“In recent months we’ve been working hard on the BIOFACH/VIVANESS 2021 eSPECIAL, and are looking forward to these three days when all the participants will get to know our business platform and use it to interact, make new contacts, do business, and learn about the latest sector developments and trends,” comments Petra Wolf, Member of the Management Board of NürnbergMesse. “The organic food and natural and organic personal care community can look forward to a fascinating, top-quality digital event.”

More than 1,400 exhibitors on board

Among the total of 1,443 exhibitors, BIOFACH accounts for 1,341 and VIVANESS the remaining 102. The international make-up of the event is strong once again, at more than 75 %, with exhibitors this year representing 82 countries from every continent. The top countries by exhibitor numbers, after Germany (365), are Italy (176), France (70), the Netherlands (52), Spain (52), Belgium (48) and Austria (39).

The product areas of “milk substitutes” and “meat substitutes”, in particular, are strongly represented among the exhibitors at BIOFACH. Many exhibitors from the field of “frozen products”, especially fish and seafood, and also ice cream, have also registered. There is also a noticeable tendency for the sector to pay more and more attention to particular product characteristics such as “fair”, “regionally sourced”, “vegan” and “gluten and lactose-free”. One growth segment at VIVANESS is “decorative cosmetics”. Many exhibitors in the areas of “hair care”, “special cosmetics/care”, with particular reference to “shaving aids and beard care”, “chemist articles” and “contract manufacturing, packaging”, and the “oral and dental care” product group are also represented.

The 1,443 exhibitors also include the 15 exclusive partners to the BIOFACH/VIVANESS eSPECIAL: Biokreis e.V.; Bioland e.V.; Bio Austria, Consorzio il Biologico Soc.Coop.; Cultivator Natural Products Pvt. Ltd.; Demeter e.V.; dennree GmbH; GIZ (German Society for International Cooperation), Import Promotion Desk (IPD) and partners on behalf of the BMZ (German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development); GLS Bank; Lebensbaum; Litfood – Lithuanian National Pavilion; Naturland Zeichen GmbH; Officina naturae S.R.L.; Ukrainian National Pavilion; Organic Ukraine Business Hub and Vietnam Organic Agriculture Association.

Inspiration and stimuli: New developments and trends, start-ups and awards

The digital version of the trade fair pairing of BIOFACH and VIVANESS will still include a New Products Stand. In total, almost 500 new products have been submitted by the various exhibitors, including about 350 new product developments in the organic foodstuffs field and 140 for natural and organic cosmetics. And once again, the items considered most exciting and most innovative by the participants will win the coveted Best New Product Award. In addition to the Best New Product Award, the “BioThesis” Organic Food Industry Research Award will also be presented. This is given to theses with an environmental and sustainable focus.

Based on the registered new products, the trend jury has once again developed a list of the current industry trends for the BIOFACH/VIVANESS 2021 eSPECIAL. The trends at BIOFACH this year are plant-based products, low-sugar and sugar-free products, functional food, and sustainability and social responsibility, while those for VIVANESS are waterless beauty/solid cosmetics, me time & comfort, safe beauty/healthbooster, and circular beauty/economy.

There will also be a Start-up-Area this year. The Startups@BIOFACH/VIVANESS will introduce themselves and their products in a number of brief sessions/10-minute pitches in the exhibitors’ forum.

Networking made easy

The objective of the BIOFACH/VIVANESS eSPECIAL is to make it as easy as possible to establish and nurture business contacts using a range of communication tools such as chats and video calls, which enable all participants to get in touch with each other or arrange appointments, quickly and without complications. A special highlight of the business platform is the integrated Matchmaking Tool, which uses a search and offer process to show participants the best matches, i.e. their ideal contacts.

Comprehensive and fascinating programme at the BIOFACH and VIVANESS Congress

All in all, the congress programme comprises 70 individual sessions spread across six forums (the BIOFACH Forum, specialist retail, sustainability, politics, science, and VIVANESS Congress) covering all aspects of trends, numbers, data and facts on the global market for organic food products and natural and organic cosmetics. Of course, there will also be presentations on top themes such as “packaged/unpackaged” and special sessions on all aspects of the main congress theme, “Shaping Transformation. Stronger. Together”. Among the other highlights will be the trend tours on the highlighted BIOFACH and VIVANESS trends. Interested parties can find the entire programme here:

www.biofach.de/en/biofach-congress/programme or www.vivaness.de/en/biofach-congress/programme

The congress will be live-streamed, and will subsequently be available on demand for another six months or so, which means participants will not have to choose between two presentations or a customer appointment.

STADTLANDBIO Congress

In parallel with the BIOFACH/VIVANESS eSPECIAL, the STADTLANDBIO Congress 2021 will also be held in purely digital form on 18 February. Its focus is the EU’s “Farm-to-Fork” strategy, which represents a sustainable agricultural system for the EU to create greener and healthier foodstuffs. The aim is to increase the share represented by environmentally friendly agriculture in the EU to 25 % by 2030. Participants in the congress will discuss the opportunities and benefits the strategy offers at a city, community and district level, and also how better collaboration can be achieved at an EU and municipal level.

The congress is aimed at decision-makers and professionals in authorities, organizations and businesses. Interested parties can find the entire programme here: www.stadtlandbio.de/programm.