We are just one summer away from the most anticipated bakery event of the hemisphere. With planning in full swing, Susann Seidemann, Exhibition Director, iba, shares the organizer’s insights into preparations, logistics, guides and tips ahead of the October 22-26 show.
Baking+Biscuit International (BBI): At the start of an ‘iba summer’, what preparations are now underway? Please highlight the organization’s current work in the lead-up to the fair.
Susann Seidemann: Preparations for iba started about two years before the start of the fair. Over 95% of the space has already been booked and most exhibitors have already registered. However, potential exhibitors can still sign up before the fair starts, although, we recommend registering by August at the latest, due to the organizational time involved. During the summer, we are focusing on exhibitor support and any questions they have about their presence at iba, visitor communication and the highlights for visitors. The main issues are the framework program, lectures, speakers and also the Oktoberfest tent. We are also dealing with organizational details for the competitions and special areas such as the iba.START UP AREA and the iba.SPEAKERS AREA.
BBI: Several new features were announced for this year’s show – who should mark which in their agenda? What industry segment do they each cater to?
Seidemann: It is important to us that we do not highlight any segments separately. Our focus topics – food trends, artisan bakery, health and sustainability as well as digitalization, turnkey solutions and quality management – are considered across all areas. In this way, we want to encourage people to learn from each other and to think outside the box. These focus topics are the issues that are currently influencing the industry. A new feature is the iba.START UP AREA supported by Puratos, for example. Anyone who wants to discover new trends should make a note of this. The space is intended for national and international start-ups. It has presentations across all sectors. The focus topics will be addressed in these speeches.
One important new feature is that the site plan and the halls have been reorganized for 2023. There are four sections: production technology and equipment, raw materials and ingredients, artisan bakeries and packaging technology. Our aim is to provide a clear overview. Visitors will find the orientation easier, and exhibitors will reach their target group more precisely. Artisan bakery plays an even more central role at iba this year, which is why it will have its own hall. It will be one of the focus topics. The Zentralverband des Deutschen Bäckerhandwerks e.V. (German Bakers‘ Confederation) is also organizing special tours that will highlight artisan bakeries. And the iba.ACADEMY is focusing on this, too: at the iba.ACADEMY, you can learn how to make traditional German Stollen Nuggets and pretzels and at the end you will get a certificate! The seminars will be held in English. There are two courses per day, in the morning and in the afternoon.
BBI: What changes have been made in the organization of the fair in response to the pandemic?
Seidemann: We are very pleased that we will be able to hold the fair again without restrictions and in the tried and tested format. We are being agile and flexible in organizing iba. We are addressing the needs of the market and putting the spotlight on topics such as sustainability and energy prices. We are displaying the current market and helping to find solutions.
In times of virtual iba offers, we have learned when supplementary digital offers and opportunities make sense as an addition to the live event. For example, the new iba.UNIVERSE brings together supply and demand for visitors and exhibitors on the iba website in the best possible way and thus enables a targeted visit. Digital searches make it easier for iba fans to plan their visit as exhibitors can show their products and content here. Visitors can filter by topic, such as food trends, and get relevant information displayed – from presentations to exhibitors’ products which interest them. In addition, the most frequently searched-for content appears at the top and at a glance.
Recently, and for the first time at iba 2023, interested parties will receive e-mails tailored to their needs with suggestions about iba – the keyword here is marketing automation, something we have invested in to create an even better experience for our community. We think of exhibitors to the same extent, because through the virtual iba we have learned how important lead tracking is: ‘Who are my contacts? Who came to see me?’ iba lead tracking simplifies the process of approaching and acquiring customers at the fair. Lead tracking is important on-site and on iba.UNIVERSE.
Susann Seidemann, iba director
New iba, new layout
BBI: Please explain the thematic layout of the halls this year.
Seidemann: The division of the 10 halls into these four sections is new: production technology and equipment, raw materials and ingredients, artisan bakeries and packaging technology. The structure is reorganized because, in the past, the halls were mixed. Now, the range of iba and its exhibitors is bundled according to the key areas of interest to visitors: this way, visitors have a better orientation and exhibitors can better reach their target group. Another new feature is the separate hall for artisan bakery.
BBI: Iba is currently 95% booked. What is the area assigned for iba 2023? Please compare it with the previous edition.
Seidemann: At the moment, 870 exhibitors are registered, of which 74% are international and 26% are national. Overall, we are expecting about 900 exhibitors. Due to full trade fair calendars and the size of iba, 10 halls will be available at the desired location in Munich and at the chosen time in October 2023, instead of the 12 halls of previous years. We worked together with our customers to make the best use of the slightly smaller space and we are all happy with the outcome: the quality and the offer remain the same. More than 95% of the space is already booked, the industry has a great appetite for iba and even the latecomers don’t have to be waitlisted yet!
BBI: How should visitors plan their trip to Munich and to iba, what recommendations can you share with us?
