EUROPE - Confectionery industry trade fair ProSweets Cologne claims to have celebrated its most international event to date.
The trade fair attracted nearly 17,000 visitors from 96 countries, along with 334 exhibiting companies from 33 countries, 60 per cent of which were from abroad. According to organiser Koelnmesse, the show was 10 per cent larger this year as a result and took up 20,000sqm gross.
The number of trade visitors who came specifically for the fifth annual ProSweets Cologne at the Koelnmesse exhibition centre without the intention of visiting co-located event ISM, the International Sweets and Biscuits Fair, was up 15 per cent, and 60 per cent of total attendees were from abroad. Key countries included the Netherlands, Belgium, Turkey, Switzerland and the UK but Eastern Europe and the Middle East were also well represented.
“Given all the decision-makers from the confectionery industry among our visitors, there is no question that ProSweets Cologne is one of the leading international supplier trade fairs for the confectionery sector,” Koelnmesse chief operating office Katharina C. Hamma said.
ProSweets Cologne has traditionally focused on process and packaging technologies and packaging segments but also placed an emphasis on raw materials/ingredients this year, which also contributed to the show’s expansion, Koelnmesse said.
The 42nd annual ISM meanwhile attracted 36,000 visitors from 135 countries and 1,412 supplies from 65 countries.
"The continued high prices for energy and raw materials are putting the manufacturers under a lot of pressure," chairman of the International Sweets and Biscuits Fair Working Group (AISM) Tobias Bachmüller said. "That's why the extensive discussions and intensified export activities at ISM are indispensable for the sector."
The two shows were held from 29 January to 1 February and return to Cologne from 27 to 30 January 2013.
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