ISM and ProSweets Cologne – Special Edition are jointly opening their doors from April 23–25 to bring the international sweets and snacks industry together again. At present, around 1,200 exhibitors from 72 countries and all continents will be attending. 

With this year's key theme "Encourage. Enable. Excite!", ISM is addressing the challenges in the sections climate, raw materials, energy, supply chains, logistics, health, and digitalization as well as the related opportunities for the industry. "Thus, at ISM we can jointly search for efficient solutions and discuss new opportunities for a wide range of challenges. In addition, we offer the industry the ideal exchange platform to find out about current developments and trends," emphasized Sabine Schommer, director of ISM Cologne.

The new Lab5 by ISM will have a relaxing effect on the hustle and bustle of the trade fair: A location with a diversified design, where the visitors can let themselves be inspired by sweet surprises and delights amid a relaxed atmosphere and nice music.

Lab5 by ISM

The Lab5 by ISM is the industry's new "place-to-be": Located in Hall 5.2, it offers both a feel-good oasis and sufficient room for networking accompanied by relaxing music. The visitors can look forward to a mixture of selected sweets and delights as well as refreshing and hot beverages.

Expert Stage

The Expert Stage of ISM and ProSweets Cologne – Special Edition is the central point of contact for the latest developments in the sweets and snacks industry. Lectures and discussion panels take place here daily. Furthermore, ideas and solutions to combat the current challenges will be discussed on the Expert Stage. On Sunday, April 23, the attention is focused on new products like vegetable-based sweets or the consumers' expectations in sweets as a guideline for product innovations. ISM Monday, April 24, is dedicated to "new strategies": here, the main trends as well as the opportunities and challenges in the global and European snack industry will be presented. Among others, Marilyn Repp, deputy managing director of HDE, will show best-practice examples from the retail sector in her presentation "Metaverse and Web3."

Tuesday revolves around "new technologies" and, together with ProSweets Cologne - Special Edition, focuses on the topics of sustainability, supply chain transparency, safety, and energy supply. In addition, there will be daily "Guided Tours" by the DLG under the heading "Raw materials for the sensory wow effect." At the end of the fair, a happy hour awaits visitors from 6 p.m. as part of the supplier fair.

"The event programmed of ProSweets Cologne 2023 - Special Edition also benefits from the close integration with ISM in terms of space and content. Exhibitors as well as visitors will find here the optimal platform for promoting industry-oriented dialogue and professional exchange. Whether packaging, ingredients or innovations in production and technology, this year's edition offers trade visitors the full spectrum of topics relating to the supplier industry," explains Guido Hentschke, director, ProSweets Cologne.

In addition, daily trend presentations will be held by ISM Knowledge Partner Innova Market Insights as part of the Expert Stage. Euromonitor, a long-standing partner of ISM, will also present the impact of inflation on the confectionery and snacks market in Europe under the title "Inflation Surge and its Impact on Snacks."

Further detailed information on all lectures can be found at: Discover the ISM Events 

Start-up area

In the Start-up Area, companies that are less than five years old will exhibit their products and concepts under one roof at ISM. The entire Start-up Area is located in the Lab5 by ISM in Hall 5.2. The sponsor of the Start-up Area is go2market, a company with a unique REAL-LIFE market research tool for the consumer goods industry.

New: Specialized trade section "Finest Creations – hand-crafted"

For the second time, there is going to be a specialised trade section entitled "Finest Creations – hand-crafted" that focuses on the small volume business with sweets and snacks. This exhibition section unites craft businesses, whose visitor target group comprises of confectioners, cake shops and specialised sweet shops. The new exhibition section will also be located in Hall 5.2.

New Product Showcase

The New Product Showcase has established itself at ISM as an appealing attraction and as the key location for innovations. The trade visitors can examine the new products of 2023 in the many display windows of the special "New Product Showcase" exhibition in the Hall 5.2. In addition, the three most innovative products of ISM 2023 that were distinguished during the ISM Night will be presented here. The top innovations were selected by an independent jury of experts from the industry, trade and field of science.

Consumer Award 

For the first time, the ISM Consumer Award 2023 will be presented on the last day of the fair. The most popular product will be determined from all the products submitted for the New Product Showcase in a consumer vote in cooperation with Food News Germany (only German) on Instagram.

ISM Award

The ISM Award is being conferred for the ninth time this year. The award for outstanding services to the sweets and snacks industry will be presented at the gala evening on 23 April 2023. Luigi Zàini, CEO of the medium-sized Italian sweets company, Luigi Zàini S.p.A., received the award at ISM 2022.

Halal Market

Halal is a forward-looking trend in the German and European retail trade. This year, the international trade fair for confectionery and snacks is once again dedicated to this topic and offers an overview of the global halal confectionery and snack segment at a new position in the passage between Halls 10 and 11 in the Halal Market.

Koelnmesse – industry trade fairs for the food and beverage sector: Koelnmesse is an international leader in organizing trade fairs in the food and beverage segment. Events such as Anuga and ISM are established, world-leading trade fairs, hosted in Cologne/Germany. Anuga HORIZON in Cologne will mark the launch of an additional event format dedicated to food industry innovations. In addition to the events at its Cologne headquarters, Koelnmesse also stages numerous food trade fairs with different sector-specific areas of focus and content in further key markets across the world, including Brazil, China, India, Japan, Columbia, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates. These global activities enable Koelnmesse to offer its customers bespoke events and leading regional trade fairs in a variety of markets, thus creating the foundation for sustainable international business. Koelnmesse is also ideally positioned in the field of food technology with its leading international trade fairs Anuga FoodTec and ProSweets Cologne and its global network of satellite events.

Further information can be found here.