Countdown to drinktec 2013: Processing + Filling + Packaging + Marketing: Innovations and ideas for the beverage and liquid food industry

Countdown to drinktec 2013: The "World's Leading Trade Fair for the Beverage and Liquid Food Industry" takes place in Munich from September 16 to 20, 2013. Here, around 1,500 exhibitors from approximately 70 countries will be showcasing products and solutions across the entire spectrum of beverage and liquid food technology – packaging and marketing ideas included. Around 60 percent of the exhibiting companies come from outside Germany – few other events organized by Messe München are so international in character, in terms of both exhibitor and visitor numbers. Demand for exhibition space is correspondingly high. A good 90 percent of the available space is already booked. drinktec 2013 is expected to attract around 60,000 trade visitors from all over the globe.

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The right solution for every problem and every business

"Processing + Filling + Packaging + Marketing" – the new subtitle for drinktec says it all. More than just a technology showcase, this event covers everything of importance to the beverage and liquid food sector worldwide, says Exhibition Group Director, Petra Westphal: "It is just as much about raw materials as it is about filling processes, for example, and packaging and marketing also play an important part."

As well as its function as a technology and innovations platform, drinktec is also a gigantic ideas and information forum, a meeting place for exchanging views and for communication. It is this mix which attracts trade visitors from all areas of the companies to come to this big "family gathering" in Munich. Global beverages, food and retailing groups are represented here as well as smaller, regionally focused breweries, for example.

The exhibitors in the twelve exhibition halls have the right solution to every problem and for every size of company – whether it be an entire filling system, or a single product. On show on 132,000 m² of space will be systems, plant, equipment and products for manufacturing, filling, packaging and marketing – raw materials and logistics included.

• The biggest section of the exhibition is dedicated to product-specific processing technology for manufacturing or processing beverages, milk and liquid foods. This area alone takes up around 80,000 m² of space, and integrated into it is PETpoint, a hall devoted entirely to PET technology. An important, and ever-growing area within processing technology is filling and packaging technology.
• The theme of product-independent process technology, process automation and instrumentation and IT is presented in Halls A3, A4 and B2 on around 25,000 m² of space.
• Hall B1 and a part of Hall B2 are dedicated to the ever more important theme of raw materials, additives and agents. Included here are new sweetening concepts, colors and aromas, and ingredients for all kinds of new beverages. This section of the exhibition is of interest not only to the technology experts – marketing professionals and product developers can also pick up inspiration here, particularly as they get the chance here to sample the innovative new drinks.
• Halls A1 and A2 will also be of interest to trade visitors from the fields of marketing and communication. As well as innovative packaging solutions, including labels, also on show here will be catering equipment, including promotion tools of all kinds.

Main themes? Sustainability……

As in all other sectors of industry, sustainability is a mega theme in the beverages world, too. Innovative process technology, such as will be on show at drinktec 2013, aims at reducing consumption of energy and water, and thereby at increasing overall cost-efficiency. In packaging, too, the emphasis is on efficient use of resources, specifically in terms of reducing material thicknesses. Further overarching themes at drinktec 2013, reflected at the booths of almost all the exhibitors, are the flexibility of plant and equipment, hygienic design and quality control.

Focus on soft drinks

Few segments in the beverages sector have expanded so dynamically as soft drinks. These beverages are particularly subject to consumer trends. Each year there are a vast number of innovations and product introductions in this area. What this means for the technology is that it has to be able to adapt quickly to the changing requirements. In packaging in particular, flexibility is very much in demand.

At drinktec, too, technologies, packaging solutions and raw materials for soft drinks have been advancing for years. Around two-thirds of the exhibitors lining up for September 2013 will be showcasing specific technologies for the manufacture, filling and packaging of water, juices and soft drinks.

• An absolute must for both marketing experts and product developers in large and small companies is the “Special Area for New Beverage Concepts” in Hall B1, where new sweetening, coloring and flavoring strategies will be presented and explained by the various manufacturers.
• How does the future look, not only in terms of technology, but also in terms of marketing? This question will be answered at the drinktec forum in Hall A2. For example, there will be a series of lectures on audio branding. And in the InnovationFlowLounge technology will meet marketing for the first time.
• The popular Beverage Forum organized by the trade magazine Beverage World will be taking place at drinktec (on the Sunday before the show starts) for the first time outside the US, as a kind of special edition. This is where CEOs from the major beverage groups come to discuss the present and future of the beverage industry with the heads of the supplying companies. It promises to be an exciting event!
• The Beverage Innovations Awards – an accolade for manufacturers of particularly innovative beverages – will be presented at drinktec 2013 by the British publisher Foodbev Media.

