nutrition
Vegetable proteins conquer the IFFA meat trade fair
At the counter, customers continue to demand meat products in most cases, but plant-based alternatives are gaining in popularity. Photo: picture alliance / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The butchers got through the Corona crisis well. The meat trade fair IFFA shows how much the world has changed in three years. Plant-based proteins are here to stay.
The Frankfurt meat trade fair IFFA (May 14th to 19th) is increasingly dealing with vegetable proteins. More than 200 of the 860 exhibitors inform visitors about technologies and solutions for meat alternatives, as reported by the Frankfurt trade fair company.
The business area with vegetarian and vegan products was also given the title of the world’s leading trade fair “IFFA – Technology for Meat and Alternative Proteins”.
Forecast: Meat alternatives will become even more popular
Companies that are only now beginning to deal with the subject only have a 50-50 chance of survival, said the consultant and former manager of Rügenwalder Mühle, Godo Röben. Those who ignore the trend will disappear from the market. He expects that at the next IFFA every second exhibitor will be dealing with vegetable proteins. Rügenwalder was one of the first providers to consistently switch to meat alternatives and is now making more sales than with conventional products.
Almost 11,000 butchers are noticing the trend towards vegetarian and vegan diets, especially in the catering sector or in the case of prepared dishes, reported the President of the German Butchers’ Association, Herbert Dohrmann. In the vast majority of cases, however, customers at the shop counter continued to demand meat products that the craftsman produced regionally and sustainably in high quality. The companies are currently having problems with the sharply rising prices for energy, raw materials and materials. Together with higher labor costs, this could lead to higher prices.
Mechanical engineers almost at pre-crisis level
The machine builders working in the industry report long delivery times as a result of material shortages. The companies produced packaging and food processing machines for 14.8 billion euros last year, as reported by the VDMA association. That was an increase of 7 percent. At EUR 15.3 billion, sales almost reached the pre-crisis level of 2019.
Compared to the previous IFFA in 2019, the current edition has a good 150 exhibitors or 15 percent fewer with the same area. There is a lack of suppliers from Russia and Belarus as well as from China, which is characterized by lockdown, explained trade fair boss Wolfgang Marzin. But all industry sizes are represented. According to him, the fair is supporting five Ukrainian exhibitors to make it easier for them to access the market.