ISM set to welcome record numbers for its 50th birthday party in Cologne

ISM is set to celebrate its 50th anniversary in style when it opens in Cologne, Germany, this Sunday, February 2, with a record number of exhibitors and an unprecedented focus on new products and the future of sweets and snacks.

Organisers says they are expecting a “high level of internationality​”, with the expected foreign share of visitors to be more than 70%. On the exhibitor side, the fair is setting a new record this year with approximately 88% from overseas. The focus this year is on new products and the future of sweets and snacks, cementing ISM’s reputation as a forward-looking trendsetter for the industry.

ProSweets Cologne

Furthermore, ProSweets Cologne - the international supplier fair for the sweets and snacks industry, which is staged parallel to ISM - boasts 260 exhibiting companies covering a wide-ranging spectrum of services and products from the areas of raw materials and other ingredients, sweets packaging and packaging technologies, machines and facilities for the sweets industry, food safety and quality management.

Together, both trade fairs cover the entire value chain in the production of sweets and snacks, a unique worldwide constellation under one roof at the vast Koelnmesse exhibition on the north bank of The Rhine.

Strong national and international participation

Traditionally, both market leaders as well as medium-sized and smaller companies participate at ISM. Organisers say host country Germany is strongly represented with an overall participation of 221 exhibitors (previous year 211). 

The largest contingents from outside Germany come from Italy, Belgium, Spain, Great Britain, Poland, France and the Netherlands. Turkey, China and Greece are also represented with a broad range of offerings. New exhibitors include brands from Algeria, Kenya and Madagascar.

Snacking

Snacking is one of the current ‘mega trends’ and ISM’s Trend Snacks and Natural Snacks in Hall 5.2 will be providing a detailed overview of the product world of snacks. There will also be a pavilion dedicated to Bean2Bar chocolate within the Natural Snacks section.

Trend Court@ISM

The Trend Court@ISM in Hall 5.2. is dedicated to new trends within the sweets industry, and the Expert Stage will cover top trends in the industry, discussed every day from Sunday to Wednesday.

Also, this year, the Start-up Area within the Trend Court@ISM offers 21 companies that have been founded within the last five years a good opportunity to present their innovative products and concepts at ISM.

New Product Showcase

The New Product Showcase will include 130 display windows containing the current new products of the exhibitors of ISM and ProSweets Cologne – with the four winners of the ‘Innovation Award’ of yummex Middle East in Dubai presented once again.

ISM Award

On Sunday, the ‘ISM Award’ will be conferred during a festive dinner. It acknowledges and rewards outstanding service in the sweets and snacks industry. This year, the ISM Award goes to Patrick Poirrier, CEO of the French sweet manufacturers, Cémoi.

• Check out the complete event programme​.​