Taste the Future at Anuga 2015

Once again this fall, Anuga, the world’s largest food fair for the retail and foodservice trade is set to kick off in Cologne, Germany from October 10 through 14, 2015. Anuga is billed as ten trade shows in one and it truly is, divided into Fine Food, Drinks, Meat, Dairy, Frozen Food, Chilled & Fresh Food, Bread, Bakery & Hot Beverages, Organic, Retail Tec, and Foodservice. Visitors can expect to see over 6,000 exhibitors from approximately 100 countries spread throughout the Koelnmesse complex that sits just across the beautiful Rhine River from the heart of Cologne.

Cologne is a lovely city to attend a trade fair. This historic, mid-sized city is home to one of Europe’s largest and most beautiful cathedrals (it’s walking distance across the bridge from the Koelnmesse), as well as world-class art museums, restaurants, and shopping destinations. It’s easy to get around the city, and the highly efficient train system makes it easy to get back and forth if you’re staying outside of Cologne. We’ve even stayed in Dusseldorf to the north and commuting to the show took about half an hour.

This year’s partner country is Greece.   With approximately 270 exhibitors, Greece is once again among the top ten largest foreign participants at Anuga. These companies will be presenting not only the traditional specialties that the country is renowned for, but also a variety of high-quality raw materials and partly processed products that are significant for the food industry worldwide. These include olive oil and olives, dairy products such as cheese, feta and yoghurt, drinks such as wine, spirits and water, honey and sandwich spreads, sweets and snacks, dried fruits, spices and herbs, frozen food and organic items. Among the companies exhibiting are Attiki Bee Culturing Co., Epirus S.A., EZA, Dodoni S.A, Fage Dairy Industrie S.A., Haitoglou Bros., Hellenic Breweries of Atalanti, Jannis S.A., Ioniki Sfoliata S.A., Ifantis S.A., Kallimanis S.A., Kreta Farms S.A., Makedoniki, Oscar Chocolates, Region of Crete, VAENI Naoussa and Yiotis S.A.

Anuga is an excellent opportunity to see the products and trends that will be coming our way in the near future. The last Anuga in 2013 boasted around 155,000 visitors from 187 countries making this an international event of epic proportions. The individual halls are devoted to their categories and well organized, allowing buyers to make the best use of their time and to focus on their area of buying responsibility. For example, Anuga Dairy is the most important international platform for milk and dairy products. Situated in Hall 10.1 it will host over 380 exhibitors including companies like Alpro, Andros, Arla, Bauer, Delizia, Emmi, Fage Dairy, Fayrefield Foods, Friesland Campina, Hochwald Foods and Zanetti. In addition, joint participations from Belgium, France, Greece, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Switzerland, Spain and Cyprus will have separate pavilions, and for the first time, groups from Argentina, Australia and Thailand will be exhibiting as well. Anuga Dairy offers the most comprehensive overview of the international dairy market worldwide.

One of the most broad reaching sections of the show is Anuga Fine Food, spread out across Halls 1, 2.1, 3.1, 4.1, 10.2, and all three floors of 11. This section includes most of the country and regional pavilions as well as a huge array of packaged gourmet foods that make up the core of our industry.  These products include pasta, olive oil, vinegar, preserves, tinned seafood, fermented foods, spices, dried grains & legumes, sauces, condiments, biscuits, crackers, cookies, confections, and much more. It’s a fantastic opportunity to see this international collection of products in one place and to see the latest innovations in packaging and products.

Anuga takes place every two years. The editors of the Gourmet Business group of magazines will be there scouring the aisles and talking to our many friends old and new who will be exhibiting there. If you aren’t able to attend this year, we’ll have a follow-up report later this year in both Gourmet Business and Fine Cheese & Charcuterie complete with new products, observations from the show, and perhaps some notes on all the great meals we’ll be enjoying in the evening in and around Cologne. We hope to see many of you there. Auf wiedersehen and gute reise (goodbye and good travels).