ANUGA: THE INDICATOR OF SECTOR TRENDS
As the most renowned Food and Beverage trade fair, Anuga is also regarded as an indicator of sector trends. Where do new opportunities lie? Where is the growth potential of tomorrow? Anuga provides all the answers.
Anuga 2009 trend themes
Hardly any other sector sees as many innovations and new trends each year as the sector for food & beverages. Anuga has all the right answers and sets the crucial trends - in eight areas that reveal the direction for the future:
Organic products
Gourmet products and regional specialities
Health and functional food
Private labels
Kosher products
Halal food
Finger food
Vegetarian products
Taste09
New products are always in the spotlight at Anuga. The special show taste09 provided orientation and an overview here. Emerging as leading trend themes were convenience products, wellfood products and "free from" products.
Taste09 is where an overview of the top new products selected by an international jury of trade journalists. A total of about 350 companies with almost 900 ideas took part in the competition. As in past years, a jury of experts selected the best products, which are on show in an attractive exhibition in the northern section of the Boulevard.
In the end, the jury selected 53 products and concepts that stood out among the numerous great ideas, innovations and creative solutions entered by exhibitors from all ten of the Anuga specialized trade fairs. The winners were selected on the basis of their originality and quality and also in recognition of their outstanding packaging, recipes, user-friendliness and appearance. Because many of the products presented at Anuga in Cologne were not designed only for the German or European markets, the range of products is correspondingly broad and fully covers the international trends. They include health-related products, target group-specific products such as those meant for children, convenience products, sustainability concepts and organic products.
Taste09: the innovation competition at Anuga
The supporting programme forums and presentations addressing the sector's themes of the future were correspondingly very well-received. These events included the WellFood Forum, Adult Nutrition and the Drinks Trend Forum, where features including the Zukunftsinstitut study "Trends Shaping Drinks" were presented.
"Halal food" was a main theme of Anuga 2009, and the premiere at the fair of the Halal Conference with experts from many countries attracted great interest. Good contacts were made, and the many questions of the food industry were expertly answered.
Participants from the food service sector also found business contacts and practical demonstrations at the shows titled "Anuga Creative Kitchen" and "Visions of Cooking". Both of these events were well-attended, and the exhibitors reported receiving plenty of orders.
WalMart Mexico held a widely regarded presentation at the first IFOAM Organic Trade Forum.
Good results were also posted by the Anuga Wine Special, where sommelier Markus Del Monego and the expert jury presented awards to 89 different wines.
Featured Foods from Worldwide Countries:
Summary:
"Anuga 2009 has confirmed its leading role for the international food sector. That is especially impressive in the midst of the current economic crisis," said Jurgen Abraham, Chairman of the Federation of German Food and Drink Industries (BVE). "The important function of the food and drink industry is especially evident in periods of economic difficulty. That's because this industry can look back at stable business operations with generally secure jobs. Food sector sees initial signs of recovery for the world economy. It is also important to emphasize that competition should be object to the best products rather than the lowest prices.
The next Anuga will take place from 8th to 12th October 2011.
