Food Fair Essay

The food industries are considered as one of the most important Arabic & Foreign Industries in the world. Over the years, these industries have developed in various degrees technologically and economically and have over the last 5 decades incorporated many international changes. Their productions have had spread throughout the Arab world and internationally. The products of these industries have grown as well as the raw materials used in the production process, leading to a diverse development in the food industries. The Basic Workings of a Food Fair: Before we can begin planning a fair, we must envision a general idea about the event so that our planning can be organized, efficient, and effective. Because such a wide variety of activities can be part of a fair and because a fair can emphasize any number of topics related to anything, it’s important to think about the kind of fair you want to hold before you jump in and begin sending out media alerts. Her we decided to do a food fair on the fair grounds near the Damascus airport high way which will take place in the following: Days from 06/06/2008 > 09/06/2008. From 5 o’clock until 11 o’clock Determining the features of a food fair: Once our organization decides to hold a food fair, you should begin planning by determining the kind of event you want to hold. The central considerations are the following: †¢Location †¢Time of year †¢Length †¢Purpose †¢Activities Location: A food fair can be held indoors or outdoors, and there are advantages and disadvantages to both. Outdoors, the enjoyment of attendees is affected by the weather, be it precipitation or temperature. The event itself may also be affected, so we will need a convenient rain site if we decide to hold our event outside. Furthermore, our organization’s displays as well as the displays of vendors, booths, or demonstrations will need to be securely anchored in case of wind and protected from rain if the event is rain or shine. Holding the fair indoors virtually frees us from weather concerns (barring bad weather that would prevent people from attending the event), but attendance may be limited by the size of the building and the availability of parking or other access at the event. Access to indoor facilities may also require the payment of fees, whereas parks and other public areas are often available for free if we give advance notice. An indoor venue may provide ready access to electricity, water, and restrooms, which may not be as convenient in some outdoor locations (but which we may need to provide for an event that focuses on food). An outdoor event may more readily attract the attention of passers-by and may draw curious people who just happen to see the banners or an assembly of people. In many cases, the location of the event may be dictated by the purpose and activities of the fair Time of year: A food fair can be held during any season of the year, but spring, summer, and fall offer the best opportunities for a good turnout. Spring is often a good choice because the event could coincide with the Earth Day (April 20). Summer is a good choice as well because of warm weather and because many fruits and vegetables are in season. People often have more free time during the summer, too, because of the long days. Autumn often offers the best weather, and the focus on the harvest also creates a nice context for festivals that focus on food. Length: food fairs can be held for any amount of time ranging from an afternoon to a weekend to a three-day or a week-long event. When determining the length of time and day(s) of the week we hold our food fair, bearing in mind the following: Availability of volunteers and other resources A fair held on a weekday or that extends beyond the weekend may create conflicts with the work schedules of many willing volunteers. Similarly, our organization may have limited resources (including brochures, handouts, merchandise, and money), which restrict the length of the event. Conflicts with community observances Although holidays usually guarantee days off for volunteers and attendees, they may be less-than-ideal times to hold a food fair given the frequency of community events that may be held on those days. We want our event to be one of only several events to ensure media coverage and full participation by the community. Availability of vendors In small communities, vendors who become involved as sellers at a food fair may be able to spare staff for an afternoon, day-long, or weekend event but will need to limit their participation if the fair lasts too long. Similarly, they may have a limited amount of merchandise to sell or may be limited by suppliers in other ways that would affect how long they can participate. If we choose to have vendors and plan to hand out information or make merchandise of our own available, we will want a wide variety of materials that can meet the demands of attendees. Better to have a shorter event that lives up to its billing than to have a longer event in which there is a steady decline in vendors and information available for interested individuals. Purpose: Food fairs do have a built-in focus: the event is a celebration of the Food lifestyle, and the focus is on food. For some fairs, education about Healthy Food through food sampling, cooking demonstrations, nutrition booths and lectures, may