Experiencing BIOFACH and VIVANESS means benefiting from the best of two worlds. This works by creating a meaningful combination of digital opportunities and on-site trade fair activities. The global organic foodstuffs and natural and organic personal care community will hold its next gathering at the Exhibition Centre Nuremberg from 14 to 17 February 2023, when international trade visitors will be inspired by the products and services offered by an expected 2,700 exhibitors from about 100 countries. And though there is no substitute for a first-hand experience with all senses, the digital event platform has provided the ideal complement since the unique Summer Edition was held in 2022. The future of the World’s Leading Fair for Organic Food and the International Trade Fair for Natural and Organic Personal Care is hybrid. Added value: The ability to plan your trade fair visit with the aid of a floor plan and an overview of products and services; arranging appointments in-person and online; matchmaking; and the fact the Congress will be available in digital form beyond the actual event timeframe. All the content and functions of the digital event platform are available on the app in addition to the desktop version.
One in four of the more than 24,000 trade visitors who participated in the unique Summer Edition of BIOFACH and VIVANESS in 2022 also made use of the services offered by the digital event platform, most of them as hybrid participants. They attended in person, but used the platform as a digital add-on before, during and after the event.
How to take advantage of the benefits the platform offers for BIOFACH and VIVANESS 2023, and what highlights there are to look forward to: These questions were put to Dominik Dietz, the BIOFACH and VIVANESS team member responsible for the digital platform.
Briefly, what are the key added values offered by the digital event platform?
With the digital event platform, we offer the organic food and natural and organic personal care community the full package, in other words, an all-in-one service covering all aspects of BIOFACH and VIVANESS – from preparation to on-site use, follow-up and access to congress presentations after the event. That means a wide range of functions from exhibitor and product searches to appointment and agenda scheduling, and many opportunities to interact – digitally, in person and in hybrid form! The right feature is therefore available to suit every requirement at the right time, either during the trade fair or at the preparation stage – all in an intuitive, state- of-the-art platform solution, including the app!
Will there be new developments in 2023 – upgrades or special features?
In collaboration with our partner talque, we are constantly working on both upgrading and creating new features in order to drive forward the fusion of in-person (i.e. on-site) and digital added value. For 2023, exhibitors, visitors and media contacts will be able to enjoy improvements in usability, such as a revised chat design and design improvements in the area of personal participant profiles. As a further “special”, the mobile app will have a BIOFACH/VIVANESS design in 2023.
Not to be missed: What do I need to know and take into account beforehand in order to get the most out of my attendance or visit to the trade fair?
The important thing is to take time to prepare and maintain your profile, both the company profile for exhibitors and your personal participant profile in general. A detailed, perfect “fit” in the product search process is a key factor for success in ensuring people can find you. This can be boosted further by adding additional product profiles. Carefully maintaining your personal matchmaking details is also an important element in finding the right suggestions and best matches when you are looking for contacts. Recommendation: Keep your profile and choice of search and offer criteria up to date at all times so you can continue finding new matches.
Acquisition will expand wine portfolio in France, including Bordeaux.
Berlin Packaging, the world’s largest Hybrid Packaging Supplier®, announced the acquisition of Gerfran SAS, a family-owned supplier of glass packaging specializing in the wine and beverage end markets.
Founded in 1984 and acquired by Lionel Fruh in 2008, Gerfran is a unique player in the Aquitaine region of France. Headquartered in La Réole, the company specializes in the sale of wine bottles with an emphasis on Bordeaux bottles and serves wine producers of all sizes, from small vineyards to large estates. In addition to wine bottles, the company also sells bottles and jars for beer, spirits, fruit juices, and food.
With warehouses across the southwest of France, Gerfran has strong relationships with its customers, who benefit from the company’s value-added services and turnkey solutions.
Following completion of all pending transactions, Gerfran will be the 18th acquisition by Berlin Packaging in EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) since 2016 and the 8th acquisition in EMEA in 2021.
All employees and locations for this acquisition will be retained.
Fi Europe co-located with Hi Europe: 3 days live, 2 weeks online, 710 exhibitors and 115 content sessions
Three days of Fi Europe, co-located with Hi Europe in Frankfurt, proved that for many professionals, face-to-face trade shows are still the unrivalled networking format. Amidst challenging circumstances, participants from a wide range of countries attended the world’s leading food and beverage ingredients show to discover industry innovations and meet customers and partners. Those who were unable to attend in-person had the opportunity to connect, network and watch all content sessions online.
Thanks to the Informa AllSecure Health & Safety Standard, Fi and Hi Europe serves as a prototype for successful and safe in-person events at the Messe Frankfurt.
On the exhibitor side, 710 companies from all over the world were present. More than 10,600 products were showcased at the booths spread across three exhibition halls, and on the online platform. The fact that Fi and Hi Europe is the central hub of the ingredients industry worldwide, was demonstrated by the international spectrum of attendees on site: professionals from 106 countries attended the in-person event. In total, more than 13,000 attendees participated online and in-person.
Julien Bonvallet, Fi Europe Brand Director, says: “I am happy that despite the travel restrictions, we saw high quality visitors at the event. 73 per cent had budget responsibility, and more than 36 per cent were in top management (C-level). By the end of the second day, 67 % of the 2022 floorplan for Fi & Hi Europe in Paris was booked – confirmation of just how much companies trust and value the event.”
