Informa Markets has released data that has reaffirmed Fi Europe as Europe’s unmissable ingredients event. The annual ingredients industry gathering, which took place at Frankfurt Messe from 19-21 November, attracted 23,221 attendees from 130 countries. Not only did the event see higher footfall than in recent years, it also welcomed an increased number of attendees from the key R&D, product management and procurement functions. Collectively, this data is evidence that Informa’s efforts to keep the format fresh and exciting were well received. In 2025, Fi Europe will return to Paris Expo Porte de Versailles from 2-4 December.
The food industry relies on Fi Europe as a forum for sourcing new ingredients, keeping abreast of industry trends and developments and making connections. The 2024 edition did not disappoint with its bustling show floor, informative content programme and abundance of networking opportunities. The event app was further developed this year to enhance the in-person experience, allowing attendees to scan one another’s badges and manage all contacts and leads in one place, so that they can easily contact them after the show.
Fi Europe’s carefully curated in-person content programme is always a major draw and this year was no exception. The Future of Nutrition Summit kicked off the proceedings the day before Fi Europe opened its doors, with a full agenda designed to inspire and inform whilst facilitating networking and discussion. Speakers from NASA, Nuritas, NotCo, PepsiCo and Unilever shared powerful and thought-provoking insights into the issues, trends and technologies expected to shape the F&B industry in the coming years.
From Tuesday, the vibrant show floor became the focal point of the event, bringing over 1500 suppliers of ingredients and related technologies and services together with potential buyers. Thousands of ingredients were showcased at the event, reaffirming Fi Europe as the premier platform for sourcing food and beverage ingredients. For the first time, visitors were given the option of buying an early access pass. Uptake was high, and when the exhibition opened at 9am on Tuesday morning, early pass holders had exclusive access to explore the show floor.
Occupying four halls, the venue was zoned, allowing visitors to focus their efforts. Over 80 companies populated the Food Technologies & Solutions zone, which had been expanded for 2024. They were kept busy by a constant stream of visitors keen to learn about solutions for making their operations and supply chain activities safe, sustainable, efficient and resilient. The Petfood Suppliers Hub was introduced as a new zone for 2024, giving the pet food industry a dedicated forum for exchanging ideas, inspiring innovation and forging new relationships. It proved a popular addition, enabling companies to harness the synergies between the food and pet food ingredient markets.
A further first, free access to the Fi Europe Conference was included with all visitor passes. Experts addressed packed auditoriums throughout the two-day conference, which focused on four topical themes: health and wellbeing; plant-based and alternative proteins; reformulation; and tech-led ingredient innovations and solutions. Speakers from a broad cross-section of commercial, academic and research organisations, including EIT, Euromonitor, Innova, Mintel, RaboResearch and Wageningen University, made for a varied and insightful programme.
One of the highlights of day two was the Women’s Networking Breakfast, which featured engaging talks and panel discussions with some of the industry’s most respected female leaders. It was the best attended ever, and the networking was outstanding.
The entire event was designed around inspiring, enabling and celebrating innovation, through features like the Tasting Bar, where attendees had the opportunity to taste ingredients in use through samples such as goats’ milk protein bars, marine collagen water and next-gen energy drinks. The Innovation Hub hosted presentations and discussions as well as the Startup Challenge, and the prestigious Fi Europe Innovation Awards recognised outstanding contributions to the F&B ingredients industry.
Yannick Verry, Brand Director, Food ingredients Europe, at Informa Markets, says: “We recognise that it is crucial for Fi Europe not to remain static, but to evolve and change with the times, to ensure it continues to be relevant and to represent value for money for participants. For 2024 we made some changes and trialled several new features, whilst staying true to our promise of providing a platform for companies to trade, innovate and grow. We are delighted to report that the show embodied all the ingredients of a successful event, and we are already looking at how we can make the 2025 edition in Paris even better.”
dsm-firmenich, innovators in nutrition, health and beauty, will introduce its latest advances and ambitions to support a healthier, more delicious and sustainable food system at this year’s Food ingredients Europe (Fi Europe). A selection of next-generation solutions will be on display at booth 3.1 F62 in the beverage, baking, confectionery, cheese, plant-based, fresh dairy and savory categories – with an opportunity to sample the latest delicious prototypes. Visitors can also learn directly from dsm-firmenich’s experts at four speaking slots throughout the show, covering important trends in sugar reduction, health benefits, AI-powered fermentation and bakery.
Boosting nutrition in consumer favourites
Today’s consumers have a lot on their plate. Two in three are concerned about their health, two billion are deficient in essential vitamins and minerals and 40 % of adults worldwide are overweight,1 so there’s an urgent need for high-quality food and drink products that support people’s health and well-being.
Maaike Bruins, Lead Scientist Nutrition & Health and Martin Mei, Senior Director Health Benefits & Solutions, both from dsm-firmenich, will address these health concerns head-on with a not-to-be-missed presentation on November 19 at 1:30 PM. They will discuss the best approach to nourish the growing and aging population by adding more of the essential nutrients we need as well as reducing sugar, salt and saturated fats. Additionally, on November 20 at 11 AM, Judith van Peij Innovation Manager Baking & Confectionery, dsm-firmenich, will explore how innovative enzymes can be used to enhance whole wheat bread quality, from better dough stability to improved volume, helping to meet evolving consumer demand in taste, texture and health.
