The Anuga Food Fair 2019

So we have 10 fairs with the following names: Fine Food, Frozen Food, Meat, Chilled and Fresh Food, Diary, Bread and Bakery, Drinks, Organic, Hot Beverages and Culinary Concepts. We start with exclusive delicacies and gourmet foods and go beyond meat products, innovative convenience products, dairy and dairy products, bread and bread products, soft drinks, high-quality organic products, tea, coffee and cocoa products to equipment, technology and Culinary from the food industry or the gastronomy.

100th Anniversary

Already in 1919, the first Anuga took place and then found its way from Stuttgart via Munich and Berlin to Cologne. "General Food and Beverage Exhibition" was the name of the trade fair back then, so this year the fair celebrated its 100th anniversary and I was looking forward to a pompous performance and many small events during the exhibition. Should not my anticipation be confirmed? Unfortunately I did not want to see (perhaps with flowers or other decorations) large areas and colorful, large stalls, but unfortunately I should not be able to see them everywhere take care of.

The leading trade fair for the food and beverage industry

The whole world travels to Cologne every two years to present themselves. More than 7,500 exhibitors booked their seats to present the best food from their countries. Also this year we had guests from distant countries in our apartments! Regulars from Brazil and Thailand arrived, as well as new guests from England.

My visit to the fair

Together with a friend I watched Anuga on 09.10.2019. We arrived at about 14.00 o'clock in the exhibition halls and I was surprised, although the peace prevailed there. Although the exhibitors had already warned me that the exhibition might not be that nice on the last day, I wanted to get an idea of it myself. Finally, the fair officially went until 6 pm!

No more mood in the halls

As already written above, I expected a pompous fair with a lot of decoration and maybe even an event character. After all, this is the Anuga! A huge and world-famous fair! But unfortunately I was a little disappointed. There were only a few exhibitors who have indulged in a great booth or adorned it so. Many stalls were unfortunately built "zero fifteen" and without decoration. A lot of plastic wrap on the shelf. In addition, I noticed that actually some stands were already no longer occupied. From about 15.00 clock accelerated this phenomenon is still exponential! More and more stalls suddenly appeared orphaned and were then "looted" rather quickly. Yes, many people have of course then packed the leftover food.

Often, the food is sold by the companies. Of course, not everything officially! Because officially this is forbidden and will be punished with a penalty. A penalty is also payable if the stands are vacated before 6 pm. This has been said several times with speakers. Unfortunately not really successful.

Our walk through the halls

Particularly impressive was the walk through the halls of the Diary and Meat products. So of course there were a lot of big, round types of hard cheeses to admire and also to taste in the Diary Hall! Stacked and beautifully draped. I liked this hall the best. Also, the hall with the meat products with a nicer decoration stand out: There were Vespa scooter and even a Fiat 500 at the stands, which were nicely decorated. In addition to nostalgic cutting machines and some knuckles, which hung in rank and file!

The future is green

Our diet and especially the awareness of a healthy diet is changing . Not for nothing Hippocrates said the following: "You are what you eat!" . More and more people are looking for a healthy diet and want to move away from fast food and towards healthy, green organic food. I could also see this at the trade fair, where numerous manufacturers and producers gave an outlook on the future. "The future is planning B" even Katjes says and thrilled with a huge stand made of wooden pallets and various organic or even vegan product concepts.

Healthy is trump

Especially the area "Free from" food (such as gluten free) is growing rapidly. As already mentioned, end consumers always want to eat healthier and therefore pay close attention to the origin and quality of the products. The areas gluten-free diet and organic or vegan have a strong, percentage growth. Gluten is unhealthy and certainly also genetically modified food. Strong growth also in the parts areas kosher products or halal foods. Also of course the area "Ready to eat", because people in our society unfortunately have less and less time for their lives.

The Super Foods

What are super foods? That sounds like bodybuilding or manipulated food? But far from it. It is the fruits of nature, which have a particularly high proportion of energy and vitamins. You read that right, think about the saying "An apple every day, keep the doctor away". And now just imagine, there are fruits or grains that have an even higher vitamin content than an apple. Does that sound incredible? But it is true!

Hanging in Costa Rica and Ukraine

During our tour through the halls, we then "stuck" in Costa Rica. From the exhibitors of various craft beers from Costa Rica, we have been invited to the counter and are expected to test all (!) Beers. The exhibitors were incredibly friendly and even offered small snacks for the beer. At the booth we met a gentleman who was active at the stand of the Monolith Group. He was responsible for the vodka from Ukraine. This was of course befitting served with fine caviar, fish and various canapés. Both the vodka (Hlibny Dar), as well as the food was delicious! The vodka tastes very soft and full-bodied and is therefore even good for drinking.

The entrance fees

The trade fair is visited as a trade visitor with a long-term ticket for around 80 euros and if you only need one day ticket, you can buy it for 40 euros.

The individual halls

This actually occupies all the halls of Koelnmesse during the event period. Halls one to eleven are mostly occupied at all levels. That means, once the lower and also the upper floor of the hall.

The opening times

Anuga is open for exhibitors from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm and for visitors from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm

My conclusion

I would have expected much more for Anuga's centenary! I missed the pompous decoration and the animation in the form of disguised people, entertainers in the national costumes of each country (keyword woman Antje from Holland in their wooden clogs) or beautiful hostesses. In addition, I found it a bit strange that the stalls were partially cleared before the end at 18.00 clock. I could taste a lot of cheese, drink lots of coffee and also beer and vodka, but I just missed the good mood.

Unfortunately, the fair seemed a bit listless and sleepy at the end. More than 170,000 visitors may have experienced more in the days before and I just had bad luck on the last day ?! Well, I found the Anuga very interesting anyway and think it is an ingenious thing for the networkers from the food industry. There, global business relationships are built around us to present to the end user lots of news and beautiful products from the food world.

You want to visit Anuga in 2021?

The Anuga takes place in the time from 9th to 13th October 2021 in Cologne Deutz. The exhibition halls are only 750 meters or 1000 meters away from our exhibition apartments. So if you are looking for accommodation, please do not hesitate to contact us! We look forward to your non-binding inquiry.