Koelnmesse GmbH, organiser of the leading global trade fairs in the food section, Anuga, and in the food technology section, Anuga FoodTec, has joined the German Association for Alternative Sources of Protein (BALPro).
With this step, Anuga and Anuga FoodTec have actively asserted themselves in promoting and further developing alternative protein sources and pushing the sustainable transformation of the food industry forward.
Through their membership in BALPro, Anuga and Anuga FoodTec have been increasing their support for companies that aim to shape the future of food with innovative concepts.
"Together with BALPro, as leading platforms, Anuga and Anuga FoodTec set new benchmarks for the future. We aim to promote solutions for a sustainable future and support the food industry's challenges,” said Jan Philipp Hartmann, Director Anuga.
“By bringing important players together and intensifying the exchange, we create formats that sustainably bring the section of alternative proteins forward and actively co-shape the transformation in the food industry.”
As the leading global trade fairs in the food industry, Anuga and Anuga FoodTec have become essential platforms for innovations and sustainable developments in the food and beverages and food technology sections. Alternative protein sources have been integral to this and have shown strong growth potential.
"The industry is still in its infancy and has to reach the next development stage: Products should become better, healthier, cheaper and more sustainable," said Matthias Schlüter, Director of Anuga FoodTec.
"To this end, new ingredients and production technologies like precision, biomass fermentation, and cell cultivation are needed. The progress shown at Anuga FoodTec offers major opportunities in the growing protein market - and the cooperation with BALPro sets further impulses here."
According to Innova Market Insights, plant-based proteins have dominated this market and have achieved a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of plus 11 percent over the past five years, particularly in categories like bakery products, ready-made meals, meat alternatives, and snacks.
With a CAGR of plus 75 percent, insect proteins also recorded high growth rates, whilst cultivated and microbial proteins showed a positive development at plus 16 percent.
Companies have presented pioneering innovations and sustainable products at Anuga and Anuga FoodTec, two trade fairs that have offered an ideal platform for future-looking solutions to support the transition to sustainable food.
The BALPro membership has underpinned the approach of these two trade fairs because it promoted the exchange between players from the fields of science, business, politics, and society, thus setting impulses for a future-oriented food industry.
"The BALPro membership opens up a wide-ranging network to Koelnmesse, enabling us to push sustainable innovations forward actively,” said Oliver Frese, COO of Koelnmesse.
“The cooperation strengthens the role of Koelnmesse as an influential trendsetter in an increasingly sustainability-oriented food industry. We consider it our task to support companies and important industry players in setting new, resource-saving standards across the entire value chain of the production and packaging of food and beverages.”
Fabio Ziemßen, BALPro Board Member, was also delighted to welcome Koelnmesse as a new association member. With its internationally renowned trade fairs, Anuga and Anuga FoodTec, the trade fair organisation offers interdisciplinary platforms for developing the industry.
“Our members not only assert themselves on these platforms, but they also use them to inspire partners and interested parties to find alternative sources of proteins,” said Ziemßen.
“Especially in the scope of the two new formats, Anuga Horizon and Anuga Alternatives, our new member demonstrates how important it is to have one's finger on the pulse of time and actively co-shape the future of the food landscape."
With Anuga's top theme for 2025, "Sustainable Growth", and Anuga FoodTec's top theme in 2024, "Responsibility", the two trade fairs have underlined the significance of sustainability and responsibility.
Anuga and ANUGA HORIZON will be staged in Cologne in October 2025 and Anuga FoodTec in February 2027.