be the purpose of the event. For other events, however, education about human health through food-related activities may be the focus. The purpose of our event will shape the kind of fair we ultimately want to hold and the kinds of activities we want to include in the event. A food fair can also have a general purpose and include elements of many different aspects. We can combine booths, varied displays, and vendors to create a fair that addresses many interests. A quick survey of the many food fairs that are already taking place in the World reveals that there is no prescription for a successful food fair. But having a purpose in mind will assist us in determining the activities for the fair and prevent us from becoming overwhelmed by the sheer variety of activities that can be part of a food fair. Activities: Preliminary thoughts about the type of fair we want to have should include consideration of the kinds of activities we will include to attract the public to our event. The range of activities that are appropriate for a food fair is limited only by imagination. Cooking demonstrations cooking demonstrations are a great addition or centerpiece to a food fair. The demonstration could show attendees how to create quick meals or how to use popular Herbal ingredients. The demonstrations could focus on themes, such as main courses, holiday meals, or desserts, or we could create a series of demonstrations that take place throughout the day. A local chef or cookbook author might be interested in putting together such a demonstration. We might also try to book a well-known chef or cookbook author to attract people to our fair. We will need to plan ahead for a cooking demonstration. WE may need to prepare ingredients ahead of time, especially if the site lacks access to running water. We should find out whether our site will have access to electricity and ask about other methods of cooking that may be allowed (for example, gas grill or open flame) before we make other plans for the demonstration. Speakers A well-known local or national vegetarian advocate will attract many people to a food fair because many people will come specifically to hear the speaker or purchase his or her book. Having a speaker highlight the food fair is also a good way to kick off or complete an event. Another option is to have a panel of speakers discussing specific issues or taking questions from the audience. Speakers usually charge a fee for speaking, and there may be other details (for example, travel and accommodations) that factor into whether we have a speaker at our food fair. A speaker will need a sound system, and we will need to organize the fair so that a crowd can gather in one place to see and hear the speaker. If an event involves vendors, exhibits, and booths that are going to continue operation during the speaker, we’ll likely need a separate adjacent area for a speaker. An event with a set itinerary, or an event that is held in a large building with access to different rooms or partitioned areas, however, will not pose this problem. We want to provide the speaker with an opportunity to address a crowd of listeners, so if we plan more than one speaker, we should arrange the food fair and its schedule to highlight each speaker and try to ensure that there will be an appropriately sized audience for each. If we are uncertain whether each speaker will get a crowd of participants, we should organize the speakers into a panel instead, and highlight that as the center point of the fair. Music Music can be a focal point or a backdrop during a food fair. Fairs and music seem to go hand in hand: the presence of singing or instrumentalists adds a festive touch to a food fair and alerts passersby that the fair is taking place. Exhibits Free-standing, self-explanatory exhibits or staffed booths can provide a variety of information for fair attendees. These booths may offer free samples or free information. A variety of booths widens the appeal of the food fair, and exhibits can include: †¢Conserved food products. †¢Oil and ghee produces. †¢Canned and conserved products. †¢Dairy and cheese products. †¢Meat products. †¢Sugar, sweets, biscuits, and chocolate products. †¢Ice cream products. †¢Coffee – Tea – Herbs. †¢Poultry and fish products. †¢Mineral, carbonated water and juice products. †¢Vegetable and fruit products. †¢Pasta and cereal products. †¢Production lines. †¢Packing and packaging machines and related materials. †¢Raw materials for food. †¢Cooling and freezing equipment. †¢National Arab and international supervisory boards and companies. Once well established, a food fair may even attract national or international makers of foods we will certainly want to set up an exhibit that features our own organization, with information about meetings, plenty of handouts and literature, and a sign-up sheet for our organization’s mailing list. Creating a marketing plan: Once we have a general idea about the kind of fair we want to have, we need to create a marketing plan by taking an inventory of the skills and resources we have within our group and our community. This assessment gives us a starting point for assigning organizational tasks and generating publicity for the fair. We have to be sure to consider media, organizations, and businesses in our country as well as in other countries and cities. Media: