Just back from "SIAL" - the mega food biennial in Paris.

These giant trade shows are extraordinary.
Acres and acres of Greek olive oil producers.
An entire hall of regional Italian produce - enough mozzarella and parma ham to feed Islington.

I remember at "Anuga" - an even bigger food trade show in Cologne - our little tiny stand was next to the Italian section. Half their stands had nobody on them most of the time.The friendly Italians sat and drank espressos and smoked (you still could), and if anyone had the temerity to come and enquire, they looked up, puzzled, and quickly directed them elsewhere.
They had a big open meeting area just across the corridor from us - probably £10,000 for the space alone, and decked with immaculate black leather arm chairs. And I watched... and waited... and not once did I see anyone using it.
So on the third day, I went and sat in it myself, with a chum. For half an hour or so. Someone came past to get a coffee. Didn't say anything.

And we realised that none of these guys have actually paid for their vastly expensive tradeshow stands. It's probably come out of a Regional development budget, or the Common Agricultural billions. It's just a nice jolly, really.

Ever since then, I've been a bit of a sceptic of these big shows.
SIAL is more modest - like, still bigger than Hyde Park, but only on one floor (Anuga has 3!) - but you have to ask how much useful business is really being done.
How many of these stands would be here if they weren't subsidized?
And it's all so extortionate: you pay 2 grand for a tiny stand; everyone pays 70 euros just to get in for one day; all the hotels jack up their prices for the week. You pay a hundred quid to hire a light. Or an electric socket.
It's a vast gravy-train, being paid for, largely I suspect, by the world's tax-payers.

Sigh.
But the real fun was in the drinks area.
It's incredible that there are still people who wake up one day, and think, "Hey, see those energy drinks. They cost practically nothing to make, yet sell for lots of money. Let's make the same drink, in the same sized can, with a really original name, pay for a vast stand and lots of nice sexy models, and we'll be billionaires like Dietrich Mateschitz."

A few examples...





This was the one truly original concept of the show.

OK, it tasted awful, but then who ever enjoyed their first cigarette?
I'm just not sure you'll catch James Dean drinking one.











So, trade shows.
Please, governments, stop subsidizing them.
Or, I know - only subsidize the "genuinely original" stuff.
So big food spends their time making great products, rather than fussing about whether the carpet colour is "on-brand".
Much more fun.