Aahar 2023: Where food and foodies converge under one roof

It was a culinary delight at the 37th edition of Aahar – the international food & hospitality fair held in Delhi’s Pragati Maidan, where stakeholders from the hospitality, food processing, and other allied sectors took part.

Organized by India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), Aahar, held from 14-18 March 2023, has evolved into a global platform for promoting food processing and its associated segments and has been creating synergies for the growth, modernization, and upgrade of the food industry at large.

Apart from business expansion and brand promotion of MSMEs, it offers an opportunity for companies to reconfigure their supply chains, logistics, and business models.

Aahar 2023 — which was organized with support from the Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries, the Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), and other bodies — focussed on unveiling the potential of the hospitality sector; exhibiting technologies, products, and services to domestic and international buyers.

It is also one of India’s largest culinary shows where processors, restaurant owners, caterers, and distributors come to source the best in culinary, hospitality, and equipment, and also to gauge the market trends.

This year, WACS-certified jury members from India and abroad judged the proficiency of over 500 chefs at the fair’s main event called Culinary Art India. While prominent chefs demonstrated some of their best recipes, others got an opportunity to display their expertise and talent. Many product launches took place at the food exhibition. Cornitos unveiled the Crusties range of baked snacks with assorted Indian flavors such as rajma and Dilli chat.

The B2B flagship exhibition sees a large variety of food and beverage producers. Pani puri, mocktails, bakery products, frozen desserts, wafers, dairy-based products, plant-based products, chocolates, candies – the list was endless.

A spokesperson from Gulabs, which showcased a range of snacks and drinks such as sherbet, khakhra, and thandai, said, “The feedback we received from the visitors was great. Alongside a good footfall, it’s good to see so many foodies all under one roof. Our homemade products got a platform to target consumers we couldn’t reach before. This was a great exhibition for us.”

Gaurav Cabra of Organic Smokes said,” I am glad to see so many platforms supporting India-based brands. Our participation in Shark Tank had already benefited us in creating more awareness and reach of our products, which are completely natural and contain no tobacco. Aahar will nudge the customers to at least try our product despite the stigma about smoking.”

The ready-to-eat snacks and plant-based meat makers such as McCain and Harry Shaka also had a good footfall at their stalls.

Jalaj Taneja from Harry Shaka, speaking about the adoption of plant-based meat, said, “Consumers are still in doubt about plant-based meat. But this exhibition provided us with the opportunity to meet more potential customers. It wasn’t a surprise when several among them spoke about the lack of the right amount of protein in vegetarian meals. The market is growing alongside consumers. It is not far when plant-based meat will be part of daily food culture.”