Sri Lanka Embassy in Brussels, and Sri Lanka Tea Board together with the private sector, promoted Ceylon Tea at the HORECA Expo-2024, the largest trade fair for the Belgian food & beverage, catering sector and commercial kitchens for the last thirty years, held from 17 to 20 November 2024. HORECA is a business-to-business (B2B) event.
HORECA Expo-2024 became a platform for promoting high-quality Ceylon Tea in the Belgian market and the Benelux market, further strengthening Sri Lanka’s position as the largest exporter of tea to Belgium.
The Ceylon Tea pavilion is one of the key attractions at HORECA Expo and two prominent Sri Lankan tea exporters -Imperial Tea Exports (Pvt) Ltd and Lumbini Tea Valley Ceylon, played a significant role by promoting a diverse range of black, green, white teas, specialty teas, and herbal and flavored tea varieties. B2B potential buyers to the pavilion enjoyed tea tastings, received information on Ceylon tea and an immersive experience of Sri Lanka’s rich tea heritage.
Highlighting the innovative potential of Ceylon tea, the Embassy partnered with the European Specialty Tea Association (ESTA) hosted a Ceylon tea mocktail-making program on 18th November 2024 at Sweet Inspirations Corner in HORECA Expo. Ms. Thavishya Mullegamgoda, Minister (Commercial) at the Embassy presented diversity of Ceylon tea while highlighting strong marketing points for Ceylon tea in the global market focusing on Belgium. Mr. Stijn Van Schoonlandt, the renowned tea specialist in Belgium, conducted the tea mocktail tasting programme where participants explored the versatility of Ceylon Tea in modern beverages prepared using exquisite mocktails crafted with Ceylon black, white, and green tea.
Belgium being a key market for Ceylon tea in Europe, imported US$ 18.4 million valued teas from Sri Lanka in 2023, making Sri Lanka the largest supplier of tea to Belgium recording 26% of the market share in Belgium. The aim of the participation at HORECA was to further increase the market share in Belgium. Continuous participation by Sri Lanka at HORECA Expo will boost exports of value-added and specialty Ceylon teas to Belgium and the Benelux market.
HORECA Expo annually attracts industry leaders, featuring over 600 exhibitors representing 3,000 brands and drawing nearly 45,000 attendees. This year’s figures are yet to be announced.
Sri Lanka Embassy
Brussels
22 November 2024
