Let’s do the numbers first. Four days, nearly 40,000 visitors from 141 countries. Oh yes, a six percent increase in attendance from last year’s annual show. Thus, the 2015 International Sweets and Biscuits Fair (ISM) in Cologne reinforced what candy and snack buyers in the industry already knew; namely that sweets and snacks remain top of mind for global consumers everywhere. And the show continues to represent “the future and heart of sweets and snacks,” as its theme proclaimed.
And so, what about those trends? Well, fruit forward, specialty chocolates, portability, sustainability and incredible creativity in flavor, texture and technology. Sound familiar. Of course. What’s different is that many more companies, particularly midsized confectionery operations, are demonstrating a willingness to push the envelope to capture a more discerning, adventurous and engaged consumer.