ISM and ProSweets plans promise rich array of new confectionery and wider industry innovations
This weekend, the eyes of the confectionery world will very much be trained on Cologne, as ISM returns in a one-off April location as a combined edition with ProSweets to showcase the best the entire value chain of the industry has to offer.
Historically, it’s always attracted an especially diverse audience from around the globe, and with conditions significantly improved, this could well be the first real ‘bounce-back’ year after the notable challenges of the pandemic understandably impacted on the event.
As you’ll see from our key exclusive interview with director Sabine Schommer there’s a strong level of genuine optimism for this year’s event – delayed due to the impact of the energy crisis and key issues of inflation affecting Germany, as well as many regions around the world notably over the past year, though it seems conditions are now thankfully starting to ease a little at least.
While the ongoing war in Ukraine is undoubtedly still causing logistics issues for many in the confectionery sector, as well as the wider food and drink trade, many observers have been pleasantly surprised at the sense of resilience that these combined industries appear to have demonstrated in recent times.
So, this year’s ISM does indeed promise many new product development surprises in its combined layout, with an additional hall dedicated to emerging enterprises that should spark plenty of debate and interest from across the sector. The compact version of ProSweets, held within the boulevards of ISM may not be on the scale of ‘normal years’ with Interpack being around the corner, there have in fact been a growing number of businesses signing up to it, particularly on the ingredients side, which are well-suited to that table-top format rather than the major displays of machinery that we will be destined to take in at Dusseldorf just a week or two later.
There will be plenty to explore across both ISM and ProSweets this year, so if you have any pre-show news that’s not made it our way yet please do let me know at [email protected] and also for Interpack, which will all be weighing heavily in our thoughts in the immediate future. As if that wasn’t enough, or own plans for the World Confectionery Conference are progressing nicely, with the industry responding strongly in terms of exhibitors and speakers signing up to the event, which we are now hosting in Yorkshire, UK for this year’s edition.
Our special reduced ‘early bird’ rates for both attending and exhibiting at the World Confectionery Conference end on 30 April (you can register directly here at this link), so make sure you take advantage of those prices, to ensure you play a part in this year’s event, which will be the third edition of the show, and its second in a live format – which everyone we have spoken to believes is very much the way forward given that global conditions have improved considerably during the past year, paving the way for a dynamic range of events taking place in 2023. Here’s hoping you enjoy them all, including our own.
Neill Barston, editor, Confectionery Production magazine
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