Munich gripped by cake fever: the crème de la crème of the confectionery trade is expected at iba, the world’s leading trade fair for bakery, confectionery and snacks, being held at Fairground Munich from September 15-20. These include the best young confectioners in the world, who will battle it out for the highly coveted title of Master Confectioner.

The UIBC Junior World Championship of Confectioners will take place at iba for the first time. For two days (September 19 and 20), the best young confectioners in the world will compete against each other. Teams from Brazil, China, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Norway and Taiwan will be represented. Here, visitors will be able to watch the young talents as they create their sweet masterpieces, as the competitions will take place in show bakeries with large glass fronts that have been set up especially for the trade fair. The jurors will be live on location and explain the criteria being assessed (Hall B3, Stand 228).

The young confectioners will have to give their best under the utmost time and performance pressure. During the competition, they will have to fulfil several demanding tasks for a self-selected topic, such as creating a showpiece with pralines, a cake, sculptured figurines and a dessert plate. “Visitors to the trade fair will see the future of the confectionery trade, the young elite and certainly some of tomorrow’s stars here,” says Gerhard Schenk, deputy president of the International Union of Bakers and Confectioners (UIBC) and president of the German Association of Confectioners (DKB). At their stand, the German Association of Confectioners is also organizing an apprentice competition with elaborate cake designs and sweet presentations from apprentices in Germany. The winner of this competition will be decided by the visitors: they can assess and vote on the entries on location. The winners will receive their prizes on Tuesday, September 18.

On the Wednesday of the trade fair, iba will offer an extended programme for the confectionery trade. In addition to the competitions, this day will feature some special contributions in the iba.FORUM, including with Royal Confectioner for the Swedish Court Guenther Koerffer and World Champion Confectioner Bernd Siefert, whom visitors will be able to watch in action during professional demonstrations.

Premiere at iba
Throughout the duration of the trade fair, numerous exhibitors will show off their innovations and suitable solutions for confectioners – from raw materials and baking ingredients to machines, baking accessories and individual packaging solutions. The new innovations will include the “Ruby Chocolate,”which is made by the chocolatiers of Callebaut. This is a new chocolate category that combines dark, milk and white chocolate processed from the Ruby cocoa bean and entirely without the addition of fruit aromas or colorings. Along with Barry Callebaut, Valrhona SAS, Alexandra & Madlen Food, Chocolat Frey AG, Lübecker Marzipan-Fabrik, Odenwälder Marzipan Konditorei GmbH, Martin Braun Gruppe, Dreidoppel GmbH, Jacobi Decor GmbH and Dobla BV will also be represented at iba.

Visitors can obtain an overview of all iba exhibitors at www.marktplatz.iba.de/en. Using this, they can prepare for the trade fair in the best way, find out more about companies, offers and products, bookmark favorites and arrange appointments.