together with
13 - 16 February 2024 // Nürnberg, Germany
BIOFACH Newsroom
BIOFACH 2018: world-leading trade fair to present current trends and projects on the “next generation of the organic industry”
Interview
Preparations for BIOFACH 2018 are in full swing. What highlights can exhibitors and visitors already start looking forward to, five months before the trade fair?
BIOFACH is the first major event of the year for the organic industry and is next being held from 14 to 17 February 2018. Every year, the entire industry comes together for the World’s Leading Trade Fair for Organic Food in Nuremberg. This includes representatives from every part of the value chain from cultivation to production, further processing and trade, and also political and media representatives.
Among the many highlights at the 2018 event will be the BIOFACH Novelty Stand and the "Young Innovative Companies" pavilion, which is being sponsored by German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. Both will be real treasure chests for anyone looking for trends, discoveries and “food rarities”. Other areas that are always popular too, however, are our different Worlds of Experience on specific product segments such as the ever-current trend topic VEGANISM. And of course, the world’s largest international organic congress and the focal theme for BIOFACH 2018, “Next Generation”, mustn’t be forgotten.
BIOFACH 2018 – what does the focal theme involve?
We will be covering “Next Generation” in cooperation with our international patron, IFOAM – Organics International, and our national supporting organisation, the German Federation of the Organic Food Industry (BÖLW). From 14 to 17 February 2018, the industry will, among other things, then be discussing which ideas the “next generation of the organic industry” should use to further develop the organic idea in production and on the market, and how the generational transition can be shaped successfully. The topics here will range from the political agenda of the new generation to passing on the baton and successors at companies to trends among start-ups and in civil society. Another thing that will be discussed is what conclusions the young generation will draw from promises made by past programmes and from strategy implementation of the past with regard to their plans and communication in the future.
The activities and projects carried out in the Generation Future special area, including the organic job market, Careers Centre and Organic Food Industry Research Awards surely fit in with this topic as well, don’t they?
Yes, we are pleased that, for many years now, this special area has been able to offer a glimpse into the future, build bridges to the next generation in the industry and also provide the next generation with a forum on which they can exchange ideas to develop new perspectives and sound out options for themselves.
Places such as the Initiative and NGO meeting place are also points of reference for the Next Generation topic too, however. Non-governmental organizations and industry initiatives that make an indispensable contribution to the general welfare of our society will be needed in the “next generation of the organic industry” as well, if the future is to be shaped successfully. Without their commitment on so many fronts, our community would not be able to function. The Initiative and NGO meeting place in hall 9 gives this commitment a face and projects related to politics, agriculture, “doing business differently”, genetic engineering, animal welfare, fairness, using local suppliers, and consumer and climate protection will be presented in this area.