German Sweets e. V., the export association of the German confectionery industry, looks back on an exciting and eventful German Sweets Virtual Expo. Last week, 20 exhibitors were able to intensively experience the first purely virtual trade fair of the German confectionery industry and gain valuable experience. 'For all exhibitors and for German Sweets, the Virtual Expo was a courageous step to break new ground', said Dr. Stefan Feit, Chairman of German Sweets.
'We are therefore particularly pleased that several exhibitors were able to make new customer contacts.' Other exhibitors used the show as a forum for discussions with their existing customers or gained valuable experience in this new virtual format. 'The main goal of our first virtual trade fair were thus achieved,' Feit sums up.
On all three days of the trade show, German Sweets welcomed a total of 500 people, including international buyers, distributors and trade visitors from 70 countries all over te world. The participants moved around the platform at different times. The timeframe from 8 am to 8 pm German time covered all time zones worldwide. The multiple features of the platform such as chats, video calls or meeting rooms proved to be easy and created good communication options between exhibitors and trade visitors.
Trade visitors showed a persistently high level of activity. Both the exhibitors' booths and the various offerings on the exhibition platform were very well frequented, such as the lecture sessions in the Auditorium and the New Product Stage. Especially the central video presentation, which showed the innovations of seven participating exhibitors was very popular.
Also the shippment of taste packages met a particularly good response. This gave interested buyers the opportunity to see how delicious the products tasted for themselves. In advance to the trade show, German Sweets sent out more than 100 product packages, which made the Virtual Expo a sensory experience.
The virtual fair was sponsored by the Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank. German Sweets would also like to give a special thanks to ISM-Cologne, the German Export Association for Food and Agriproducts (GEFA) and the European Sales and Marketing Association (ESMA), as well as to all exhibitors and supporters.