International, inspiring and above all personal – that was the 36th edition of Anuga which was staged from 09.-13.10.2021 in Cologne. With over 70,000 visitors from 169 countries and more than 4,600 exhibitors from 98 nations, the leading global trade fair for food and beverages once again demonstrated that trade fairs of these dimensions are possible again. “We are delighted with this result. It underlines the global significance of Anuga and the trust that is placed in us as a trade fair organisation. Furthermore, it also shows that Germany as a trade fair location continues to hold a leading and attractive position in terms of the global competition,” explained Gerald Böse, President and Chief Executive Officer of Koelnmesse. “Also the hybrid approach worked very well and proved very popular. In the scope of Anuga @home, we were able to offer above all those people, who were not able to travel to the trade fair, a good opportunity to inform themselves about specialised themes and engage in intensive networking,” Böse added.

Anuga also set a benchmark in terms of its level of internationality in these post- Corona times: 97 percent of the exhibitors came from abroad. At 76 percent, the degree of internationality of the visitors remained at a constant level (2019: 75 percent). “People from 169 nations – that is a strong signal and shows at the same time how much the international food industry needs trade fairs to do business again. Our exhibitors, who reported about outstanding customer dialogues and the high quality of the trade visitors, also recognised this fact. The discussions with the buyers also confirmed how highly they estimate the time for intense, personal dialogues with their customers. Anuga 2021 simply made the international world of food personal again. And this euphoria and spirit of optimism was noticeable all over the trade fair,” emphasised Oliver Frese, Chief Operating Officer of Koelnmesse GmbH.

Top buyers on board

Above all the quality and preparation of the buyers as well as the serious interest in generating business again convinced the exhibitors. Countless buyers with high decision-making competence from the trade and food service, including the relevant top buyers of important chain stores attended the trade fair in Cologne. An initial evaluation of the visitor survey shows that over 70 percent of the respondents use Anuga to groom existing and build up new business relationships.

Hybrid in future

As a hybrid event, Anuga also offered a digital platform for the exhibitors, visitors and media representatives: Anuga @home. In addition to intensive networking, above all the digitally streamed event and congress programme comprising of a variety of lectures, discussions and presentations by renowned trade experts and companies of the food industry met with great interest. In total, 353 formats with more than 6,380 broadcasting minutes were streamed over the three days of the trade fair. Particularly the live streams of the two conferences, the Newtrition X and the New Food Conference, were very popular. The presentations and the networking offers of Anuga @home will also be available on-demand after the trade fair.

Anuga in figures:
4,643 companies from 98 countries took part in Anuga 2021 on exhibition space covering 244,400 m². These included 400 exhibitors from Germany and 4,243 exhibitors from abroad. The share of foreign exhibitors was 92 percent. More than 70,000 trade visitors from 169 countries attended Anuga 2021, the foreign share was 76 percent.

The next Anuga will take place from 07.-11.10.2023.

The pandemic and associated travel and event restrictions have also had an impact on Anuga FoodTec, which was originally scheduled for March 2021. After extensive discussions with industry participants and the German Agricultural Society (DLG), the professional and conceptual sponsor of the trade fair, Koelnmesse sees no alternative but to postpone Anuga FoodTec. The next Anuga FoodTec will take place from 26 to 29 April 2022.

“We sincerely regret that we have to postpone Anuga FoodTec until 2022 despite good preparation and encouragement from the industry. In the past few weeks, however, it has become apparent that there is growing skepticism and concern among all involved. As a result, many companies have pulled out in view of the infection situation and current uncertainty. However, Anuga FoodTec cannot take place without the important key factors of internationality and cross-industry participation. With this in mind, we have responded to the industry’s wish to postpone the trade fair with the new date,” says Oliver Frese, Chief Operating Officer of Koelnmesse. “The new event date is the best possible solution, taking into consideration the international trade fair calendar, and the available time and space capacities. This allows us to provide the industry with a vision and planning security”.

In 2022, the trade fair will take place as a hybrid event, combining both an inperson and digital platform. The addition of a digital platform to the physical component creates the foundation for as many people as possible from Germany and abroad to have access to the latest technologies and processes in the food and beverage industry and for promoting sustainable networking within the industry.

“Like the companies, we will use the time to fully prepare ourselves for the upcoming trade fair and boost the industry’s restart further with digital tools and additional reach. Koelnmesse will of course continue to count on the presence of international exhibitors and visitors in April 2022,” continued Frese. “Trade fairs offer the opportunity for products and the people behind them to be experienced through personal interaction and exchange. This is the ideal basis for successful business.”

“As the professional and conceptual sponsor of Anuga FoodTec, we very much regret that the leading international supplier fair for the food and beverage industry will not be able to take place in March 2021 as planned. As a platform for professionalexchange across industry boundaries, Anuga FoodTec is a central partner for the entire food sector, focusing on current topics and providing important impetus with the presentation of forward-looking technologies and innovations. We are therefore even more pleased that in spring 2022 Anuga FoodTec will once again be the meeting place for the international food technology and supplier industry under the guiding theme ‘Smart Solutions – Higher Flexibility'”, says Simone Schiller, Managing Director of the DLG Food Technology Center.

Koelnmesse is the organiser of Anuga FoodTec. DLG is the professional and conceptual sponsor of Anuga FoodTec.