The International Café & Beverage Show (ICBS) 2023, the leading showcase of artisan food, beverage and café products, is back at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre from 25 to 27 May 2023. The popular ‘Roasters Pavilion’ also returns and is designed to provide a cost-effective way for many smaller coffee roasters to showcase their unique coffee flavours. The pavilion is a ‘must visit’ during ICBS 2023 where visitors can try some really creative and innovative coffee roasts produced by over 15 companies participating at the show.
Josh Teo, Director of HisBrew, one of the local coffee roasters participating in the ‘Roasters Pavilion’ at ICBS 2023, shared, “As a Specialty Coffee Roaster from Malaysia, ICBS not only provides an opportunity for us to share our vision and coffee with the market, but it also helps us connect with like-minded folks that will be there, to exchange ideas and work together to improve and further advance the coffee industry in Malaysia.”
ICBS 2023 and Cafe Culture Malaysia, the largest cafe directory site in the country, are also celebrating the baristas behind every cup with a special competition where participants stand a chance to win barista tools worth up to RM1,900 from Dankoff Coffee Specialist. The competition is now live and to enter, visit https://cafeculture.my/icbs2023-x-cafe-culture-barista-giveaway/. The giveaway is open to all Malaysian baristas and three winners will be selected. The winners will be nominated for a Barista Highlight Series on Cafe Culture’s website and @cafeculturemy.
Christopher McCuin, Managing Director of Montgomery Asia, the show organiser, shared, “We are proud to have already confirmed 90% of our exhibitor targets and the demand for the remaining 10% of space remains high. We are excited about the positive response to ICBS 2023 so far, with more than 250 brands exhibiting from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Australia, The Netherlands and Italy. With just six weeks to go until the doors officially open, we are looking forward to welcoming so many of the Malaysian, regional and international café and coffee industry players, as well as coffee enthusiasts, on 25th May.”
In addition to the exhibition, the organisers (Montgomery Asia) have again teamed up with the Malaysia Specialty Coffee Association (MSCA) to host the semi-finals and finals of the 8th edition of the Malaysia National Coffee Championship (MNCC). The ‘national champion’ baristas (in three categories – Gigi Coffee Malaysia Barista Championship 2023, Falcon Coffees Malaysia Brewers Cup 2023 and Gigi Coffee Malaysia Latte Art Championship 2023) will go on to represent Malaysia at the World Coffee Championships (WCC) 2024.
Elaborating on the MNCC, Kelvin Ngow Wai Hng, President of the Malaysia Specialty Coffee Association (MSCA), added, “Our excitement continues to grow as we draw closer to the 8th edition of the Malaysia National Coffee Championship (MNCC) at ICBS 2023. This year 76 baristas participated in the early stages of the MNCC. 12 baristas in each of the three categories have advanced to the semi-finals, where they will be competing to become ‘national champions’ and represent Malaysia at the World Coffee Championships 2024.”
During this year’s show, Montgomery Asia will be introducing an educational series “Cafe Talk @ ICBS 2023”, which will involve 14 workshops and talks throughout the exhibition. This will include workshops from Barista Guild Asia, who will be hosting two courses – ‘Introduction to Coffee’ for those who are truly passionate about great coffee and want to understand how to brew some really awesome coffee and ‘So, you want to start a café?’, specifically designed for anyone who wants to start a Café but not so sure of where to begin. Dankoff Coffee Specialist will also be hosting their ‘Sensory Room with DC Academy’, where participants will learn what it takes to identify different coffee and tea flavours and aromas.
Commenting on participating at ICBS for the first time, Dini Aryani Criddle, President and Director, Tanamera Coffee Indonesia, said, “With a single dream of making Indonesia famous for its specialty coffee, we have chosen ICBS 2023 as the perfect place to launch our retail, wholesale and roasting equipment business in Malaysia. It’s a world class event for connecting with customers and the coffee community.”
ICBS 2023 is organised in collaboration with MSCA and has received strong support from both sponsors and exhibitors again. Sponsors include Bean Brothers, Claytan, Dutch Lady Professional, Falcon Coffees, Gigi Coffee, Hario, Monin, Cafetto, and Marco by Dankoff Coffee Specialist, La Cimbali by Coffex Coffee, Mazzer by Classic Fine Foods Malaysia and Vitasoy and Watch Water. Exhibitors will include Frad Coffee, K Hub, Qube Apps, Eciatto, Green Pot Tea, Conx Design, Forest Cloud, HisBrew, Da Di Coffee, Niju Coffee, LewisGene Roasters, Gourmet Partner, Global Coffee Resources, Organic 7 Days, Asia Hegner, Big Fame, Stallion Creation, Necessary Provision, MPFA Trading and SEA Global, amongst others.
Other key supporting partners for ICBS 2023 include the ASEAN Coffee Federation, Association of Indonesian Coffee Exporters and Industries, Barista Association of Thailand, Hotel & Restaurant Association of the Philippines, Philippine Coffee Board, Lao Coffee Association, Myanmar Coffee Association, Singapore Coffee Association, Specialty Coffee Association of Indonesia, Thai Coffee Association and Vietnam Coffee Cocoa Association.
The show will be held in Halls 4 & 5 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, with trade and industry visitors the focus of the first two days (25th and 26th May – 10.00am to 6.00pm). The third and final day (Saturday, 27th May – 10.00am to 5.00pm) will be open to the public who can treat their tastebuds to the best that the coffee and café industry have to offer. Anyone interested in visiting or exhibiting at ICBS 2023 should visit www.intl-cbs.com to pre-register their visit and get the latest news and updates.
