Fi Europe organisers confirm successful results of 2024 edition
Winners from the awards at this year's Fi Europe event in Frankfurt, were across nine categories. Pic: Informa
Organisers of this year’s Fi Europe have hailed the event a success, with an elevated number of visitors, strong innovation releases and an expanded awards ceremony were among the highlights of the 2024 edition, reports Neill Barston.
According to Informa Markets, there were a total of 23,221 attendees from 130 countries across its four days in Frankfurt, Germany, with the event now set to return to its alternating location in France, at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles from 2-4 December 2025.
As the organising team noted, the food industry relies on Fi Europe as a forum for sourcing new ingredients, keeping abreast of industry trends and developments and making connections. The 2024 edition did not disappoint with its bustling show floor, informative content programme and abundance of networking opportunities. The event app was further developed this year to enhance the in-person experience, allowing attendees to scan one another’s badges and manage all contacts and leads in one place, so that they can easily contact them after the show.
Fi Europe’s carefully curated in-person content programme is always a major draw and this year was no exception. The Future of Nutrition Summit kicked off the proceedings the day before Fi Europe opened its doors, with a full agenda designed to inspire and inform whilst facilitating networking and discussion. Speakers from NASA, Nuritas, NotCo, PepsiCo and Unilever shared powerful and thought-provoking insights into the issues, trends and technologies expected to shape the F&B industry in the coming years.
From Tuesday, the vibrant show floor became the focal point of the event, bringing over 1500 suppliers of ingredients and related technologies and services together with potential buyers. Thousands of ingredients were showcased at the event, reaffirming Fi Europe as the premier platform for sourcing food and beverage ingredients. For the first time, visitors were given the option of buying an early access pass. Uptake was high, and when the exhibition opened at 9am on Tuesday morning, early pass holders had exclusive access to explore the show floor.
Occupying four halls, the venue was zoned, allowing visitors to focus their efforts. Over 80 companies populated the Food Technologies & Solutions zone, which had been expanded for 2024. They were kept busy by a constant stream of visitors keen to learn about solutions for making their operations and supply chain activities safe, sustainable, efficient and resilient.
Yannick Verry, Brand Director, Food ingredients Europe, at Informa Markets, commented: “We recognise that it is crucial for Fi Europe not to remain static, but to evolve and change with the times, to ensure it continues to be relevant and to represent value for money for participants. For 2024 we made some changes and trialled several new features, whilst staying true to our promise of providing a platform for companies to trade, innovate and grow. We are delighted to report that the show embodied all the ingredients of a successful event, and we are already looking at how we can make the 2025 edition in Paris even better.”
Awards recognition
A notable element of this year’s Fi Europe, were its awards across nine categories, including businesses within the confectionery, snacks and bakery segments being recognised for their contribution to the overall industry’s development.
The accolades celebrated F&B innovation in all of its guises and the people, teams and organisations behind the advancements. They are judged by a panel of esteemed industry professionals presided over by Prof. Colin Dennis, chair of the board of trustees at IFIS and the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF). This year, winners were selected in nine categories, following the introduction of four new awards to keep pace with the evolution of the industry.
The number of entries was up by 63% on last year, indicative of a heightened focus on innovation in the industry, especially in the new categories of dairy alternatives, food manufacturing, future foodtech and pet food. 29 finalists, ranging from startups to multinational ingredient manufacturers, were shortlisted. On judging day, 18 November, each finalist was invited to present to the panel and the judges assessed each nomination behind closed doors to reach a decision.
Commenting on his experience of this year’s judging process, Prof. Colin Dennis said: “The judges were very impressed by the quantity and quality of the entries across all nine categories of the awards. The entries highlighted how innovation is contributing to the transformation of our food systems. Selecting the shortlist of finalists was more challenging than usual and reflected the current pace of innovation.”
The 2024 winners and ‘highly commended’ entrants were as follows:
• Health Innovation Award: ADM (winner) for its ES1 Bifidobacterium longum CECT 7347 postbiotic, which the judges praised for demonstrating clear health benefits for consumers in multiple food applications; Novonesis (highly commended) for its mood-support probiotic MindAbleTM 1714TM’.
• Sustainability Innovation Award: AAK (winner) for its entry ‘Empowering women in shea’, which demonstrated depth and scale of impact across the three sustainability pillars of environmental, societal and economic; Dossche Mills (highly commended) for its submission ‘Third party verified Terah Standard makes the difference in journey towards 50% carbon reduction in flour’.
Food Manufacturing Award (NEW): GEA Process Engineering (winner) for its next generation RAY Plus batch freeze dryers, which open up new opportunities for products and markets due to reduced operating costs and increased efficiencies.
• Future Foodtech Innovation Award (NEW): Cargill (winner) for its Indulgence Redefined – Confectionery alternative to chocolate, a collaboration with Voyage Foods. The jury described this as a revolutionary toolkit for generating confectionery alternatives from multiple feed stocks, including waste streams.
• Dairy Alternative Innovation Award (NEW): Bunge (winner) for Beleaf Plantery – a sustainable, versatile and unique fat-based system to replace dairy fat; Avebe (highly commended) for PerfectaSOL D600 – a ground-breaking texturiser for plant-based yogurt.
• Sensory Innovation Award: Novonesis (winner) for Novamyl BestBite – an enzyme system that delivers enhanced sensory quality to baked goods throughout their shelf life. • Diversity & Inclusion Award: Agronutris (winner) for building a diverse, equitable and inclusive company through transparent shared governance.
Now in its ninth edition, the Startup Challenge awards programme champions and nurtures new talent, providing a unique platform for young companies to gain exposure to a global audience, attract investment and connect with potential partners.
The final round of judging took place on 18 November when finalists presented their innovative ingredients and disruptive foodtech to a panel of expert judges. On 19 November, they were given the opportunity to pitch again – this time in front of the Fi Europe audience live on the show floor at the Innovation Hub. The winners were subsequently announced at a ceremony that took place within the hub.
The 2024 winners were as follows:
Most Innovative Food & Beverage Ingredient: Perfat Technologies
Most Innovative Plant-Based or Alternative Ingredient: Fabumin
Most Innovative Service or Digital Solution Supporting the F&B industry: Natural Trace
Most Innovative Foodtech Solution: Yeastime
Most Innovative Sustainable Solution (Jury’s Choice award): Akoua
