Beyond expectations

This article is available for reading in Trade magazin 2024/11

After the Business Days conference in September, trade-wise every year the next stable point in our lives is either Anuga in Cologne or SIAL in Paris, both of which are held in October. Everybody in the trade knows that these events are taking place in alternate years (SIAL in even years and Anuga in odd years) and also everybody knows that the reason why they are worth visiting – and for many companies exhibiting – is that they are the meeting place for the world’s food innovations and the home of the thriving food companies of every country in the world, so retailers and buyers show up as well. Trade magazin can’t afford to stay away either – we are always there in Cologne and Paris. Apart from the trade programmes and the immense amount of information we can hardly absorb, I have to admit that for us as visitors the sights and the time spent with colleagues are also very attractive propositions.

There is a lot to learn about the market, different trends, who is at what stage, who is innovating and where the main development points and focuses are. Great conferences, trend analyses, innovation presentations and tasting sessions, plus the ever-expanding start-up blocks – all this on top of more than 7,500 exhibitors from 205 countries, who are impossible to visit all in just 5 days on almost 260,000m² of exhibition space, but we always get going with great enthusiasm.

In addition to the lots of innovations, this year the trade show had 4 key themes, which cover a longer period of time than the stands of exhibitors. One of them was CSR, which was very much in the spotlight, communicated on-site with the slogan “CSR is at the heart of this year’s SIAL”. The second was technological development and AI, which now has more and more weight in every part of our lives and also serves as the foundation of Industrial Revolution 4.0. It is important in the supply chain, food safety, food waste and customer experience and satisfaction. The third theme was the supply chain, which after COVID-19 is in the midst of the global economic crisis and geopolitical problems, brings many challenges and multiple aspects in itself, and it is also a priority in the field of food supply, food safety and sustainability. Last but not least the fourth theme: Africa, which isn’t only a vast continent but also a place that carries innumerable and diverse challenges and opportunities, which can also be applied to its food economy – no wonder that almost every African country was represented and that the most innovative African firms went home with special prizes. Africa’s sudden growth is also due to years of investment in its agri-food economy, which has been running at around USD 15bn per year for years and is forecast to reach USD 50bn by 2030.

We are going to have a big report on the SIAL Paris trade show in the next Trade magazin issue, but for now we cover the exciting stuff we announced in the previous issue, starting with the first three days of this year’s biggest FMCG conference, the Business Days. In our packaging supplement we present the Hungaropack award winners and their entries, and this year’s summary is also complemented by the results of a world competition for students, so I am confident that we will bring interesting news for all stakeholders in the industry. There is also our traditional wine supplement, and of course the Superbrands winners… – and lots more to keep you turning the pages and reading this issue! Have a great time reading Trade magazin!!

Best regards,

Zsuzsanna Hermann, Editor in Chief