Five days of craftsmanship and innovation: Leading trade fair iba ends with success
Countless appointments, international trends and outstanding talents: The Central Association looks back on successful days at the trade fair, where the focus was on German craft bakers as well as global innovations. Highlights included the German Championship of Master Bakers and the World Championship of Bread Sommeliers as well as the UIBC Cups.
With 49,115 visitors from 149 countries and 985 exhibitors, iba came to a close in Düsseldorf. The leading trade fair for bakery, confectionery and snacks once again proved how it can inspire visitors from all over the world for the bakery trade. Hall 14, where the Central Association of the German Bakery Trade also had its stand, was a magnet for visitors thanks to numerous presentations, competitions and events.
"We are very satisfied with iba 2025, because we succeeded in showing craft bakers exciting trends, inspiring them with new ideas and offering many opportunities for professional exchange," summarizes Roland Ermer, President of the Central Association. "On Bakers' Day in particular, we were able to talk to numerous colleagues from all regions of Germany. The trade fair showed once again that our businesses can only be successful if we stand together as a family of bakers and benefit from each other's different wealth of experience."
The presentation of the bakery trade's honorary award to 50 outstanding companies was a great opportunity for guild bakers to come together, especially at the start of the trade fair. At the German Championship of Master Bakers, the team of Sebastian Brücklmaier from Munich and Yannick Dittmar from Herford won with their baking skills. This year saw the premiere of the World Bread Sommelier Championships, which attracted a great deal of attention. Michael Kress from Weinheim prevailed against 15 other participants and impressed the jury with his outstanding expertise. At the UIBC Cup of Bakers, it was not only the winners from France who demonstrated their exceptional craftsmanship. The UIBC Cup of Confectioners also brought beaming faces to the winners from South Korea. It wasn't just the industry's great talents that were in the spotlight, there were also attractions for young bakers at the trade fair: As part of the trainee workshop, numerous young people were able to expand their knowledge and skills in workshops: In addition to guided tours, participants undertook an apprentice rally and were able to find out about the apprentice app, the apprentice campus and other offers at the central association's stand.
President Roland Ermer was impressed by the industry's commitment: "The Zentralverband and its partners showed at the trade fair that tradition and modernity can be combined in equal measure in order to live and preserve the bread culture that is unique in the world. As the Central Association, we are working together with partner associations to ensure that this craft will continue to delight generations in the future. With our industry talk by the associations, we have also set a political example at the trade fair."
Bernd Kütscher, Managing Director and Director of the Akademie Deutsches Bäckerhandwerk Weinheim, was given a ceremonial farewell during two iba events. ZV President Roland Ermer thanked Bernd Kütscher in front of all the guests for his work and services to the Academy and the German bakery trade and appointed Bernd Kütscher an honorary member of the German national bakery team.
The next iba will take place in Munich from October 24-28, 2027.
Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.
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