Highlights of the three-day trade show included the live presentation of the Fi Europe Innovation Awards and the Startup Innovation Challenge, the New Product Zone, in partnership with Innova Market Insights, and a broad programme of presentations and trend analyses streamed live. The show was supported by an online platform that will remain open until 31 December 2021, allowing visitors to network and learn more about the latest industry highlights.
“The future of events is definitely hybrid. Thanks to the online element of Fi Europe, we were able to reach even more leads this year,” says Natalie Meijers, Marketing Communications Manager at FrieslandCampina Ingredients. Monique Hartog, Brand & Marketing Manager at Bunge Loders Croklaan, adds: “A packed booth, many good talks and one shiny Innovation Award! It was a great show for us.” Bart Piscaer, Senior Account Manager, Avebe, commented: “I’m very happy that the show is taking place in person because it’s still very valuable to meet people face to face.”
At Fi Europe co-located with Hi Europe, the Informa AllSecure Health & Safety Standard again proved its value. Julien Bonvallet: “With 2G and our AllSecure Standard’s 10-point set of measures, we laid the groundwork for attendees to participate with confidence. During many conversations with customers and visitors on-site, I received confirmation that they felt safe and comfortable conducting face-to-face business.” Michael Biwer, Vice President Guest Events at Messe Frankfurt, adds: “Under the 2G rule, visitors were able to engage in a productive exchange about the latest topics in the food industry in a safe, controlled environment.”
Next year, Fi Europe, again co-located with Hi Europe, will be digitally smarter and offer even more on-site opportunities. The show will take place at Porte de Versailles in Paris, a new venue for the event that was chosen by the Fi Europe team as a result of feedback received by clients and partners. This location is both central and easily accessible, and also allows visitors the opportunity to enjoy the delights of Paris, and all it has to offer. The online version will start on 28 November 2022, while the in-person event will open its doors from 6 to 8 December 2022.
For the first time ever, European container glass manufacturers come together to build the first large scale hybrid electric furnace to run on 80 % green electricity.
The ‘Furnace of the Future’ is a fundamental milestone in the industry’s decarbonisation journey towards climate-neutral glass packaging. It will be the first large-scale hybrid oxy-fuel furnace to run on 80 % renewable electricity in the world. It will replace current fossil-fuel energy sources and cut CO2 emissions by 50 %.
For the very first time, the industry has adopted a collaborative approach where 20 glass container producers have mobilised resources to work on and fund a pilot project to prove the concept.
We are extremely proud to announce this joint-industry project”, comments Michel Giannuzzi, President of FEVE. “The hybrid technology is a step-change in the way we produce and will enable us to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of glass packaging production. The move marks an important milestone for the glass sector in implementing our decarbonisation strategy”.
Ardagh Group – the second largest glass packaging manufacturer in the world – has volunteered to build the furnace in Germany. It will be built in 2022, with an assessment of first results planned for 2023. The industry already works with electric furnaces in several of its 150 glass manufacturing plants across Europe, but they are small scale and exclusively used to produce flint (colourless) glass with virgin raw materials, therefore using very little or no recycled glass content. With this new technology, the industry will be able to produce more than 300 tonnes per day of any glass colour, using high levels of recycled glass.
“With this new technology we are embarking on the journey to climate-neutral glass packaging, and ensuring the long-term sustainability of manufacturing”, states Martin Petersson, CEO of Ardagh Group, Glass Europe. “We aim to demonstrate the viability of electric melting on a commercial scale, which would revolutionise the consumer glass packaging market”.
Bringing the ‘Furnace of the Future’ to life is an extremely ambitious project requiring significant financial and human resources and a wide range of expertise. For this reason, the industry has committed to work together. By adopting a sectoral approach, it also intends to gain the support of the European Commission through the ETS Finance for Innovation Fund Programme. Despite its key importance, this project is not the only one the industry is working on. Other pathways towards clean production technologies and climate-neutral glass packaging are already implemented and others are also being explored.
Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc., the agricultural cooperative owned by more than 700 farmer families, introduced Ocean Spray® Brew, a first-of-its kind hybrid drink made with real fruit juice and cold brew coffee. With its nearly 90-year old, iconic Ocean Spray® brand, the cooperative is relentlessly driving innovation to accelerate Ocean Spray’s evolution toward health and wellness. The launch of Brew builds on a pipeline of innovation coming from the cooperative, bolstering its mission of connecting farms to families for a better life by delivering a new beverage that is both nutritious and provides natural energy. Brew marks yet another expansion for Ocean Spray into a new category of coffee, and Ocean Spray will continue to drive future growth opportunities for the cooperative this year.
Ocean Spray® Brew will be available in two flavors, Cranberry Lemonade with Cold Brew Coffee and Cranberry Blueberry with Cold Brew Coffee. Brew features 100 % Colombian Coffee, with each 8 oz serving containing 40 milligrams of naturally sourced caffeine from green coffee beans, which is equal to a 1/2 cup of coffee. In addition, Brew contains antioxidant vitamin C, as well as vitamin B and real fruit juice, with no added sugar, no preservatives, and no artificial flavors or colors.
Ocean Spray® Brew will be on-shelf in the USA this month in Target, Stop & Shop, Shaw’s, Albertsons, Vons, and Safeway, and will continue to expand to more stores throughout the year.
