ISM 2015 expanding focus to snacking and to-go sectors

April 17, 2014, Cologne, Germany – The 45^th
International Sweets and Biscuits Fair, to be held Feb. 1-4, 2015, is expanding
its traditional focus on confectionary and snack items. New themes include
products from the snacking and to-go sectors – in other words, all those areas
that are directly placed next to confectionery, fine bakery products and snack
items in sales outlets.

April 17, 2014, Cologne, Germany – The 45^th
International Sweets and Biscuits Fair, to be held Feb. 1-4, 2015, is expanding
its traditional focus on confectionary and snack items. New themes include
products from the snacking and to-go sectors – in other words, all those areas
that are directly placed next to confectionery, fine bakery products and snack
items in sales outlets.  

In this way, the ISM is meeting the
current information and order needs of a multitude of buyers, who bundle the
buying of different neighbouring segments. These are based on the changed
eating habits of the consumers, for whom in-between meals or to-go snacks play
an increasingly important role. The ISM aims to reflect this trend.

The central focus of the ISM remains cocoa, chocolate, chocolate products, fine
bakery products, snack foods, sugar confectionery, ice cream and pastes. The
ISM 2015 is adding products that fall under the generic term ready-to-serve
savoury snacks, fruit and vegetable snacks, breakfast and frozen sweets to its
range of exhibits. 

This means that fruit bars, vegetable
crisps or snacks, for example, which contain fish or meat, can now be exhibited
at the ISM as long as they are packed in ready-to-serve packaging. Energy or
fitness bars, coffee and tea as well as chilled or frozen confectionery will
also belong to the ISM's portfolio in future.

The core segments of the ISM at a
glance:

• 
  Cocoa, chocolate, chocolate products
• 
  Sugar confectionery
• 
  Fine bakery products
• 
  Snack foods
• 
  Ice-cream and pastes

The newly introduced segments of the ISM at a glance:

• 
  Fruit and vegetable snacks, smoothies
• 
  Fish and meat snacks in ready-to-serve packaging
• 
  Energy and fitness snacks
• 
  Breakfast snacks, including coffee and tea
• 
  Confectionery at all temperatures, also chilled and deep-frozen

To make exhibitors’ ranges of products more transparent for buyers, organizers
will add trend themes to the exhibitor database. This will assist the visitors
in searching for particular offers across the segments and in planning their
schedules.

Trend themes:

• 
  Halal
• 
  Kosher
• 
  Bio
• 
  Fair trade products
• 
  Sugar-free
• 
  Allergy-friendly
• 
  Functional
• 
  Artisan production
• 
  Private labels
• 
  Limited editions
• 
  Impulse packages

Around 1,400 suppliers from 70 countries and approximately 35,000 industry
buyers from 140 countries are expected to attend the ISM. With an 84 per cent
share of foreign exhibitors and a 66 per cent share of foreign visitors, the
ISM is one of the most international trade fair events in the world.  

The ProSweets Cologne, the international trade fair for the supply industry of
the confectionery business, comprising more than 300 suppliers, will be staged
parallel to the ISM again in 2015.

The ISM is organized by Koelnmesse. Members
of the International Confectionery Fair Taskforce, the AISM, are the conceptual
sponsors of the event.

For more information, visit www.ism-cologne.com   and www.prosweets.de .