Exclusive: Andreas Bertram of ZDS set for welcome World Confectionery Conference return

Celebrations for Germany’s ZDS central college of confectionery’s 75th anniversary are set to continue, with the organisation’s Andreas Bertram making a welcome return as a speaker at the 2026 World Confectionery Conference, reports Neill Barston.

The engaging industry expert, who served for an extensive period as managing director for the key confectionery school, has now transitioned to a role as a senior consultant, and is keenly awaiting the chance to place industry education in the spotlight once again at our event in London on 10 September, at the well-established America Square conference centre.

This year’s keynotes include exclusive presentations from Cargill, Ferrero, Caobisco, and our insights partner, Euromonitor International, plus a full supporting programme representing the finished product, equipment, ingredients and wider supply chain of our combined confectionery and snacking industries.

Registration for this year’s event is now fully open, and early bird rates are available until the end of April, so don’t miss the chance to take advantage of these lower rates, so book via our dedicate event website.

Andreas, who now has several decades of experience working within the confectionery sector behind him, remains especially passionate about the industry and its place in the wider food sector. 

Fore more than seven decades, ZDS has played a pivotal role in supporting the next generation of confectionery industry engineering and technical talents, and has strongly contributed towards the region’s continuing strength within the global industry.

The company also recently played its part at ISM in Cologne, offering details on practical seminars and training courses, delivering targeted further training in areas such as chocolate, sugar confectionery, ice cream, and fine baked goods.

In addition, ZDS will also be making a notable appearance at this year’s interpack event in Dusseldorf next month, as it continues to engage with companies around the world in driving innovative training programmes.

Editor Neill Barston commented: “As a long-standing supporter of our World Confectionery Conference, ZDS, which is part of our editorial advisory board, continues to play a significant role in helping shape the future of the sweet and snacks industry with its key training and support programmes.

“It is a great pleasure to welcome Andreas Bertram to speak again after he presented two years ago, with the need for greater levels of training across the whole confectionery sector more urgent than ever, We are very glad to learn he will be exploring this topic in further detail at this year’s conference, which is shaping-up to be a notably strong event.

“This year’s return to London will mark a notable new chapter in our event’s development, so please do register your support for the event at an timely moment to make the most of our early bird rates this month.”

• More details on the event, including registration and placing award entries can be done via our dedicated website, confectioneryconference.com