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CTICC,
Cape Town, South Africa
Driving Africa’s F & B future
Shape the future of the African food and beverage industry at our Africa Food Summit. Take advantage of invaluable knowledge-sharing from industry power players over three days. This conference facilitates key discussions on trends, challenges, and opportunities, leaving a lasting impact on the decision-makers who attend.
From stabilising supply chains to advancing climate-centric solutions, we’ll dive into the future of sustainability and the shift to net-zero.
Discover the latest in nutritious, affordable food design, the rise of healthy snacking, new ingredients and flavours, and how to adapt products to meet shifting consumer demands.
Explore breakthroughs in cultivated meat, the role of AI across the value chain, and how private brands continue to lead innovation amid disruption
Unlock insights on cognitive health, the gut-brain axis, and the future of functional foods.
Dive into the ‘Kasi economy,’ supply chain optimisation, and the next phase of industry investment.
Meet the startups and innovations defining the future of food, from plant-based foods to the latest trends in quick-service restaurants.
Join us to gain valuable insights into the trends, technologies, and will drive the future of the industry.
* The Event programme may be subject to change by the Organiser
Miles KubhekaWakanda Food Accelerator
Ivan MeyerMinistry of Agriculture, Economic Development and Tourism
Join us for an exclusive conversation with Arabile Gumede, a leading international financial journalist, as he reveals how investor sentiments are shifting amid tariff uncertainties, looking through the lens of food basket pricing, supply chains, trade, and what you need to know to prepare your business.
Arabile GumedeArabileG Productions
Africa is home to one of the world’s fastest-growing populations, projected to reach 2.5 billion people by 2050. According to Africa Business, ‘The African food industry is set to reach $1 trillion by 2030’, driving the demand for sustainable innovation and improving an accessible, affordable, sustainable food system without a premium. Join this session and gain insights into how to navigate the future of Africa’s food systems, how innovation is reshaping food categories, transforming investment opportunities, and what technologies are working to solve supply chain challenges while balancing the food basket to monitor food affordability.
Key takeaways:
Miles KubhekaWakanda Food Accelerator
Melvi ToddMelvi Todd Consulting
Anne-Marie de BeerNestle South Africa
Tertius CilliersSynercore Food Holdings
Gloria KiondoUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
As sustainability progresses, consumers demand more traceability around the products they buy and the brands they support. This has led to more informative labelling, detailed information about food origins, curbing food waste, and circular packaging, leading to the rising demand for environmental transparency. Join this session and gain insights into what this means for your bottom line and how to prioritise climate solutions to accelerate your journey to net zero.
Key takeaways:
Jayne MammattDeloitte
Steffen BurrowsStillGood
Ozzy NelSA Harvest
Ridhwana ShaikFood Lover's Market
Eric Leong SonHeineken Beverages
The food safety landscape is undergoing a radical shift, from a compliance obligation to a strategic growth lever. Recent outbreaks have exposed critical gaps in skills and systems, but they’ve also revealed untapped opportunities for SMMEs and innovators. In this session, FoodBev SETA CEO Nokuthula Selamolela explores how workforce development, technology adoption, and collaborative action can turn food safety into a market differentiator. Learn how businesses can leverage targeted training programs and innovation partnerships to build resilient operations, protect consumers, and unlock new markets.
Key takeaways:
Nokuthula SelamolelaFoodBev SETA
Manufacturers, retailers or brand owners are increasingly focused on ingredient provenance to highlight product differentiation through taste, quality, and sustainability of products to increase value. With the spotlight on shoppers' changing tastes, brands can anticipate shifts aligning with changing consumer desires, prioritising freshness, ingredient sourcing, wellness, nutrition-influencing functional ingredients, new flavour developments, and more sustainable assortment options. But what does this mean for your R&D business to stay competitive? Join this session and gain insights into shifting trends impacting what ingredients and flavours drive new creations.
Key takeaways:
Brian LantonCape Food Ingredients
Nicki RussellThink Flavour
Alex ZabbiaSynercore Food Holdings
Grant MomplePlant Inc.
