ProSweets - ISM Signify the Successful Restart of the Sweets Industry
ProSweets and ISM marked the restart of the sweets and snacks industry. Around 15,000 trade visitors visited the hybrid events. Ninety-six countries attended the editions, including nations like France and Turkey. The fairs focused on themes such as sustainability and took place for four days. The organisers consider the renditions a success.
ProSweets and ISM 2022 took place between 30.01.2022 and 02.02.2022. They occurred as hybrid events — live exhibitions complemented by a digital platform. The face-to-face aspects took place in Messe Cologne. The name of the complementary digital platform was ISM & ProSweets @home. It featured services such as connecting to potential partners and customers. It additionally allowed exhibitors to present their wares through specialised showrooms. Participants could also access live-streamed lectures and presentations. Examples included the #CONECT2030 - the Future Summit for Sweets and Snacks - in transition.
The Summit featured sessions that provided insights into several themes. Among them were resource conservation and CO2 reduction. They furthermore discussed the question of how climate change affects raw material availability. ISM & ProSweets@home remained available until 30.04.2022. This allowed participants to continue networking and conducting business. The live exhibitions at Messe Cologne featured the latest Covid-19 safety measures. Attendees had to show documents such as proof of recovery certificates before entry. They also had to maintain a social distance of 1.5 metres and wear face masks in areas such as the exhibition halls.
Many central themes showed the industry’s readiness to adapt to consumer needs. For instance, ISM 2022 featured many healthy, sustainable, and natural products. ProSweets 2022 likewise focused on themes with an orientation towards the future. This included the novel Ingredients Event Zone. The new zone presented natural ingredients and reformulated product solutions. It also showcased flexible machines with high adaptability towards changing recipes or demands. This is because of their fast set-up options. Among the presented innovations was a powderless moulding process for fruit gums. This method uses reusable silicon or polycarbonate moulds to create such sweets. Such a process will enable gelatin products to cool down and set in 20 to 40 minutes and not need a ripening room. It also allows manufacturers to reduce energy consumption and create new sweets. It can also be used for the creation of nutraceuticals or over-the-counter medicines.
The packaging section featured individualised forms and sustainable packaging solutions. The “My Food- Personalised Diets” survey also presented the theme of individualised products. Another special event, the PACKAGING, also focused on sustainability. During the special sub-event, three partner companies presented their latest packaging industry innovations. One company was raccoon GmbH. They also included the Sustainable Packaging Institute and the Falkenstein Projektmanagement GmbH. The showcased innovations featured digital food packaging watermarks and new waste-avoiding materials.
Within the special sub-event was another special micro-event: Function meets Design. During the micro-event, attendees could examine reusable packages and regrown raw materials. It also featured innovations related to digital packaging. The micro-event featured three sub-topics: Recycling, Communicative Packaging, and Intelligent Packaging. The special event “Packaging” was also one of the focus zones visited during the Guided Tours. Sustainability was additionally among the focus subjects of the Expert Stage. The Stage was a sub-event during which leading companies discussed industry-related topics.
Another major theme featured at ProSweets 2022 was the multisensory taste experience. It focused on the need for healthy foodstuff composition solutions. This includes using as many ingredients of a natural origin as possible. This applies to all stages of creating foodstuffs, from creating the food mixture to adding additives.
ProSweets and ISM 2022 showed the importance of face-to-face meetings for conducting business. Many exhibitors were glad to meet their target audience in person. They also praised the high quality of the visitors that took part in the events. Several statistical details showed the mentioned visitor quality. For instance, 78% of the visiting participants were from foreign countries. This included nations like the Netherlands, Belgium, France, the UK, and Russia. The attending nations also featured Iran, Egypt, Italy, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia. Delegates from South and Central America attended as well. This resulted in 96 countries visiting the two trade shows. The total visitor number was around 15,000. 90% of the respondents had a decisive or contributory purchasing decision influence. This enabled the exhibitors to close important business deals. This applied to start-ups and leading companies, such as Nestle and Ferrero.
ProSweets and ISM 2022 served as a vital step towards trade events returning to normal. Following the success of the renditions, the organisers have announced the 2023 dates. ProSweets and ISM 2023 will take place between 29.01.2023 - 01.02.2023 at Messe Cologne as live events.
