A food ingredient conference is most useful when you arrive with a defined product problem. Write a short brief, shortlist relevant suppliers and leave each meeting with the documents and samples needed for a comparable trial.
Use the current event page for logistics
Fi Europe’s attendee guide provides registration, an event platform, exhibitor discovery and meeting preparation. Its 2026 information identifies Frankfurt and November 17–19. Confirm the current dates, venue, pass coverage and entry requirements on the organizer’s site before booking travel.
Distinguish exhibition access, conference sessions and any separately bookable activity. A talk can inform the question you ask a supplier, while the supplier’s documents and your own evaluation establish whether an ingredient suits your application.
Write a brief that a supplier can answer
Use one sentence for the product and one for the problem. For example: “We are developing a refrigerated spoonable dessert. We want to compare candidate ingredients for smooth texture after our existing process.” Then add the facts that determine whether a suggestion is relevant.
| Field | What to specify or ask |
|---|---|
| Application | Product type, intended market and target user |
| Process | Mixing, heating, cooling, pH and packaging conditions that affect performance |
| Target | A measurable texture, flavor, stability or cost objective |
| Constraints | Ingredient, allergen, labeling and sourcing requirements |
| Commercial scale | Trial size, likely demand, minimum order, lead time and delivered-cost basis |
| Evidence | Specification revision, sample lot, storage conditions and technical contact |
Share only the formulation detail your organization permits. A supplier can often screen suitability using process ranges and performance requirements before receiving a full recipe. Bring unresolved technical questions to the person responsible for application support.
Ask for evidence linked to the sample
Request the current specification, ingredient and allergen information, relevant technical data and storage or handling instructions. Ask which results come from the supplier’s standard demonstration and which have been tested under conditions like yours. Record the document revision and the person who can resolve gaps.
For commercial comparison, ask about pack size, minimum order, delivery location, lead time and the period for which a quote is valid. A price per kilogram alone omits different use rates, freight and waste. Regulatory suitability and any proposed label claim require review for the intended market by your qualified team; a booth demonstration establishes no approval.
Before accepting a sample, confirm its identity, lot, quantity, expiry or retest date, transport requirements and destination contact. Keep samples in their labeled packaging and follow the supplier’s handling instructions.
Plan quantities before requesting samples
Hypothetical trial calculation: at a 0.5% use rate by weight in a 2,000 g final batch, candidate ingredient needed = 0.005 × 2,000 = 10 g. Three repeated batches require 30 g per candidate. A 20% handling allowance makes the request 36 g per candidate; two candidates require 72 g total. A control batch uses the baseline formulation separately.
The use rate is an arithmetic example, not a formulation recommendation. Agree suitable levels with your technical team and supplier. Keep the final batch mass fixed: account for the 10 g ingredient in the 2,000 g formulation instead of adding it to an already complete 2,000 g batch.
Set success criteria before testing, retain a control and keep process conditions consistent. Record lot, exact weights, processing observations and evaluation time. A short trial can screen candidates; it does not establish shelf life, production performance or food safety.
Use the printable supplier meeting and sample-trial brief for one application and candidate.
Turn the meeting into a decision
At the end of each meeting, agree on one next step, its owner and an expected date: a missing document, an application call or a sample shipment. After the event, sort candidates by whether they meet the mandatory requirements before comparing preferences such as flavor or cost.
Keep a decision log with the reason to advance, repeat or stop a trial. If a supplier changes a specification or the production process changes, revisit the relevant test. The microencapsulation guide offers a related example of matching ingredient technology to process and release requirements.