Exhibitors and visitors, satisfied with the results and organisation of Hispack 2022

80% of exhibitor companies and 75.6% of the public visiting Hispack 2022 declared a high degree of satisfaction with the results obtained, as well as with the organisation and development of the fair held last May. At the closing meeting of the Organising Committee, the opinion polls carried out by Fira de Barcelona’s Market Research and Analysis Department were presented, confirming Hispack once again as the benchmark event in Spain for an increasing number of professional profiles and user sectors of products and services in the packaging industry. 

Together with Graphispag, Hispack attracted a total of 31,118 visitors, 10% international. This year there was a significant increase in the number of packaging companies attending, which accounted for 44% of the total. Forty percent of these companies were from the food and beverage industry, while 45% were manufacturers of products from other sectors, especially drugstore, perfumery and cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. The remaining percentage comprised firms working for both the food and non-food sectors.

Apart from manufacturers and packagers of end products, other companies that also visited Hispack were: manufacturers and distributors of machinery and packaging materials, engineering studios, design agencies, consultancies, associations, research centres, logistics operators and graphic services companies.
Increased visitor quality

This year, the visitor’s decision-making power has increased. 76% directly approve the purchase or intervene in it, while 14.4% prescribe it. The most numerous group among the professional profiles that attended Hispack is that of technician, area director, general manager or manager. Professional profiles in purchasing, production/factory, maintenance, packaging, operations, marketing and logistics are also on the rise.

Increasing visitor quality
This year, the increase in the visitor’s decision-making power stands out. 76% directly approve the purchase or intervene in it, while 14.4% prescribe it. The most numerous group among the professional profiles that attended Hispack is that of technician, area director, general manager or manager. Professional profiles in purchasing, production/factory, maintenance, packaging, operations, marketing and logistics are also on the rise.

Hispack 2022 scores very well in the visitor survey: 75.6% say they are satisfied or very satisfied with their attendance at the fair, 18.5% consider the fair adequate and 5.8% do not see their objectives fulfilled. Compared to 2018, there was a 13% increase in the loyalty rate of visitors who said they would attend again and would proactively recommend the visit to their network of contacts.

The main reasons for visiting were to learn about new products, suppliers and solutions for future references and to obtain information on market trends. Given the context of the event, including the change of dates due to the pandemic, the objectives of meeting up with other professionals and courtesy visits to stands of well-known companies or regular suppliers were also very popular. Likewise, the search for specific solutions for making purchasing decisions or closing orders, as well as building alliances for specific projects, were also highlighted.

A more detailed analysis of the visitors confirms that the leading companies in the main sectors of demand attend the show. Thus, 72% of the 25 largest food companies in the country by turnover visited Hispack. The percentage in the beverage sector was 60%, while perfumery and cosmetics reached 80% coverage and in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries, 64% and 68% respectively.

Internationality
Attracting international visitors was one of the major challenges at this edition of Hispack, which was still held during the pandemic, which limited the mobility of a greater number of foreign professionals. In this sense, the fair focused on local markets: Portugal, Italy, France, Germany, Morocco and Turkey were the main countries of origin of international visitors. At the same time, the guest buyer programme was key to attracting visitors from Latin America, mainly Mexico and Colombia, as well as Chile, the guest country at Hispack 2022. The majority of the international visitors were packagers, although the profiles of manufacturers and distributors of machinery and materials are on the rise.

Closing of trade agreements
The committee meeting, chaired by Jordi Bernabeu, reviewed the main indicators of this edition, which brought together 643 exhibitors, 142 of them international. In the quantitative analysis of the commercial results, exhibitor loyalty was highlighted (63%), as well as the representativeness of the entire packaging value chain, the success of the new sectoral distribution to facilitate visits, and the maintenance of the international nature of the offer, as practically a quarter of Hispack exhibitors come from abroad.

In the opinion polls, almost 80% of exhibitors stated that they had met their objectives for participation in the fair. The main objective, for 83% of them, was to generate contacts, followed by image and brand positioning. The presentation of new products, the generation of sales and the expansion of the distribution network also feature on the list of reasons given by exhibiting companies. Thus, exhibitors consider Hispack to be the most representative show of the Spanish packaging industry and their overall satisfaction with their participation is slightly higher than that of the 2018 edition, with the quality of the contacts made standing out. 48.2% of exhibitors confirmed having closed a business deal at Hispack.

Hispack 2024 challenges 
Before the dissolution of the organising committee, the director of the event, Xavier Pascual, pointed out some challenges for the next edition, which will take place from 7 to 11 May 2024 at Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via venue. These include: redefining the fair’s internationalisation programme to increase the number of foreign visitors; reinforcing the attraction of national visitors in order to increase market coverage, attracting large companies from sectors in demand; boosting the content and activities that attract the most interest; and boosting the range of exhibits, recovering exhibiting companies from previous editions and incorporating new ones with a highly innovative component. Hispack will also maintain its Pack Experience agenda between editions in order to create spaces of relationship and knowledge for professionals in the packaging industry in collaboration with associations and entities, thus contributing to the visibility of the sector.

Barcelona, November 2022