Justin GhersieBragan Ingredients
Heinrich VenterFlava Dot Global
Miles KubhekaWakanda Food Accelerator
The food system encompasses far more than the journey from farm to table—it includes the complex infrastructure, processes, and networks that sustain entire populations. In this session, we explore how innovative food accelerators are reshaping this landscape by introducing dynamic incubation models that drive sustainability, inclusivity, and economic growth.
Key takeaways:
Miles KubhekaWakanda Food Accelerator
Allister EsauV&A Waterfront
As businesses navigate increasing supply chain complexities, real-time visibility, accurate demand forecasting, and operational agility are critical to maintaining profitability and growth. While AI, predictive analytics, and digital solutions offer unprecedented capabilities, the challenge remains – How do we move from fragmented data to integrated, actionable insights that drive measurable results? This panel brings together AI, R&D, supply chain, and logistics industry leaders to discuss practical strategies for optimising the value chain from forecasting and SKU rationalisation to managing disruptions and unlocking new growth opportunities.
Key takeaways:
Michael DayValue Chain Solutions
Pierre le RouxSpatialedge
Jonas StrayStray Analytics
In this digital age of constant online connection, multitudes of social media apps, Al assistants, influencers, and all the electronic buzz, it can be difficult to stand out from the crowd (at least for more than one, quick, viral moment). In this Fireside Chat, Adele and Eric will explore some of the ways in which IFF creates real-world connections through food and beverage consumption. This chat will focus on how we can design products that impact our emotions, giving us meaningful moments in the modern hustle-and-bustle. Join us for some quick insights into the psychology of flavor, and inspiration for designing new and exciting consumer-centric products.
Key takeaways:
Adele AnkiewiczIFF
Eric van NiekerkIFF
According to NIQ’s ‘State of Snacking – What the Data Shows’ report, The $135 billion snacking industry market growth is driven by changing consumer lifestyles and preferences. The demand for healthy snacking options has skyrocketed, reflecting a shift in wellness-orientated lifestyles with an emphasis on plant-based snacks, protein-packed options, and products with clean labels free from artificial additives becoming one of the fastest growing categories for a nation of ‘on-the-go’ consumers. Join us and hear leading experts share their views on the latest trends, changing consumer appetites, and how millennial lifestyles influence new eating habits.
Key takeaways
Arthur RamorokaTiger Brands
Johannes SchuelerLBB Foods
Masoud ParkerMaspark Sales & Marketing
Ntiti Happy HlabjagoKellanova
Noluthando NgcakaniMedia 24
Join us for an insightful session exploring the remarkable journey of Saudi dates – from ancient tradition to modern innovation. This session will highlight the Kingdom’s integrated approach to building approach to building a sustainable and forward-thinking date industry.
Key takeaways:
Mazzen J AlquaraishNational Palm and Dates Authority
Tap into one of the fastest-growing consumer segments worldwide. Join us for an insightful session on Halaal Certification and discover how your business can access and thrive in the booming $3 trillion global Halaal market. Whether you're in food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, or logistics, this session will equip you with the knowledge and tools to meet Halaal standards and expand your market reach.
Key takeaways:
Mufti Mohammed Yusuf SeedatSouth Africa National Halaal Association
Miles KubhekaWakanda Food Accelerator
As consumers continue to feel the economic pinch, retailers are scrambling to innovate with new products and value for money. According to NIQ’s ‘Consumer Intelligence’, ‘retailers' Private Label sales are on track to exceed R100bn in the next six to twelve months as shoppers increasingly opt for value. As Private Labels continue to gain market share and outpace national brand performance, what does this mean for your business and how do you gain a piece of the pie? Join this discussion and hear key insights on why brands are transforming innovation in times of disruption.
Key takeaways:
Mark FieldProf Consulting Group
Around the world and across the African continent, consumers have faced a multitude of changes in the last five years, with 2025 shaping up to be a year bursting with even more for consumers, manufacturers, and retailers. Whilst many cash-strapped consumers are still grappling with affordability, other consumers are contemplating complete wellness on a larger, more comprehensive scale than ever before. Coupled with potential tariffs and resulting supply implications, our shopper environments are primed for innovation to help consumers weather their constraints or solve for new emerging needs and rising social consciousness.
