From a food and ingredients standpoint, the iba Munich Bakery Show was disappointing. It comprised 12 halls of which only 2 were devoted to food. The other 10 halls were mainly given over to equipment with a bit of packaging thrown in.
Only one hall (A4) was devoted only to food. The other food stands were interspersed around halls dominated by equipment. In other words, you had to look to find them. It would have been easier for food visitors if the food exhibitors were concentrated in a specific area.
The show is chiefly German. Similar to Sudback in Stuttgart, most of the large German bakery and bakery supply companies have substantive stands at the show, including Bako, Balkadrin, Ireks and Komplet.
iba was billed as being larger and more international than the smaller Sudback show in Stuttgart and it is roughly 50% larger than Sudback. It does have a little of an international flavour but still feels like a predominantly German show. There was a US Pavilion but it was 95% equipment.
There weren't many ingredient stands at the show. As we learned when exhibiting at Sudback, most German bakery companies prefer to work through distributors, such as August Topfer, rather than work directly with food processors.
This was not a strong show for dried fruit and nut suppliers.
If you'd like to chat about the show in more detail, please drop Ted Horton a line here.