Focus on beer

With or without alcohol, beer or soft drinks – the divisions are becoming less and less distinct – beverage mixtures are very popular around the world, and often manufacturers of soft drinks are also engaged in beer production, and vice versa. In addition beer consumption is expanding fast in the booming markets such as Asia and Africa. And in the saturated western markets, specialty breweries are attracting much attention. For the exhibitors at drinktec, therefore, beer manufacturers are of virtually the same importance as manufacturers of soft drinks. Around two-thirds of them will be offering solutions for breweries of all sizes, and here, too, drinktec 2013 is set to fulfill all their requirements. Showcased at drinktec will be the entire repertoire of cross-segment process technology for beer and malt.

• On the second day of the trade fair, visitors will be able to taste award-winning beers from “European Beer Star”, one of the world´s major beer competitions. And they will have the chance to vote for their "audience favorite".
• The world champion beer sommeliers will also be presenting beers for taste-testing at drinktec. The new world champion beer sommelier will be elected on the Sunday before the opening of the trade fair. This third beer sommelier world championship is being organized by the Doemens-Fachakademie.
• In the drinktec forum, the first day of the show will be devoted entirely to beer. A series of lectures will cover themes such as packaging, which should be of particular interest to the marketing professionals among the visitors.

Focus on liquid food

Technologies for liquid food, in particular for milk and milk-based products, have grown in significance over recent years at drinktec. The reason is that in this area, too, there is an ever more diverse mix within the markets themselves. More and more beverages are being produced that are a mix of milk and fruit juices or alcohol, and vice versa. The exhibitors at drinktec have reacted to these developments and now almost half of them are offering corresponding technology for milk processing. As compared to the last drinktec, this section at the show has expanded by around ten percent.

• The extensive offering of packaging and logistics solutions and packaging design is also drawing visitors from the non-beverage and liquid food segments to Munich.
• The major associations have recognized that drinktec is of increasing importance to the dairy industry. The Central Association of German Dairy Business Owners (ZDM) and the Association of European Dairy Industry Learning (AEDIL) are making use of drinktec 2013 as a platform for networking and exchange of ideas. The members will also hold their association conferences within the framework of drinktec.
• On the Friday at drinktec 2013, representatives from dairy businesses should make a point of dropping by at the drinktec forum, where there will be numerous lectures on the theme of milk and liquid food. Most importantly, all lectures at the drinktec Forum are included in the ticket price and will be simultaneously translated into English or German.

Technology meets marketing

One factor which also plays an important role in the success of a product is clever sales ideas, in other words, the right marketing. Brand managers are increasingly important as decision-makers, for in the end the aim is to sell the product. Taste, color, packaging, labeling – whether all these aspects amount to a product that sells well, depends on the process technology used, the raw materials and the ingredients. drinktec is therefore a must not only for technology experts, but also for marketing professionals. Because it showcases everything that is needed to turn a product into a brand: ingredients, packaging solutions, labeling ideas and not least promotion materials. At drinktec (where else?) professionals from the technical and marketing sides come together to exchange ideas.

• A tour of drinktec 2013 is a great opportunity for creative minds from the marketing departments of beverage and liquid food manufacturers to gather important inspiration. In the "World of Labels" section they can find out all about the latest trends and designs in packaging, labeling and advertising.
• The "Special Area New Beverage Concepts" (Hall B1) showcases ingredients for new beverage creations.
• New at drinktec: The InnovationFlowLounge, a kind of network and contacts forum for marketing professionals who want to take a look beyond their own area and engage in discussion with professionals from other fields. Exchanging ideas, gathering inspiration and new beverages – that´s what it´s all about in this lounge at the West Entrance. Each day there will be a different theme, covered in short presentations and talk sessions. But the InnovationFlowLounge is also a place simply to relax away from the stress of the show and try out new and innovative drinks at the bar.
• What does the future hold – not only in terms of technology, but also marketing? Answers to this will be supplied in the drinktec Forum in Hall A2. A lecture series looks at, for example, the theme of audio branding.

Further information: www.drinktec.com

Contact

Messe München GmbH

drinktec Press Office

Johannes Manger and Benjamin Büttner

Tel. (+49 89) 949-21482, Fax (+49 89) 949-9721484

Johannes.Manger@messe-muenchen.de , Benjamin.Buettner@messe-muenchen.de