Key takeaways:
Ailsa WingfieldCircana
Over the past decade, we’ve seen incredible growth in venture capital for food and beverage, fuelled by innovative solutions and technologies. But recently, the market has been going through a reset, showing cautious optimism, cooling off and dropping deal counts back to 2015 levels. Fast forward to 2024, we are seeing early signs of several investment opportunities identified in precision fermentation, gut health and microbiome, sustainable packaging, better-for-you beverages products, and scalable tech-based models like cloud kitchens and delivery platforms. Join an engaging discussion with leading experts as they share their views on the barriers to growth and scaling solutions, what new consumer trends are disrupting the current market, and how we can ensure innovation continues and doesn’t get left behind.
Key takeaways:
Brendan MullenSecha Capital
Riel MallanEXEO Capital
Peter AllerstorferSilvertree Holdings
Raymond NdlovuNdlovu Ingredients
It has been reported that the growth of alternative proteins continues to grow with consumers looking for environmental and health-conscious options, restaurants adopting menus, and retailers expanding product offerings to meet demand. Join this session and gain insights into the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping the alternative protein landscape.
Key takeaways:
Donovan WillProVeg South Africa
Charles ReedMycoSure
Clare EwingLIVEKINDLY Collective Africa, RCL Foods
Leah BessaDe Novo Foodlabs
According to Retail Africa’s ‘Consumers expect food and drink to promote wellness, prevent illness and taste delicious’, Euromonitor’s, revealed that social media is one of the fastest-growing factors behind the purchase of healthy food and drink, driving the growth of gut health. Biotics magnify digestive gut health as the top driver of functional food and beverage product purchases with consumers' interest in fiber, and prebiotics. On the ingredient side, manufacturers fine-tune product ingredients to support and optimise the gut microbiome. The food trend around gut support is spreading into more categories like snacks.
The explosion of interest in gut health reflects a growing consumer awareness around gut health from microbiome balance to gut-friendly ingredients as consumers adopt a more holistic view of wellness. Join this session and gain insights into the latest challenges and opportunities driving growth in cognitive health
Sian HemmingsUniversity of Stellenbosch
Join this lively discussion and gain first-hand insights into the latest market trends, tips on how to navigate challenges, and how to operate in new markets.
Key takeaways:
Grant McGregorTaste Africa
Golden MahoveNdarama Works
Bernard ImmelmanResearch Potential
Yolande SchultzMcCormick Flavour Solutions
Samantha SkyringOryx Desert Salt
Join us for an exclusive conversation with Charl Immelman, Co-Founder of Research Potential. Dive into the future of food innovation and learn how leveraging AI-driven insights can streamline your innovation process, reduce costs, and increase the success rate of new product development. This session will explore how AI can transform data into actionable insights, providing a competitive edge in a rapidly evolving market.
Key takeaways:
Charl ImmelmanReseach Potential
retail market is valued at R197 billion and growing faster than its formal counterpart. It continues to demonstrate resilience, achieving a 6.9% growth rate, and attracting the attention of some of the biggest retailers despite high pressure from high food inflation, continues to offer opportunities and plays a role in alleviating food insecurity from spaza and street vendors to QS restaurants and taverns playing a role in alleviating food insecurity. The township retail trade discussion will shine the spotlight on today’s retail trade sector, how you can tap into the thriving township economy value chain, and what this means for food security and accessibility, price, and the value of e-commerce.
Key takeaways:
Miles KubhekaWakanda Food Accelerator
Gain exclusive insights from Unilever Food Solutions' latest ‘Future Menus' report, highlighting culinary mega trends from concept to creation set to take over palettes and pantry shelves. This session will explore the findings from attracting Gen Z, driving personalisation, cultural storytelling, and the latest global flavours, turning insight into action
Yonela MotloungUnilever Food Solutions
Miles KubhekaWakanda Food Accelerator
dmg & KAOUN, a joint venture company between KAOUN International, the international event organizing company of the Dubai World Trade Centre and dmg events to create a global portfolio of food, hotel and hospitality events.