South Korean Kibex joins Beviale family
With immediate effect, Korea International Beer Expo (Kibex) has joined the Beviale Family.
At the premiere of Korea’s first international trade fair for the beer industry in March 2019, NürnbergMesse Group and the organiser GMEG (Global MICE Experts Group) signed a co-operation agreement. Alongside SEA Brew in Bangkok, Kibex is the second partner in the Beviale Family in Asia and the tenth event overall in NürnbergMesse’s global network for the international beverage industry.
Kibex made its first appearance in Seoul, South Korea, from 21 to 23 March 2019. The trade fair covers all aspects of the domestic and international beer industry, from raw materials, equipment and accessories to the finished product beer.
“The Kibex concept is a very good fit for the other events in our portfolio,” said Andrea Kalrait, director of BrauBeviale and international product manager Beviale Family, about the choice of partner. “In a similar way to our own events, the conference and exhibition complement one another and offer both experts and newcomers to the beverage and/or beer segments an ideal platform for knowledge-sharing and information.”
Harper Lee, CEO of organiser GMEG, added: “We know that the Korean beverage market has a strong growth potential, so our plan for the next step is to expand the exhibition into covering all kinds of technologies related to beverage. In five years, with Beviale Family, our goal is to settle this exhibition as Asia’s top beer & beverage exhibition.”
Kibex reflects the aspirational Korean beer market, which enjoyed strong growth last year and went from around 70 local craft beer breweries in 2017 to more than 110 in 2018. Experts expect this figure to double to around 200 breweries by 2020. This makes Korea an attractive drinks market which international equipment suppliers are increasingly seeing as a successful platform.
“These facts, and the good geographical location, are regarded as so promising that the Korean beer market is seen by industry insiders as the ideal testing ground for all of Asia,” says Kalrait, explaining the economic background. “We are very pleased to have found in Kibex an accomplished partner in this vibrant and highly promising market.”
The next Kibex is expected to take place in April 2020. It is organised by GMEG and the Korean magazine The Beer Post.