Local radio and television stations, newspapers, and other publications will be key for generating publicity for our event. We should plan on creating public service announcements, placing advertisements, and arranging interviews not only to provide details about the event but also to generate interest about the fair. We might also consider contacting and placing ads in larger publications in order to advertise in the countries and cities that are around us because we want our fair to be local and world wide. We have to be sure to note the deadlines for submission of public service announcements and advertisements in relation to our fair to ensure that our efforts are timely. Community resources: Our advertisement is going to be mostly for investors, industrialists, merchants, business men and officials. Through intensive campaigns by mail, e-mail or through the internet. Including direct phone calls with the people that are interested in this kind of fairs and the official and concerned bodies that are Arab and foreign. At the same time we will be printing flyers for the fair which will help advertising for it. Also printing invitation cards for some governmental bodies like the prime minister or his deputy or the minister of industry, also for VIP business men and industrialists. Skills: Early on in the planning of our fair, it is helpful to find out what skills the members of our group or other participants have that can be put to use when organizing the fair. An artistic member might be interested in creating a logo, banners, and signage for the event and determining where to display them, or we could simply use a professional assistance from any graphic and advertising company. Creating a budget: Budgeting is one element of food fair brainstorming that we should think through fully before planning begins. We have to be sure to take an inventory of what our group already has (merchandise, literature, signs, for example) to avoid unnecessary budgeting and spending and to help us determine what we need to order. The following is a checklist of items that we may need to pay for to successfully organize and hold a food fair: †¢Advertisements. †¢Cooking demonstration expense. †¢Courier and flyer-posting expenses. †¢Demonstration supplies. †¢Lecture expense. †¢Merchandise expenses. †¢Office supplies. †¢Parking fees. †¢Permit fees. †¢Photocopies. †¢Portable toilets. †¢Postage. †¢Posters, flyers, and stickers. †¢Programs. †¢Printing. †¢Rentals (Equipment [tables, chairs, tents, tools, video or sound equipment, fire extinguishers, etc. ]; Space). †¢Trash removal/recycling fee. Creating an overview of planning details: Planning a food fair involves the coordination of many details and the combining of different elements to create a whole event. Failure to keep track of even one of these details or elements will leave holes in our planning and gaps at the event itself. Keeping track of details and creating a planning schedule that prompts us to take care of specific tasks. A general rule of thumb is that planning for a food fair should begin 8 to 10 months or even a year before the actual event. Food Fair Planning: Now that we have determined the purpose of our fair and the activities we want to include, we are ready to start booking a site, sponsors, vendors, and other participants. For our site we will be using the fair ground in Damascus at the airport high way in order to set a date for the exhibition and visiting hours. Now during the process of advertising for the fair we will be asked about many things from the exhibitors and they are either direct or through e-mail, of course our answers must be logical and convincing: Examples of our clients questions: 1. What are the things that this fair refers to? †¢Canned and conserved products. †¢Conserved food products. †¢Oil and ghee products. †¢Dairy and cheese products. †¢Meat products. †¢Sugar and sweets products. †¢Chocolate and biscuit. †¢Ice cream products. †¢Coffee – Tea – Herbs. †¢Poultry and fish products. †¢Mineral, carbonated water and juice products. †¢Vegetable and fruit products. †¢Pasta and cereal products. †¢Production lines. †¢Packing and packaging machines and related materials. †¢Raw materials for food. †¢Cooling and freezing equipment. †¢Banks, investment and finance institutions. †¢National, Arab, and international supervisory boards and companies. 2. What are the services that the fair will deliver for participating companies? †¢There will be a mobile center for business men which will offer (phone, fax, e-mail) services to help and aid them with their supplies. †¢There will be a set of meetings between the exhibitors by a special program so they can know each other. †¢There will be a media center for business men, representatives and delegates either form the press or the T. V and Arabic and Foreign news agencies. †¢Transportation will be provided for exhibitors and visitors concerning their requests and for a special fee for exhibitors. †¢We will offer all the fair’s accommodation and services. From setting booths and stands to every single need for the exhibitors which include: 1. Flight reservation and hotel accommodation. 2. Putting the name and address of the company in the fair guide. 3. Including the name of the company in the list of participants in the fair’s website. 4. Offering help and support in building the sections of the fair (special needs). 