concept and came to us with it,” said Steve Hill, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. “A lot of the credit goes to (trade show organizers) Emerald and Questex. We have a really strong relationship with both of them because they do so many shows, not only here in the building but throughout Las Vegas, so it’s a relationship that has already developed.”

The LVCVA served as a coordinator and communicator for the event, which is expected to see higher attendance because conventioneers will be able to conduct business across different sectors of the food and beverage industry.

Global reach

SIAL America, which brings an estimated 200 suppliers and retailers from seven countries, has built its reputation from hosting one of the world’s largest food shows in Paris every other year.

“We were talking about a collaboration in regards to the pizza show,” said Jessica Blue, an executive vice president with Emerald. “Was there an opportunity to work together somehow? The idea of SIAL America came up and it moved in that direction and we started discussing it. There’s nothing like SIAL in the U.S. There are other food shows, but nothing with the depth and breadth of the whole food industry the way SIAL does it.”

SIAL is a French acronym — Salon International de l’alimentation — that roughly translates to “Global Food Marketplace.”

“We were looking for somebody who knew the retail food industry and Emerald was the perfect fit for us,” said Paris-based Laurent Noel, divisional managing director for the SIAL Network’s Comexposium. “What we had in mind came alive thanks to Emerald and there was no such event in America until now.”

Tim McLucas, vice president of the Bar & Restaurant Group, said his organization is branching out from its specialization with nightclubs and bars to incorporate food service into that show.

Hill said it’s too early to say whether a new trade show coming to Las Vegas in 2026, the Sweets & Snacks Expo, would ever become a part of Las Vegas Food & Beverage Industry Week. That’s because it’s already a sizable event on its own and it would only meet every three years in Las Vegas, alternating with Indianapolis, Indiana, closer to the sponsoring National Confectioners Association based in Chicago.

The switch to alternate years in Las Vegas came after the Sweets & Snacks Expo was held in Chicago for the past 25 years.

More co-location shows to come

Las Vegas Food & Beverage Industry Week isn’t the first co-located show for the city.

Automotive Aftermarket Industry Week occurs every November, bringing the Specialty Equipment Market Association to the Las Vegas Convention Center and the Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo to The Venetian Expo Center together at the same time. Last year, SEMA and AAPEX were the largest trade shows of 2021 by attendance.

Hill also noted that the National Hardware Show will co-locate with the NAHB International Builders’ Show and NKBA’s Kitchen and Bath Industry Show for Design & Construction Week in January.

“More shows and more industries will look for these kinds of opportunities,” Hill said. “Those types of combinations that really have the attendees and customers in mind allow them to come to a series of shows that may benefit them and make efficient use of their time and travel.”

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.