The 38th AIBI Congress brought the baking industry together this year for the moment’s most important topics, decision-making meetings and long-awaited reunions. The International Association of Plant Bakers organized this year’s event with the theme ‘21st Century Breeze over the Bakery’, and a picturesque location to match it: the city of Hamburg.
For three days, the Grand Elysee Hotel in Hamburg became the capital of the baking industry, hosting the event organized by the International Association of Plant Bakers (AIBI). The fixed points in the agenda included the association’s General Assembly, a full day and a half day of presentations, panels and information exchanges, and networking time, from May 22 to 24.
Down to business
As one of the last formal tasks of his two-year tenure at the helm of the association, Georg Heberer introduced the new AIBI president, elected at the General Assembly: Jean-Manuel Léveque returned to the leadership of the industry association, after his first mandate from 2015 to 2017. He is chairman and co-owner of Novepan, a company specializing in the premium bake-off industry with six factories in France. In his previous role within AIBI, he was a Vice President and also represents the French Federation of Industrial Bakers (FEB), as its Treasurer. The announcement was made in a festive environment, during the gala dinner organized at the Rickmer Rickmers, Hamburg’s landmark museum ship and restaurant. The new Vice Presidents were also announced – Guido Vanherpe (La Lorraine Bakery Group CEO) and Kari Meltovaara (Managing Director, Leipomo Rosten Oy). In his introductory speech, the new president outlined the organization’s biggest priorities for the following weeks and beyond, which include “sustainability and the reputation of our industry, which will be the most compelling argument that will enable us to attract new talents.”
As he later noted as he moderated the ‘International developments’ session, held on the last day of the Congress, the industry is, at the moment, navigating intense transformations, which include high-profile mergers and acquisitions, while also undergoing radical changes in response to sustainability priorities, raising the bar on digitalization, and the availability of raw materials and energy.
AIBI’s newest members were introduced to the Congress attendees, a sign of the organization’s ambition to grow its ranks and reflect not just a resilient industry, but a thriving one: associations from Slovakia (Slovenský zväz pekárov, cukrarov a cestovinárov SR – SZPAC) Poland (Polish Bakers Association – Stowarzyszenie Producentów Pieczywa – SPP) and Ukraine (Ukrainian Bakers Association – UBA).
Class is in session
The suite of insights and panel discussions at the AIBI Congress is traditionally highly anticipated. This year, the moment’s hot topics ranged from sustainability and regulatory updates to labor force issues and advances in AI.
Ample spotlight space was given to sustainability and energy, in a session moderated by a traditional partner of AIBI events – Cyrille Filott, Global Strategist, Consumer Foods, at Rabobank (and sponsored by Puratos). The brainstorming endeavor set out to find how to move the sustainability agenda forward as the industry is facing tensions related to raw materials and energy, while aiming to meet rising consumer expectations at the same time.
Perspectives on energy management were analyzed, with topics focusing on EU Sustainability Agreements, the wheat carbon footprint, and navigating a greener future.
It’s not all bleak news, as Pierre Tossut, Puratos CEO, underlined in his address: “Bread is already very low in the rank of carbon footprint per kg of product, among foodstuffs.” It accounts for 1.6 kg, while 1 kg of fruit equates to 0.4 kg CO2 emissions, as expected for a natural product. For further reference, coffee accounts for 28.5 kg and beef is at the top with the highest carbon footprint, with a staggering 99.5 kg, according to the data he provided. Moreover, “85-95% of a bakery’s emissions are not coming from the factory, but upstream,” added Fillot.
EU sustainability agreements were analyzed during this session, as they shape all strategies formed in Europe. Article 210a is of particular relevance in this regard, on agriculture sustainability, with guidelines published in December 2023. “Cooperation between different levels of the supply chain is key to the industry’s resilience,” the EU Commission representative concluded.
The session’s panel discussion welcomed to the stage Guido Vanherpe – CEO, La Lorraine Bakery Group, Pierre Tossut, Michael Gutting – Managing Director, Bindewald and Gutting Group, Maria Paz de la Cuesta de loz Mozos – Policy Officer, EU Commission, and Els Bedert – Product Policy and Sustainability Director, EuroCommerce.
In its own dedicated session, workforce and digitalization issues were disseminated, with highlights including AI and automation. Established principles were combined with practical experience knowledge, in the session moderated by Kari Meltovaara. Digitalization goes a long way not just to make processing more efficient, but also to make the sector more attractive to a new generation of people who would want to build a career in it. The conversation in
this field is very much open. “We need to explore all the digital benefits at our disposal, because we don’t make use of all opportunities at the moment, currently,” observed Raymond Nogael, the newly-appointed President of MECATHERM, the company that sponsored the session.
Industry leaders who joined this session’s panel discussion included Frank Kleiner – CEO, Harry Brot, Sebastian Gooding – CEO, Ditsch/ Valora Group Management, and Peter van den Berg – CEO, Pandriks Group. The session on international developments, moderated by Jean-Manuel Léveque and sponsored by Lesaffre, included interesting insights from Irene Mínguez Pablos – Global R&D Director, Grupo Bimbo (representing the Latin American perspective), Léveque (EU’s point of view), and Eric Dell – President and CEO, American Bakers Association. Remote interventions also came from Taipei, South Africa and Australia. It reflected AIBI’s objective to establish closer connections with new bakery organizations and even more manufacturers.
A hands-on experience
For the first time, a market tour was also organized, a new, hands-on opportunity to catch – and taste – a glimpse of Hamburg’s bustling baking scene and the city itself. Pierre Nierhaus served as the guide of the tour, a trend expert for the hospitality industry who regularly observes and travels to the most inspiring metropolises worldwide. Several different kinds of businesses were selected to be a part of the tour, for a hands-on experience of different trend interpretations.
As customary, the next edition of the AIBI Congress will be held in two years, in its President’s home country – France. The time and place: to be announced.
Read the full article in Baking+Biscuit International, issue 3 – 2024.