Seidemann: We recommend planning your arrival and booking a hotel well in advance. You should allow plenty of time to explore iba – and for evening events and networking. In keeping with the fair, there will also be the opportunity for journeys of discovery into the universe of German bakeries! Tours of bakeries in Munich and the surrounding regions are organized by the Landesinnungsverband für das bayerische Bäckerhandwerk (Bavarian Bakers’ Guild). Another idea is sightseeing in Munich and, of course, having breakfast at one of the local bakeries. A visit to the Oktoberfest tent at iba is a great recommendation: simply join the party and network in a dirndl or lederhosen!
Special areas and events
BBI: In addition to the solutions exhibited, iba also provides a platform for knowledge sharing. What agenda highlights and interesting discussions should be noted? Are there registration requirements, or the opportunity to view them online/on request?
Seidemann: iba 2023 has special thematic areas and many highlights! For example, there is the iba.SPEAKERS AREA, a knowledge and networking area with presentations and discussion rounds. Another new feature is the iba.START UP AREA for innovation and experience, organized with a strong partner, Puratos. This has space for national and international start-ups, pitches, networking and content design with a strong partner. A highlight is the iba.ACADEMY, where participants learn how to make original German Stollen Nuggets and pretzels. Registration is required for this at www.iba-tradefair.com/en/messe/highlights/iba-academy.
Another highlight is certainly the iba.UIBC CUP, a showcase of internationally renowned, top-level bakers. Awards ceremonies are held at iba.FORUM – such as the ‘Bundes-
ehrenpreis des Deutschen Bäckerhandwerks 2023’ (National Award of Honour of the German Baking Trade) in cooperation with the German Bread Institute. Other competitions also include the ‘Baker of the Year’, the ‘Golden Walnut Award’, the ‘iba.UIBC.CUP of Bakers 2023’ and the ‘iba.UIBC CUP of Confectioners 2023’ as well as the ‘German Championships of Master Bakers’. The iba.BAKERY TOURS, tours of bakeries in Munich and the surrounding regions, are certainly a must. Registration is required for this at www.iba-tradefair.com/en/messe/highlights/iba-academy.
BBI: How does the organization maintain and build new connections, between two trade show editions – among bakeries and with potential exhibitors? How has this been maintained over recent years, with the event being postponed?
Seidemann: To network the industry internationally, we held iba.Connecting Experts, a digital networking platform, twice in 2021. Here, we presented new innovations and gave lectures. The networking platform has also kept us in touch with the industry.
In addition, we maintained contact with the baking industry in person over the past year and a half. For example, we took part in events such as the Association of the Baking Industry (VDB), Association of German Plant Bakers, BEMA and ABA and Baker of the Year and Marktkieker. There were also lots of trips abroad, association meetings and the TIA Conference (Tortilla Industry Association). In addition, we visited exhibitors – we were present at FEDIMA and the UIBC Young Bakers Cup as well as at the UIBC Congress. This is how we keep in close contact. It means we are very tightly bound to the market and know what is important to the industry! There is a lot of interest from the market to finally experience iba live again.
BBI: How does the communication channel within the iba community stay open – online and offline? And what are some of today’s topics in this ‘newsfeed’?
Seidemann: iba.UNIVERSE (www.iba-tradefair.com/en/exhibitors) supports interaction within the iba community – here, visitors and interested parties can obtain information in advance and prepare their visit to the trade fair even better before and after! We also use the iba channels via LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram. We take the community with us and show what is influencing the baking industry, such as trends, or report from ‘iba on tour’. Offline, we are in direct exchange with the market, with visitors and exhibitors as well as the media at numerous industry events. We show an interest in what is happening on the market. As a cooperation partner, we are on-site at the ‘Baker of the Year’ event and IBIE, for example. In the newsfeed, we highlight the focus topics like food trends or innovations such as the iba.START UP AREA. This is about trends in the industry and topics such as sustainability, artisan bakery, or iba highlights.
”We will be asking the most important questions. How does each country deal with individual situations? What are the new trends and innovations or further developments? What do others do for the next generation and how do they deal with energy resources? But iba will also address social, individual change – from traditions to snacks and the out-of-house market. Shared cultural traditions are shifting, for example, due to the changing global economy and new jobs.”
Susann Seidemann, Exhibition Director iba
BBI: How were the upcoming dates selected, after 2023? And what does the one-off Dusseldorf location entail, for the organization as well as for all attendees?
Seidemann: As the world’s leading trade fair for the baking and confectionery industry, iba unites the sector at regular intervals. Due to the pandemic, iba was moved to autumn 2023; the gap until the next regular iba date in 2027 would have been too long for the baking industry. Together with the Zentralverband des Deutschen Bäckerhandwerks e.V. (German Bakers‘ Confederation) and in close consultation with the market, we as the organizer, therefore, decided to bring iba back on a shorter cycle, to spring 2025. iba thus remains the international industry meeting place, trendsetter and platform for innovations and exchange. Düsseldorf has already proven itself as a location in the past: with Düsseldorf, we have a location where we have already successfully organized iba over many years and which the industry is familiar with. We would like to build on this success in 2025 and are looking forward to opening the event year of the baking industry as a world fair from May 18 to 22. Düsseldorf is also a major city with an airport and good connections. iba then returns back to Munich, to its original cycle and timing, in the autumn of 2027.