Visitors will be able to experience the dsm-firmenich team’s expertise in action through a range of healthy prototypes including a lactose-free Nutrimilk concept in strawberry and banana flavours – with no added sugars – and a recovery drink made with PeptoPro®, crafted to replenish and recharge.
Reducing sugar – without reducing flavour
There’s no single-ingredient replacement for sugar; if there were, the industry would be using it already. dsm-firmenich understands the real solution is far more nuanced if the industry is to captivate consumers with reduced sugar creations.
Francesc Puerto, Technical Sales Manager Sugar Reduction Europe, dsm-firmenich, will share a novel approach to reducing sugar in applications in a forward-thinking presentation on 19 November at 12 PM. The session will dive into the innovative solutions that can restore the full sensory experience in low-sugar products without compromising on vibrant tastes – for a healthier, tastier and more sustainable future in food and beverages. For those with a sweet tooth, dsm-firmenich has created chewy apricot-flavoured gummies and a flavourful BBQ sauce – both boasting reduced sugar formulations and an appealing taste profile.
Cutting-edge food science meets AI
Bringing together the latest taste, texture and health solutions, dsm-firmenich is highlighting its portfolio of all-in-one cultures developed using its leading AI-powered Dairy Culture Co-Creation platform. Claire Price, Innovation Manager Dairy, dsm-firmenich, will be sharing her R&D expertise on developing flavourful fresh fermented creations on November 19 at 11 AM. She will take to the stage to showcase how fermented milk manufacturers can use this technology to design cultures for dairy applications, sharing a case study based on a real-life scenario.
Taste is king: live cooking demo
People often put healthiness and tastiness in two separate boxes, but dsm-firmenich understands that the overlap is where the magic happens. After all, people only want to eat healthy food if it also tastes good. Demonstrating the potential of great taste without nutritional compromise, dsm-firmenich will host a smoke demonstration of mini ‘Frankfurters’ – in Frankfurt – with a side of sugar reduced ketchup for delegates to try.
All eyes on sustainability
Food production is estimated to be responsible for 25 % of global carbon dioxide emissions.2 Adopting more plant-based foods is a powerful step toward a more sustainable future. To meet the growing demand for plant-based options, dsm-firmenich will showcase its sustainable plant protein, Vertis™ CanolaPRO®, in a range of innovative applications, including a tortilla and breakfast cereals. Visitors can also try plant-based smoked ‘salmon’ with cream cheese and pulled ‘beef’ in tortillas for a satisfying plant-based experience. Visitors interested in helping consumers reduce food waste can also enjoy a smooth vanilla yogurt that lasts longer on the shelf while maintaining its taste and texture.
1dsm-firmenich customer survey 2023
2https://ourworldindata.org/greenhouse-gas-emissions-food
Fi Europe co-located with Hi Europe has announced they are postponing the live event to 2021 and are transitioning to virtual for their 2020 event.
Over recent weeks and months, the Fi Europe team has been in discussions with key industry stakeholders and partners to stay abreast of the challenges facing the F&B industry due to COVID-19. While the event was set to take place this December with Informa’s AllSecure guidelines incorporating the highest standards of hygiene and cleanliness, the decision to postpone the live event and transition to virtual was taken as a result of the global nature of the event.
Fi Europe co-located with Hi Europe is a truly international event which brings together key industry players from all over the world. Given international travel is only returning gradually, stakeholders and partners felt it was difficult to ensure the same level of participation typically expected at the live event, and thus the Fi Europe team made the difficult decision to transition to a virtual format in 2020, with the expectation that they will return to Frankfurt as a best-in-class physical event from 30 November to 2 December 2021. The following year the show will take place in Paris.
For 2020, the Fi Europe team are transforming Europe’s largest F&B exhibition into a unique digital experience and expo. Fi Europe CONNECT 2020 is a virtual event designed to give the F&B community access to the global F&B ingredients industry, tools and collaboration opportunities they require to meet their business objectives.
Attracting over 8,000 attendees at their virtual event which will shape the future of the F&B industry, giving the community the chance to stay up to date with trends through 100+ on-demand and 16+ expert sessions and to use Fi Europe’s data-driven matchmaking service to find the most relevant buyers for customers’ products and solutions.
This year’s Food ingredients Europe co-located with Health ingredients Europe will be organised in accordance with Informa’s AllSecure health and safety standard, developed in response to COVID-19. As one of the world’s leading events organiser, Informa Markets will employ enhanced measures to ensure the highest levels of hygiene and safety. Informa Markets is confident that the show will take place as planned from 1-3 December at Messe Frankfurt, Germany, with strong support from the Fi and Hi Europe communities.
AllSecure is an industry-wide standard that has been developed in close cooperation with partners, such as the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI), venues, suppliers and relevant authorities for exhibition organisers to adopt and provide reassurance to attendees that events are being held in a safe and controlled environment. For Fi Europe co-located with Hi Europe, in particular, the Informa Markets team is in close contact and constant consultation with the City of Frankfurt, the State of Hesse and Messe Frankfurt.
Informa AllSecure is how the industry-wide standard will be adopted at Informa events and features some 35 detailed protocols, covering Cleaning & Hygiene Countermeasures (prior to stand build, again before event opening and during the duration of the event), Phyiscal Distancing following the Crowd Density Standards as set by the State of Hesse, Communication across all channels and platforms, and Protect and Detect in collaboration with the local health authorities.
