Larry Atnip, NAMA Board Member, Attended the China Vending Showcase (Beijing) 2017 Representing NAMA

On August 30, a beautiful day at the beginning of “golden Autumn” in Beijing, Mr. Larry Atnip and his wife attended the 2nd China International Vending & OCS Showcase (Beijing) 2017 representing NAMA in Beijing, P. R. China.  

Beijing (formerly named “Peking”) is the capital of the People’s Republic of China. No doubt it is a political center, but in recent years it has been developed into the largest economic metropolis in northern China. Beijing is a hub of international food imports, covering 46 % of all China food imports. As is known, Beijing is also a capital city in ancient China with many must-visit historic attractions such as the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven and the like.  

In recent years (from 2014 up to the present), with the increasing popularity and widespread applications of mobile internet, large data, cloud computing, O2O (online to offline), and AI (artificial intelligence) technologies in China, the Chinese vending industry is experiencing an unprecedented, rapid growth. The number of vending machines (mainly beverage and snack food vending machines) on location has increased at a rapid growth rate of 80% from nearly 100,000 units in 2014 up to more than 180,000 units in 2016, only in a short period of 2-3 years. There is no doubt that China witnesses the soaring growth of the vending industry. 

Backed by the triumphant advancement of the Chinese vending industry, the “2nd China International Vending & OCS Showcase (Beijing) 2017” was held alongside with the ANUFOOD China 2017 on August 30 through September 1, 2017 at China International Exhibition Center in Beijing. The Organizer of the China Vending Showcase, Shanghai WeShow Events Ltd. has made a new form of exhibition to create a specialized vending & OCS zone at the ANUFOOD China 2017 in collaborations with Koelnmesse China, the largest food and beverage trade fair in north China. WeShow Events is committed to innovative, new forms of business operations in China, that is, “Vending Machines + Food Retail/OCS/Catering Services” to make full use of the automated/unattended retail channels of vending machines and kiosks in the food retail and hospitality industries, to reinforce the connections, combinations and integrations between the vending companies, food and beverage factories, fresh and organic food farms and branded catering companies so as to generate new profits for the vending industry. Secondly, the ANUFOOD China - powered by Anuga has been organized by Koelnmesse China for 4 years, the largest food imports & exports exhibition in Beijing with top 10 country pavilions from Germany, Poland, Spain, Italy, Russia, Thailand, South Korea, Turkey, Japan, etc. and 6 strong product pillars including dairy (12%), meat (13%), sweets and snacks (20%), beverages (23%), food service (8%), fine food and others (24%). For the vending machine exhibitors, why not connect themselves with the food and beverage suppliers under one roof? This is a good way for the food and beverage suppliers to consider using alternative channels through vending, OCS or micro markets.