March 25, 2024

Cancelled: ISM & ProSweets Cologne 2021

New date 30th Jan to 2nd Feb 2022 – the planning for 2022 has already started

Two weeks ago, Koelnmesse, the top associations of the German sweets and snacks industry as well as important industry representatives were still confident that they would be able to stage both ISM and ProSweets Cologne 2021. However, the continuously growing number of infections and the related lockdowns as well as the travel restrictions in the international environment are now forcing Koelnmesse to call off the hybrid editions of ISM and ProSweets Cologne planned from 31st Jan to 3rd Feb 2021. Koelnmesse has taken this decision in close collaboration with the industry sponsors of both trade fairs. “We deeply regret this of course. We were well-aligned and we firmly believed that we would be able to enable the sweets and snacks industry a re-start with ISM and ProSweets Cologne 2021,” explained Gerald Böse, President and Chief Executive Officer of Koelnmesse. “However, due to the current uncertainties our exhibitors and visitors don’t see any dramatic improvement that would make a trade fair participation possible in January. We will nevertheless remain on the ball and will immediately set about organising ISM and ProSweets Cologne 2022 with new energy,” Böse added.  The planned digital format, Matchmaking365+, will also not be implemented, because a purely digital offer without a physical trade fair would not bring about the desired benefit for the exhibitors and visitors. In their role as important innovation platforms for the industry, the two trade fairs are instead planning a campaign for the presentation of significant industry developments, new products and trends from the sweets and snacks sectors.

“Trade fairs like ISM and ProSweets Cologne live from the variety of national and international industry experts, which is in turn what distinguishes the quality of the event. Due to the currently very dynamic infection situation and further cancellations on behalf of the exhibitors, we can no longer guarantee this quality and the recently announced steady number of registrations could no longer be held upright. We are naturally disappointed. However, it is now important to look ahead to the future positively with our customers. We in Cologne are still prepared to carry out our trade fairs with the highest safety and hygiene measures and are already looking forward to a new edition of ISM and ProSweets Cologne,” stressed Oliver Freser, Chief Operating Officer of Koelnmesse.

The International Sweets and Biscuits Fair Task Force (AISM) as the industry sponsor of ISM also deeply regrets this decision: “The sweets and snacks industry was optimistic that it would be able to really take off again with the aid of ISM 2021. As an international business platform, ISM has an essential significance for the industry regarding pushing the business forward. However, due to the ongoing high numbers of infections and further lockdowns in many European countries, this decision was unfortunately unavoidable,” explained Bastian Fassin, Chairman of the AISM.

Preparations for 2022
The planning for the events in 2022 has already started. Together with the industry sponsors, Koelnmesse will use the time to ensure that ISM and ProSweets continue to be well-aligned in terms of their concept. This includes the further development of digital formats, which offer a suitable enhancement to the physical trade fair. The next editions of ISM and ProSweets Cologne will be staged from 30th Jan to 2nd Feb 2022.

  • Source: Koelnmesse GmbH

Related articles

dsm-firmenich reports H1 2023 results

H1 2023 highlights According to Geraldine Matchett and Dimitri de Vreeze, Co-CEOs of dsm-Firmenich, “We are well advanced in the integration phase of the merger and excited by the positive response of customers to our enhanced business proposition, giving us even greater confidence in the delivery of our synergy targets. The performance of our Perfumery

Interket invests for the future in Germany

Interket continues to establish itself in the German market, where its strong local presence has provided extensive knowledge of the market conditions and industry standards. Following our latest investment for variable print, Interket confirms its continuous dedication to the German market by investing in additional printing capacity from Grafotronic.  This specific machine is a 550 mm