Koelnmesse GmbH, organiser of the leading global trade fairs in the food section, Anuga, and in the food technology section, Anuga FoodTec, has joined the German Association for Alternative Sources of Protein (BALPro). With this step Anuga and Anuga FoodTec are actively asserting themselves for the promotion and further development of alternative sources of protein and are pushing the sustainable transformation of the food industry forward. Through their membership in BALPro, Anuga and Anuga FoodTec are increasing their support for companies and players, who aim to shape the future of food with innovative concepts.
Impulses for the food transformation
As the leading global trade fairs in the food industry, Anuga and Anuga FoodTec are important platforms for innovations and sustainable developments in the food and beverages section as well as in the food technology section. Alternative sources of protein are an integral part of this and show strong growth potential: According to Anuga's knowledge partner, Innova Market Insights, plant-based proteins dominate this market and have achieved an annual growth rate (CAGR) of plus eleven percent over the past five years, particularly in categories like bakery products, ready-made meals, meat alternatives and snacks. With a CAGR of plus 75 percent insect proteins are also recording high growth rates, whilst cultivated and microbial proteins are also showing a positive development at plus 16 percent.
Promotion of sustainable innovations and products through BALPro membership
Companies present pioneering innovations and sustainable products at Anuga, at Anuga FoodTec the focus lies on the latest technologies for the processing, packaging and storage of food and beverages. As such, both trade fairs offer an ideal platform for future-looking solutions that will support the transition over to sustainable food. The BALPro membership additionally underpins the approach of these two trade fairs, because it promotes the exchange between players from the fields of science, business and politics and the society and thus sets impulses for a future-oriented food industry.
"The BALPro membership opens up a wide-ranging network to Koelnmesse, which enables us to actively push sustainable innovations forward. The cooperation strengthens the role of Koelnmesse as an influential trendsetter in an increasingly sustainability-oriented food industry. We consider it to be our task to support companies and important industry players in setting new, resource-saving standards across the entire value chain of the production and packaging of food and beverages," Oliver Frese, COO of Koelnmesse, emphasised.
"Together with BALPro, as leading platforms, Anuga and Anuga FoodTec set new benchmarks for the future. Our goal is to promote solutions for a sustainable future and support the food industry with its challenges. By bringing important players together and intensifying the exchange, we create formats that sustainably bring the section of alternative proteins forward and actively co-shape the transformation in the food industry," said Jan Philipp Hartmann, Director Anuga.
"The industry is still in its infancy and has to reach the next development stage: Products should become better, healthier, cheaper and more sustainable," said Matthias Schlüter, Director Anuga FoodTec. "To this end, new ingredients and production technologies like precision and biomass fermentation as well as cell cultivation are needed. The progress shown at Anuga FoodTec offers major opportunities in the growing protein market - and the cooperation with BALPro sets further impulses here."
Fabio Ziemßen, BALPro Board Member, commented: "We are delighted to welcome Koelnmesse as a new member of the association. With its internationally renowned trade fairs, Anuga and Anuga FoodTec, the trade fair organisation offers the interdisciplinary platforms for the development of the industry. Our members not only assert themselves on these platforms, they also use them to inspire partners and interested parties for alternative sources of proteins. Especially in the scope of the two new formats, Anuga Horizon and Anuga Alternatives, our new member demonstrates how important it is to have one's finger on the pulse of time and actively co-shape the future of the food landscape."
Commitment of Anuga and Anuga FoodTec for alternative proteins
With Anuga's top theme for 2025 "Sustainable Growth" and Anuga FoodTec's top theme in 2024 "Responsibility", the two trade fairs are underlining the significance of sustainability and responsibility, are pushing growth-oriented innovations forward and promoting ecological and ethical standards in the food industry.
In future these main themes will be further developed:
Anuga Alternatives trade show: From 2025, Anuga will be offering a separate trade show for alternative proteins like algae, cell-cultivated meat, insects as well as hemp and pea proteins. Accompanying networking events promote the exchange between companies and the fields of science and politics and inspire new cooperations.
Extensive event and congress programme: With panels and discussions about sustainable productions, new technologies and trends, the event programme at Anuga will be enhanced by innovative formats and platforms like Anuga HORIZON, which promotes the exchange of knowledge in this area. Anuga FoodTec is also already planning new formats on alternative proteins for the coming trade fair in the year 2027. Concrete event highlights on the topic will follow.
ANUGA HORIZON: New places for new ideas - the ultra-modern Conflex that opened in 2024 will be the venue for the international future forum Anuga HORIZON next year. Visionaries, enablers and investors from all sections of the future food community meet up at the event to develop new business models that both mankind and the planet benefit from.
Regular market surveys and webinars: Anuga and Anuga FoodTec publish surveys, market analyses, blog and magazine articles as well as webinars together with knowledge partners like the German Agricultural Society (DLG e.V.), Innova Market Insights and the dfv media group, which among others highlight current developments and challenges of the food industry - including also themes to do with alternative proteins.
Anuga and ANUGA HORIZON are being staged in Cologne from 04.-08.10.2025 and Anuga FoodTec from 23-26.02.2027.
Koelnmesse – industry trade fairs for the food and beverage sector: Koelnmesse is an international leader in organising trade fairs in the food and beverage segment. Events such as Anuga and ISM are established, world-leading trade fairs, hosted in Cologne/Germany. In addition to the events at its Cologne headquarters, Koelnmesse also stages numerous food trade fairs with different sector-specific areas of focus and content in further key markets across the world, including Brazil, China, India, Japan, Columbia, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates. These global activities enable Koelnmesse to offer its customers bespoke events and leading regional trade fairs in a variety of markets, thus creating the foundation for sustainable international business. Koelnmesse is also ideally positioned in the field of food technology with its leading international trade fairs Anuga FoodTec and ProSweets Cologne and its global network of satellite events.
Further information: https://www.anuga.com/trade-fair/anuga/industry-sectors
The next events:
ISM - The world's largest trade fair for sweets and snacks, Cologne 02.02. - 05.02.2025
THAIFEX – HOREC Asia - Elevating the hospitality industry to new heights, Bangkok 05.03. - 07.03.2025
Anuga Select Brazil - International Trade Show Exclusively for the Food and Beverage Sector, São Paulo 08.04. - 10.04.2025