3. Where and when is the fair going to take place? It will be held on Damascus fair grounds: From 06/04/2008 > 09/04/2008 From 5 o’clock until 11 o’clock 5. What are the laws and regulations that the will be applied on the exhibitors? There are a set of rules and regulations exhibitors are required to do, and the most important rule is that for accepting a participant in the fair, rental of the stand and ending the contract. It also can contain information about the dimensions of the stand and other services. Also one of the important points that should be focused on when participating in an exhibition is cancellation, we mean by that if some company wanted to cancel its participation there will be an amount of money to be deducted from its payments and that amount is decreased whenever that cancelation was sooner. 6. Prices for participating? To know how much a square meter costs we have to know how much the fair would cost: 1st. from organizational aspect: -We have rented a hall that is 1000 square meters: 560 square meters for stands and booth and 460 square meters for passages. -The hall costs 1000,000 SYP after we agreed with the fair grounds and international markets company. -equipments costs: 1. Carpets: 600000 SYP. 2. Setting and preparing the stands: 400000 SYP. 3. Lighting: 250000 SYP. 4. Sound equipments: 200000 SYP. 5. Heating and A/C’s: 250000 SYP. -Employees for the fair: 200000 SYP. -Hiring Guards: 150000 SYP. -Decorations for our company: 300000 SYP. -The opening: 200000 SYP. 2nd. Managerial aspect: Media: 1. Magazines and news papers: 300000 SYP. 2. Radio and T. V: 115500 SYP. 3. Road Ads: 300000 SYP. Office work: -Mail-internet-fax-salaries-transportation-stationary: 300000 SYP. Printing costs (brochures, booklets, Fair Guide): 300000 SYP. Total = 4865500 SYP. Organization profit approximately 41% = 2014500 SYP. Final Total = 6880000 SYP. Now by dividing the Total on the part that the booths and stands are going to be which is 560 square meters = 12285 SYP. Now for the price in USD we divide on 50 SYP. It becomes: 245 USD per square meter. Studying the financial feasibility for this fair: We have decided a price for each type of stand we have (Stand with one side, Stand with two sides, stand with three sides and a stand with four sides): 1. Stand with one side including its corners they are 43 stands in total and each one is 8 square meters: 43X8X200=68800 USD 2. Stand with two sides which are 18 stand costs 300 USD each: 18X8X300=43200 USD 3. Stand with three sides which are 8 stands costs 350 USD each: 8X8X350=22400 USD 4. Stand with four sides (island stand) which are 1 stand costs 400 USD: 1X8X400= 3200 USD Total: 68800+43200+22400+3200=137600 USD. 137600X50=6880000 SYP. To the profit: 6880000-430000=2580000 could just transfer it to our bank account. 8. Is there any travel agent which we can trust on our reservations and transportation and any other services that we might need specially if there was VIP’s? We have decided at the beginning of our fair planning that there should be a travel and tourism agent which will do the following: Confirm hotel reservations, insure that there are transportations from the hotel to the airport and vice versus specially for VIP’s, do all the necessary shipping for the organization, making sure to do all the reception and farewell’s for the participators, booking restaurants, doing tours in the city, confirming travel tickets, making that there are guides during the tours and booking cars or buses. Our merchandise to offer: Space which has to be at least 8 square meters Including: switches, carpet for passage ways and inside the stand, lighting, a board with the company name, electricity, cleaning and guarding, a table, 2 chairs, 3 shelves, plastic name badges for managers or company owners, carton badges for exhibitors. Also we will include information about the company in the fair guide and CD in both languages Arabic and English. During the days of the fair: The organizing company should follow up with the exhibitors during the days of the fair through a sales man in the company because the follow up is a very important way in gaining the clients trust. And in order to know if the fair is a success or a failure we distribute a questionnaire showing how they benefited from the fair and if they are satisfied with the results. After that we collect the questionnaires to determine the points of strength and weaknesses to avoid in the next fair. After the fair: The follow-up: Its considered one of the most important process, and successful organizing for it Is one of the factors in a successful fair, so that the organizing company should not delay any check for the interviews that occurred in the fair because it’s the first step for building long term public relationships. At a fair clients are divided into categories and they are: -actual customers. -possible customers. -regular customers. -important customers. The follow-up consists of: -sending a thank you note for visiting. -sending the information that both sides have agreed on. -attending all the meetings and dates that have been discussed before. -studying the expenses as a hole. -studying the contracts that has taken place at the fair. -comparison between the basic plan and actual activity. -studying the answers about the survey.