International Café & Beverage Show 2022 Reflects Confidence in Bright Future for Malaysian Café and Coffee Businesses

Malaysian Baristas Will Also Compete for Opportunity to Represent the Country at Upcoming World of Coffee Championships

The International Café & Beverage Show (ICBS) 2022 will be opening its doors to the Malaysian café and coffee industry (and coffee connoisseurs) from the 19th to 21st May at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. ICBS is one of the first international exhibitions to return to Malaysia in the wake of the pandemic, reflecting the organiser’s faith in the resilience and vibrancy of the Malaysian coffee and café industry.

Over 150 brands from seven countries including Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Australia, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom will be exhibiting at the event which is focused on specialty coffee, drinks, F&B products and café lifestyle, as well as furniture, design and technology related to café operations.

In addition, to the exhibition element, the organisers have teamed up with the Malaysia Specialty Coffee Association (MSCA) to host the semi-finals and finals of the 7th edition of the Malaysia National Coffee Championship (MNCC) at the event. The newly crowned ‘national champion’ baristas (in three categories) will go on to represent Malaysia at the World of Coffee Championships (WCC).

Despite a relatively short history of competing on the world stage, Malaysian baristas have already won gold and silver medals at previous editions of the WCC, highlighting the passion and world-class standards that Malaysian baristas are displaying not only for the judges but also for Malaysian coffee enthusiasts.

Mr Christopher McCuin, Managing Director of Montgomery Asia, the show organiser, said, “We are delighted to be one of the first international events returning to Malaysia in the wake of the pandemic. Coffee is one of the ultimate ‘pick-me-ups’ and we hope ICBS will have the same effect on the Malaysian café and coffee industry, as it steams back to life after a few tough years. We are currently expecting over 5,000 visitors representing all elements of the Malaysian café and coffee industry and we look forward to welcoming them all, while ensuring they leave the show with freshly roasted insights and ideas from around the coffee world, which they can hopefully deploy to great success in their own businesses.”

“One specific initiative we are very proud of at ICBS is the new ‘Roasters Pavilion’. The Roasters Pavilion has been designed to provide a cost-effective way for many smaller Malaysian coffee roasters (a relatively niche and specialist part of the business) to showcase their unique coffee flavours to as many people as possible during the show – something they probably could not have done without this initiative. We hope that our visitors, will take advantage of this opportunity to try some really creative and innovative coffee roasts produced by homegrown Malaysian businesses,” Christopher concluded.

Ms Yip Leong Sum, President, MSCA, added, “As the national trade association championing specialty coffee, MSCA is very excited to be a part of this event as a strategic partner. The dedication of ICBS in going the extra mile to help Malaysia’s coffee industry is perfectly in line with the vision of MSCA when we first launched Malaysia National Coffee Championship (MNCC), a platform designed for young professionals to showcase their talent, skill and creativity in the specialty coffee industry.”

ICBS 2022 will also play host to the ASEAN Coffee Federation (ACF) Board Meeting on the 19th May. This mini-event will welcome delegates from Laos, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Myanmar, the Philippines and Australia – thereby playing a small part in helping the recovery of Malaysia’s business events industry in the aftermath of the pandemic.

ICBS 2022 has received strong support from both sponsors and exhibitors. Sponsors include Dankoff Coffee Specialist, Dutch Lady Profesional, Coffex Coffee, Gruppo Cimbali, ChungHo Nais, Vitasoy, Monin, Hario, Marco Beverage Systems, Cafetto, Mugged, Farmskin Malaysia, Staresso Malaysia, Ghostbird Coffee and MONTiGO. Exhibitors will include Bidfood, Starbucks, Global Coffee Resources, London Tea Exchange, Morino Asia, Kikkoman, 103 Coffee Roasters, Stallion Creation, Remedy Drinks, Westrock Coffee, Coffebot and many others.

Other partners for the ICBS and MNCC include the Malaysia Specialty Coffee Association (MSCA), Café Culture, Food Marketing Hub, Artisense Digital and Newsav. The organisers would also like to acknowledge the support of the Malaysian Ministry of Tourism, The Malaysian Convention Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) and Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) for their help and support in ensuring the event proceeded, despite the extremely challenging circumstances over the past few years.

Anyone interested in visiting ICBS 2022 should visit https://icbs.1id.my/ to pre-register. Trade and industry visitors are the focus of the first two days (19th and 20th May – 10 am to 6 pm). The third and final day (Saturday 21st May – 10 am to 5 pm) will also be open to consumers who can enjoy a true treat for their tastebuds. The event is being held in Halls 4 & 5 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. For further information please visit www.Intl-cbs.com.