Anuga: 10 specialized trade shows under one roof

Cologne / DE. (km) In 2011 Anuga will significantly strengthen its commitment to food service. The fair will thus in the future place even greater emphasis on the food service and catering market, which has been growing in importance for years. The proven Anuga concept «10 specialized trade shows under one roof» will continue, however the former specialized trade show Anuga CateringTec is now being restructured into the Anuga FoodService trade show. This means that in addition to technology and services for the food service segments, food and beverage suppliers will also be included. In addition, Anuga FoodService will be clearly positioned by means of special shows, an experts´ meeting place and concise, informative presentations. And Anuga FoodService gains a special appeal because the world´s largest, most important food fair is sponsoring the innovative Chef of the Year competition for professional chefs.

With roughly 6’500 suppliers from about 100 countries, Anuga 2009 presented a comprehensive, international spectrum of products for the trade and the food service and catering market. Almost half of the exhibiting companies indicated that they offer products for the food service and catering market. This means that Anuga remains not only clearly oriented to the food trade, but also the world´s leading trade fair for food service and catering.

«This is the starting point for our concept expansion», says Peter Grothues, Vice President Food, Technology + Environment at Koelnmesse, about the creation of the new specialized trade show. «The former Anuga CateringTec has now become Anuga FoodService. The specialized trade show for the technical needs of the catering sector and related services is to be complemented by the presence of food and beverage suppliers. The aim here is to provide an ordering and information platform that is custom-tailored to the needs of the buyers from the catering sector».

Michael Gerling, Chief Executive of the Federal Association of the German Retail Grocery Trade (BVL), welcomes «Anuga 2011´s intensified concentration on product ranges for food service, the hotel trade and the entire food service and catering market. This will enable the world´s leading fair for the food industry to further strengthen its international market position and make the event even more attractive for visitors from these market segments». The BVL is the founder organization and conceptual sponsor of Anuga. «The boundaries between the food trade and catering sector can no longer be so clearly defined today», says Gerling. «The expansion of Anuga to include the FoodService segment is a consistent implementation of market developments at the world´s biggest food fair in Cologne. By offering a considerably expanded range of convenience products, the food trade has reacted to the shrinking time budget that the German consumer can devote to preparing meals.

In the last ten years the range of fresh convenience products available in German supermarkets has increased fourfold. Hot food counters with fresh offerings for immediate consumption are a standard feature in every modern supermarket, and the «little bistro» also clearly belongs in every larger retail food establishment. It is not only the product range of the supermarkets that is changing here; products that belong to the classic equipment in the catering sector also are increasingly being used in the supermarkets. Anyone who cooks and heats up their own food must also have the needed equipment, and it definitely makes sense for the food trade that they are able to find these products at Anuga.

Dr. Sabine Eichner Lisboa, Managing Director of the Federal Association of the German Food Industry (BVE), also believes the development of Anuga FoodService is the right step: «After the retail food trade, the food service and catering market is the second most important sales channel for the food industry in Germany». Dr. Eichner Lisboa added: «Anuga and Anuga FoodService are presenting the product range of the food industry, which offers above all the chefs in institutional / communal catering and catering sector important help for creating a varied but also affordable range of dishes. In addition to (top class) catering, which is in the spotlight, above all the market segments of fast food restaurants and canteens at schools, companies and social institutions are the most important suppliers for the customers´ everyday concerns and thus the decisive markets for the food industry. The food industry´s convenience products have become indispensable in professional kitchens in the catering sector today. They ensure good variety, consistently high quality and attractive prices for the customer».

Supporting programme

The new Anuga FoodService is even more important due to the integration of catering-specific special shows, which previously were placed in other food trade shows. These shows include the «Catering Marketplace» – which is organized by the German Hotel and Restaurant Association (Dehoga), Berlin, and Dehoga Gastgewerbe NRW and specially oriented to the German catering scene – and «Creative Kitchen» and «Visions of Cooking». And the new Anuga FoodService is complemented by a presentation programme featuring renowned experts.

Chef of the Year

And Anuga FoodService is even more attractive because Anuga is sponsoring the innovative Chef of the Year competition for professional chefs, which is entirely new for Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

The contestants in the «Chef of the Year» competition are exclusively experts and professionals – who will strive for the honours under the critical eyes of top chefs whose names and career achievements stand for quality, innovation and impressive performance. And the companies that are sponsoring the competition also uphold these standards with their products and services. The competition´s organizer is the Spanish publishing house Grupo Caterdata, which has been successfully presenting the «Cocinero del Año» competition in Spain since 2004. Dieter Müller has agreed to serve as the chairman of the German jury, which also features well-known figures such as Bernhard Diers, Thomas Bühner, Martin Öxle, Thomas Kammeier, Marco Müller, Martina Kömpel, Jorg Sackmann, Fred Nowack, Stefan Steinheuer, Heinz Beck, Claudia Schröter, Jean Claude Bourgueil and Martin Berasategui.

The participants destined for the finale – which will take place at Anuga in Cologne – will be determined in four regional preliminary rounds. In terms of expertise and media coverage, Anuga offers the ideal setting and conditions for the event.

Potential

Approximately 34’000 food sector businesses are located within a 300 kilometres radius of Cologne. With the new specialized trade show Anuga FoodService, Anuga is addressing in a targeted manner not only this potential but also the top buyers from internationally operating food service and catering companies, for which Anuga is the most important sourcing platform thanks to its incomparable range of food and beverage products.

Peter Grothues summarizes: «Our message is: Next year´s Anuga will be the most important destination for buyers in the food service sector. And for the exhibitors this is a great opportunity – in all ten of the Anuga specialized trade shows».