A positive prevailing mood reigned at the 44th ISM (International Confectionery Fair), which closed its doors on Wednesday, 29 January 2014 in Cologne after four days. Around 35,000 trade visitors from approx. 140 countries visited the exhibition halls, including top decision-makers from the national and international retail business. One of the first visitors at the 44th ISM in Cologne was Dr. Hans-Peter Friedrich, Federal Minister for Nutrition and Agriculture, who opened the fair and gained an impression about the spectrum of products and the performance of the industry that is dominated by medium-sized companies during a tour of the fair.
“The ISM has once again sustainably underlined its central role for the international confectionery and snack item industry. The ISM format is unique in this dimension,” is how Katharina C. Hamma, Chief Operating Officer of Koelnmesse GmbH, summed up the results: “It is not possible to find more contacts and more business in one location anywhere else in the world within the entire industry.” Bastian Fassin, Chairman of the International Confectionery Fair Taskforce (AISM), also drew a positive balance: “The high quality of the trade visitors is what makes the trade fair the decisive hub for the worldwide trade and thus sets important impulses for the domestic and export business.”
With an exhibitor participation of 1,476 suppliers from 68 countries, the 44th ISM offered an excellently represented and international line-up in all segments. Among them once again this year in the mixture that is so typical for the ISM, both market leaders as well as small or medium-sized suppliers, who competently represented the entire spectrum of the world market of confectionery and snack items.
Almost 84 percent of the suppliers came from abroad. The leading exhibitor nations were Italy, Belgium, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Great Britain and Switzerland with further key participations from Brazil, China, Poland, Turkey and the USA.
On the visitor front, the share of foreign visitors was as always high. Around
67 percent of the buyers came from abroad
The German trade was once again represented by all of the central decision-makers. Important trade associations and leading importers from all over the globe attended the ISM as well as buyers from the convenience and retail trade.
Trade visitors from the EU once again used the ISM intensively for their purchasing discussions. For example, the amount of visitors from the neighboring companies matched the expectations, whereby in particular a high number of French buyers were present at the fair. The amount of visitors from Italy, Greece and Spain also experienced a slight increase. Slightly more visitors were also recorded from the Middle East, among others from Saudi Arabia. The number of visitors from Eastern Europe, Russia, Northern and Southern America remained stable. As expected, the attendance figure from Asia declined slightly because of the Chines New Year celebrations.
“The ISM was characterized by industry contacts at top decision-making level from the very first day onwards. Innovations set the necessary impulses for the international business,” remarked one supplier. “For us it is important to discuss the new products with the distributors,” commented an entrepreneur, who likes many others, worked his way through a diary full of meetings. “No other show offers a more qualified clientele than here in Cologne.”
New products were the focal point of the intensive product and sales discussions. “Innovations offers the business dynamic momentum,” confirmed the spokesman of a company that successfully invests in the development of new products on a regular basis.
Hence, the “New Product Showcase” special exhibition proved to be centrestage for the presentation of new products and comprising over 100 display cases it was fully booked. Once again, journalists selected the top innovations. First place went to Intersnack Knabber-Gebäck GmbH & Co. KG for their new “Pop Corners”, followed by Belfine BVBA with the chocolate product “Finger Pup’pets” and the biscuit and waffle factory in Verden, Hans Freitag GmbH & Co. KG, who presented their new biscuits “Likies”.
For the first time ever the partner country of the ISM was a country from South America: Brazil. Together with the ABICAB – Brazilian Chocolate, Cocoa, Peanuts, Candies and Byproducts Industry Association – 27 exhibitors demonstrated the special qualities and characteristics of their high-performance confectionery and snack item production.
The “ISM Lifetime Achievement Award”, which pays tribute to exceptional services to the confectionery and snack item industry, was presented for the first time at the ISM 2014. An international jury nominated Herman Goelitz Rowland Sr., Chairman of the Board, Jelly Belly Candy Company, from the USA, as the first award-winner. “As the leading international trade fair of the confectionery industry, the ISM is in the exceptional position of being able to award a prize that is of unique international significance,” commented AISM Chairman, Bastian Fassin.
The ISM 2014 in figures:
1,476 suppliers from 68 countries, 84 percent of whom came from abroad, exhibited at the ISM 2014 on exhibition space covering 110,000 m². These included 222 exhibitors and 7 additionally represented companies from Germany as well as 1,243 exhibitors and 13 additionally represented companies from abroad. Approx. 35,000 trade visitors from around 140 countries attended the ISM 2014, the foreign share totaled 67 percent.
The next, 45th ISM is scheduled to take place from 1 to 4 February 2015.
