Fairer Generation: Manila Fame Int'l and IFEX experience

Manila Fame International

Manila Fame International is an annual event that runs tradeshows for home furnishings, house wares, holiday decors, and fashion accessories in the Asia-Pacific region. The event, happening twice yearly, consolidates the traditional to contemporary designs making known the Filipino creativity and craftsmanship. Booths were being set-up by different producers and companies showcasing their very own products and uniqueness.

APFTI was located at the house wares pavilion. The booth made use of a gazebo-centered style, cornering it with different producers. The color schemes are of citrus shades. It showcases different hand-made products like bags, frames, notebooks, decors etc. Among the raw materials being used are the sinamay, abaca fibers, tigok, buri, gold leaf etc.

During the ingress, raw materials and productions were being gathered. Contractors assembled the booth plan and later, visual merchandising of the products was being done by the APFTI crews.

The Event…

The event started at 9 am and ends at 6 pm. Slowly, the hall was being filled by numerous buyers locally and internationally. As one of the APFTI crews, we just observed the flow of the event, sometimes staying at our booth, and most of the time wandering around to see the wonders of different creations.

The House wares and Home furnishing halls presents furnitures, lighting fixtures, and home decors. It usually showcases different products like bags, frames, chimes, vases, twigs, holders, clothes, and many more, all using native materials and different processes and finishing. Among the raw materials commonly seen are the sinamay, abaca fibers, tingting, wood, raw tela etc. Meanwhile, among the processes being used were weaving, pressing, and knotting.

At the Christmas village located at hall 3, unique pieces are brought out creating a joyful atmosphere of every occasion and celebration. It can be noticed that most of the things are of glitters and joyful pastel colors.

The Fashion hall located at hall 4 consists of chic collections of fashion accessories and complements from mostly jewelry to bags to shoes made from exotic natural materials. Most clustered type accessories reflect a traditional yet refreshing style. Among the sets are of necklaces made out of pearls, wooden beads of different sizes and forms, and laces of different kinds.

The Egress…

During the egress, it is somehow saddening to see a one-day-built booth being disassembled again. The event had brought a different kind of atmosphere in the field of designing, creativity, and global marketing. Witnessing various materials and products evolving from traditional to modern ways is simply amazing and refreshing as an industrial design student. However, it basically reminds us of the innovating world we have today and keeping up with the trends to maintain or improve our stand as a company, a designer and an individual.

International Food Exhibition

The IFEX Philippines being held annually at the World Trade Center showcases the country's food industry to the global market. It gathers the region's food manufacturers and exporters. It was being done on the main hall of the World Trade Center. Some of the best selling products of the IFEX Philippines were fresh and frozen fish, meats like ham and sausages, fresh fruits and vegetable beverages, coffee and cocoa, cookies and crackers, cereal preparations like polvoron and cake and etc.

The Ingress…

The ingress of the IFEX was a tiresome day for all of us. It almost took a whole day not only for the contractors but also for the whole APFTI crews to set up the booth and the fair trade zone. Visual merchandising and booth layouts were being arranged to have a common look for one company. The APFTI made use of mostly orange shade of color as this portrays food. The fair trade zone was formed by the two acrylic walls of flowing water giving the natural and serenity effect. Though the original design wasn't followed much, the whole overview of the booths was nice and different compared to the other booths and zones, as also commented by some people.

The Event…

The IFEX offers many food lines such as fresh and frozen fish, meats like ham and sausages, fresh fruits and vegetable beverages, coffee and cocoa, cookies and crackers, cereal preparations like polvoron and cake and etc. Specific Filipino products such as bagoong, taba ng talangka, laing, different marinades, banana chips, dried mango and fruits, and etc were also sold.

Different booths were being created as this gives emphasis to the food products being displayed and sold. The event started at 10 am and ends at 7 pm. Asides from observing from our booth, we mostly roam around to try on new foods and also to take note of different approaches in booth designs.

Aside from APFTI, there are numerous companies with different food lines and booth designs. One of the examples is VuQo where their product line is of alcoholic drinks such as mango and black plum wine, and cranberry vodka. Their booth was a bar type and the sounds were lively of house and techno ones. The crews were also dressed up according to the setting.

Another is the VCO brands where they sell different cream and lotion product lines made out of Virgin Coconut Oil. The booth was of organic and nature approach and the color schemes such as green and blue reflect a natural setting.

IFEX foods, of course, are deliciously being catered to the guests and the buyers. With lots of free tastes all around, one will surely enjoy being at the event! The foods prove that the country offers a good source of fresh and processed products, ethnic foods, and authentic Filipino dishes that international and local buyers kept on searching for.

The Egress…

The egress once again proves to be the time where all the efforts being put to the booth design and the set up where now disassembled. Same with FAME, it is a time of reflection of all the things learned from it and the experience of being able to execute our booth design at an international event.

It is really amazing on how Philippines can be creative also at the field of foods. I really did enjoy my stay at IFEX and FAME for it contributed to my new discoveries of different things in the field of design and awareness.

Studies…

The Manila Fame International and IFEX caters to different buyers globally though most targets international buyers. Most of the time, bulk orders is a requirement of trading and exporting.

The market today is in for a lot of competition globally. One might find that it is rather few and that the exported products of the Philippines are mostly food items and handicrafts as this serves the very own trademark. Other than that our economy is fueled not by exports but by investments and sadly OFW remittances.

Consumers usually chooses the line of products that they want to purchase as sometimes, the brand and the country made from gives dignity and prestige to the buyers.

In terms of the quality, I think that the Filipinos are approaching the good name due to the help of technologies and economic profits.

~ Lynette