The trade fair for the global food industry runs Oct. 8-12 in Cologne, Germany. See suppliers and top decision makers in the retail, trade and foodservice/catering markets.

Anuga is a global food and beverage tradeshow held every two years in Cologne, Germany. It is produced by Koelnmesse, which puts on shows around the world. Anuga consists of 10 specialized segments, which match exhibitors with their right target audience. The segments are: bread, bakery and hot beverages; chilled and fresh foods; dairy; drinks; fine food; foodservice; frozen food; meat; organic; and RetailTec.

Dairy foods can be found in many of the halls, but of course, those involved with the dairy industry make the Anuga Dairy segment their No. 1 destination. In 2009, this hall was home to 350 exhibitors from 35 countries and had nearly 50,000 visitors walk through it. About 85% of the visitors claimed to have a decisive role in purchasing decisions at their companies or share responsibility for such decisions.

The international dairy industry uses the dairy segment to demonstrate its capabilities and innovations. Global dairy leaders exhibiting this year include Alpro (Belgium), Bauer (Germany), Conaprole (Uruguay), Ehrmann (Germany), Emmi (Switzerland), FrieslandCampina (The Netherlands), Goldsteig (Germany), Hochwald (Germany), Hoogwegt (The Netherlands), Humana Nordmilch (Germany), Milchunion Hocheifel (Germany), Milkpol (Czech Republic), Saputo (Canada), Uhrenholt (Denmark), Valio (Finland) and Zott (Germany). These companies present a comprehensive range of milk and dairy products and offer domestic and foreign buyers from the trade and foodservice markets a platform for gathering information and placing orders.

Global demand for milk and dairy products is helping boost exports and opening up new target and sales markets for many manufacturers, including U.S. companies. In fact, according to the U.S. Dairy Export Council, Arlington, Va., U.S. dairy suppliers shipped 304 billion pounds of total milk solids overseas in 2010, accounting for nearly 13% of all the solids produced in the United States during the year. The United States also exported 3.7% of its overall cheese production in 2010, 7.9% of its butterfat, 55% of its dry whey and 68% of its lactose. Ice cream exports grew 25% from 2009 to 2010, with Southeast Asia driving this growth.

Anuga Dairy, along with the United States Department of Agriculture-endorsed U.S. Pavilions at Anuga, which offer U.S. food and beverage marketers cost-effective visibility in the global food market, can help grow exports. Specifically, the U.S. pavilions are a prime destination for buyers and distributors from other countries seeking out high-quality and safe American-made products. The pavilions are offered in five halls: Drinks, Fine Food, Frozen Food, Meat and Organic. Dairy products can be found in all pavilions excluding meat. In 2009, about 150 exhibitors participated in the U.S. pavilions. According to the USDA, these companies generated an estimated $7.8 million in on-site sales and more than $158 million in 12-month projected sales.

“Anuga is a serious order-writing show. Our U.S. Pavilion program makes it easy for buyers to find American-made products,” says Mette Petersen, president and managing director, Koelnmesse Inc., Chicago. “Over 80% of the U.S. companies in the U.S. pavilions receive assistance via Market Access Program (MAP) funding from the Foreign Agricultural Service, an excellent way to provide U.S. companies with great visibility at a very affordable price. Imagine, more than 150,000 trade attendees from 180 countries all waiting to meet with you in one location.”



Expo highlights

For 2011, Anuga organizers have identified nine trend topics that will be highlighted throughout the 10 segments. They are: finger food, gourmet products and regional specialties, halal food, health and functional food, industrial ingredients, kosher products, organic products, private label and vegetarian products.

Italy is Anuga’s partner country this year and about 1,000 Italian companies will attend and be involved with a special pavilion named Italian Quality. A new segment, named Anuga Foodservice, will include live cooking demonstrations. A special exhibit called “taste” returns. It features the most innovative new products, as chosen by a prestigious jury. For more information on attending or exhibiting, visit www.anuga.com.