Message from the Management - What's next?

Anuga FoodTec will open its doors in just over three months. There are currently many queries about the current infection situation and the situation in Germany, which we are pleased to answer in our usual transparent manner.

As of today, a new Corona Protection Ordinance is in force for the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which includes Cologne. While football matches or public fairs (so-called major events) were already severely restricted at the end of December, trade fairs such as Anuga FoodTec may continue to take place. Also due to their extensive hygiene and safety concept, their staging is considered safe from an infection point of view. As pure B2B events with strict trade visitor control, they are limited to orderly business exchanges according to our proven safety rules. On this basis, we will also organise the International Sweets and Biscuits Fair ISM and the co-located supplier fair ProSweets Cologne at the end of January / beginning of February in consultation with the sectors.

The number of registrations for Anuga FoodTec continues to be very pleasing, so that we currently expect around 1.000 exhibitors to present their solutions at the fair in April. It is particularly remarkable that the internationality of the fair continues to increase. We are currently receiving very positive feedback from our major sales partners, who report that the overwhelming number of our exhibitors are very much looking forward to Anuga FoodTec. We will cover a total of eight halls with a combined area of 140,000m², which is the equivalent of about 20 football pitches. We are thus providing enough space to offer all exhibitors and visitors a safe trade fair experience.

Even after the new legal situation, vaccinated and recovered people can still participate in all trade fairs. With a test, they can also go to restaurants or hotels; boostered persons are exempt from the testing obligation. Unvaccinated persons, on the other hand, have to restrict themselves considerably, but are still allowed to go to trade fairs and also stay overnight in hotels for professional reasons if they have been tested regularly.

What does this mean for Anuga FoodTec? The vast majority of our trade fair participants are vaccinated, recovered or even boosted. By the time Anuga FoodTec opens, this proportion will have increased worldwide, and the tightened protective measures will make the trade fair experience even safer. Therefore, we expect little impact on Anuga FoodTec.

Vaccination rates continue to rise worldwide, currently over 50% of the world's population is fully vaccinated against Covid19, 60% have received at least one vaccination. Currently, over 30 million doses are vaccinated per day. If the current global vaccination pace is maintained, around 3 billion more people worldwide would be vaccinated or boosted by Anuga FoodTec.

Source: Our world in Data

Anyone who can prove in advance via the portal www.einreiseanmeldung.de that he or she has been vaccinated or has recovered can enter Germany without restriction. Trade fair visitors and exhibitors who enter from a high-risk area and have not been vaccinated with a vaccine recognised in Germany do not have to go into quarantine if they stay in Germany for a maximum of five days.

In the food sector, several trade fairs have taken place worldwide since September, including the Anuga in Cologne in October. We welcomed around 70,000 visitors from 169 countries to this fair. The experience of the autumn fairs shows that those who come to trade fairs have a concrete current need, but that often smaller teams come. In relation to the number of exhibitors, however, the number of visitors tended to increase, and the quality was also consistently perceived as very high.

We know from many conversations with our visitors that they are looking forward to the personal exchange with you in April 2022! So that you can also exchange ideas with customers who will not be coming to Cologne, for example, due to extensive quarantine regulations, we have developed the Anuga FoodTec @home digital platform. Here you can present your innovations digitally, chat with customers via video or network with new business partners. And best of all, you can see which customers visited your digital stand and what they viewed. You can find details at www.anugafoodtec.com/foodtechome .

We know from many of our exhibitors that they urgently need new business contacts and would like to make them at Anuga FoodTec. Therefore, as long as a safe and successful trade fair is possible, we will stick to holding Anuga FoodTec 2022 in April.

Together with you, we look forward to a successful Anuga FoodTec 2022!

The entire Anuga FoodTec team will be happy to provide you with further information and answer any questions you may have.

Kind regards from Cologne

Director Matthias Schlüter

Vice President Anne Schumacher