Sri Lanka shines at international food and beverage exhibition SIAL Paris 2024

• Showcases innovative and value-added food and beverage product range

The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) and the Sri Lanka Tea Board, in partnership with the Sri Lanka Embassy in France co-organised and presented Sri Lanka’s food and beverage sector at SIAL Paris 2024, International Food and Beverage Exhibition, from 19 to 23 October at Parc des Expositions in Paris Nord Villepinte, France. 

SIAL Paris is one of the world’s leading food and beverage exhibitions held every two years in Paris. The 2024 edition of SIAL saw the participation of over 130 countries, and approximately 7,500 exhibitors representing 10 sectors in the food and beverage field. 

Sri Lanka showcased its high-quality Ceylon Cinnamon along with a range of value-added products, coconut-based products, biscuit and confectionery items, cashew and savoury products, frozen foods, processed foods, Ceylon Tea and its value-added innovative products, displayed in two attractive and spacious pavilions organised by the EDB, with the participation of 19 companies from Sri Lanka comprising of small and medium companies.

As a value addition to this year’s participation, the EDB, with the assistance of International Finance Corporation (IFC) organised a dedicated promotional area for EU PGI certified Ceylon Cinnamon with 10 small and medium companies as new entrants to the EU market. 

The Ambassador of Sri Lanka to France and the Permanent Delegate of Sri Lanka to UNESCO Manisha Gunasekera visited the Sri Lanka pavilions, viewed the range of products, and had discussions with the Sri Lankan companies on their participation and the market potential of products. 

In the Sri Lanka Tea Board pavilion, five leading companies presented their Ceylon Tea products with value additions in the beverage product sector of the exhibition. The Sri Lanka Tea Board with the assistance of the Embassy, organised a special Ceylon Tea product display at the VIP Restaurant of the SIAL Paris Exhibition premises, enabling International visitors and dignitaries to taste Ceylon Tea as the only hot beverage served in the pavilion. An attractive social media promotion of Ceylon Tea was also arranged by the Sri Lanka Tea Board in partnership with SIAL Paris. 

The Embassy also organised a successful social media campaign in the French and English languages for over a five-week period in the run up to the exhibition, thus facilitating wide publicity for Sri Lanka’s participation as well as its exotic product range at SIAL Paris. On the request of the EDB, a promotional video was produced by the Embassy featuring well known French Chef Dominique Pambrun promoting EU PGI certified Ceylon Cinnamon in the French market. Prior to the exhibition, two online business-to-business meetings for the food and beverage sector were organised by the Embassy. The Embassy was also able to connect several leading buyers with the visiting Sri Lankan companies, including the Carrefour Super Market Chain in France, as well as leading Paris-based importers engaged in the ethnic market in France, Europe and Canada. 

Other leading Sri Lankan companies in the food and beverage sector including CBL Group, Basilur Tea, IMPRA tea, Stassen Tea, Akbar Tea among others, participated independently in SIAL Paris 2024 with prominent display of their respective products in spacious pavilions. 

Sri Lanka’s participation in SIAL 2024 as well as all related matters was coordinated and facilitated by the Counsellor (Commercial) of the Embassy Gayan Rajapakse.