BrauBeviale 2016: International beverage sector meeting in Nuremberg

• Creative beverage culture setting the trend

From 8 to 10 November, the international beverage sector is meeting at BrauBeviale at the exhibition centre Nuremberg. With 1,118 exhibitors (2015: 1,083), it is the most important investment goods fair for the beverage industry this year. Around 37,000 expected trade visitors will be informing themselves about raw materials, technologies, logistics and marketing. The trend theme is “Creative beverage culture”. 
This year, the exhibitors travelling to Nuremberg come from a total of 52 nations, apart from Germany, the main contingents are from Italy, Great Britain, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Austria. “Compared to the previous year, exhibition space has increased once again by three percent. This is the most successful trade fair triple1 in the history of BrauBeviale”, says a delighted Director Exhibitions Andrea Kalrait, NürnbergMesse. The interest is great not only among the regular guests but also the newcomers. In this connection, among others, 19 German start-ups are seizing the opportunity to publicize themselves and their product ideas on the sponsored Young, Innovative Companies Pavilions in Hall 1 and 9. 

The trade visitors at BrauBeviale come from the technical and commercial management sectors of the beverage industry, marketing, retail and catering sectors. At the last event they travelled from a total of 131 countries, after Germany, they came from Italy, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands. 

Creative beverage ideas in demand

Increasingly, the consumers are enquiring about craft-brewed beverages, if possible produced using natural raw materials and in special flavours. The so-called “Creative beverage culture” – the trend theme at BrauBeviale this year - is a feature in all exhibition halls and the comprehensive support program. 

Already on the day before the fair, the “European MicroBrew Symposium – Market, Trends and Technology” will be setting key impulses for brewers. The renowned continuation training event is being organized by the Versuchs- und Lehranstalt für Brauerei, Berlin, (VLB, Research and Teaching Institute for Brewing) once again in cooperation with NürnbergMesse. Today, many a would-be brewer who has started out small in micro-brewing, is a star. The presentation of the European Beer Star is traditionally held at BrauBeviale. As one of the leading beer competitions worldwide, it is repeatedly breaking new participation records. It was initiated by the “Private Brauereien” (Association of Private Bavarian Breweries), the honorary sponsor of the fair and the German and European umbrella organization. The trade fair visitors will receive a special honour: on the first day of the fair they can select their favourite beer from the gold-medal winners, the Consumers’ Favourite 2016 in Gold, Silver and Bronze. 

Plant, facilities and accessories, especially for smaller breweries, are being presented by 10 exhibitors in the Artisan and Craft Beer Equipment Theme Pavilion in Hall 9. Also located in the same hall, only a few steps away, is the Craft Beer Corner, the popular meeting place for caterers/restaurateurs, retailers, brewers, beer sommeliers and all those who are really keen on craft-brewed beer with special flavours. Daily, from 10:30, under the guidance of trained beer sommeliers, for example the current German champion Markus Sailer, visitors will be able to taste over 250 different beers from 20 countries at five theme bars. Exotic beers such as “will decide later”, Smoky Melon, Killer Cucumber Ale, Mala Vida, Schokobär, Gipfelglück, Franconian Black or – for those who like it a little more classic – Weiherer Weizenbräu, Beurer Urtrunk or Bavarian Craft Bock, will be available for tasting there. A celebrity visitor has announced they will be attending on Wednesday, 9 November: at 13.00, skiing legend and double Olympic-winner Markus Wasmeier, will be presenting “his” beer brewed according to a 300-year-old tradition in an open-air museum. Over 100 Premium Spirits such as gins, whiskeys, vodkas, rum or brandies, mainly from smaller producers, will also be on offer for tasting. A new feature is the craft sessions in a lecture room at the craft beer corner. Themes include among others exclusive food-pairing – which beer for which food? – along with off-aromas for beers. Water can also be more diverse than you might suspect at first sip – the fair visitors can discover this for themselves during tasting sessions of mineral and medicinal waters on the Wassersommelier-Union (Union of Water Sommeliers) stand, also in Hall 9. 

Supporting program: colourful and informative

Although the German brewing art and German beer are internationally held in high esteem, exports are still in their infancy. At the first Export Forum German Beer on the eve of the fair, the focus will therefore be entirely on the question “How can I successfully export German beer abroad?” At the heart of the fair activities in Hall 1, the open, communicative Forum BrauBeviale is offering exciting lectures, presentations, workshops and panel discussions covering all aspects of beverage production and marketing. The diversity of themes extends from the cult factor in beverages, brand experience through design, the ecological further development of PET, efficient and sustainable packaging up to training and further training in the beverage industry. 

Perfectly hygienic drinking water quality is of the greatest significance particularly in the beverages industry. This aspect is being addressed by the “Sustainable Water Management for the Beverage Industry”Theme Pavilion in Hall 6. Eight exhibitors are exclusively presenting offers for water supply, water processing and sewage treatment. Beverage packaging will be the focal point at the PET Passion Week. At the PETarena special show in Hall 4 A, companies are presenting attractive solutions for the entire PET value-added chain – of equal interest to the small and medium-sized corporate sector and global players alike. And the Gütegemeinschaft Wertstoffkette PET-Getränkeverpackungen (Quality Assurance Association Recycling Chain for PET Drinks) is represented with the PET recycling theme. The two-day PETnology Europe. Congress will already begin on the eve of the fair. 

SFC Street Food Convention – the second

On the last fair day of BrauBeviale, the two-day SFC Street Food Convention will commence in Hall 10. Following the successful opening event last year, the SFC Street Food Convention has expanded its range. Anyone who would like to start out self-employed with a food truck, will find everything they need from the total of over 60 exhibitors to get their own concept on the road: from the stylish food truck, matching accessories, supplier’s articles up to insurance. At the Street Food Market on 10 November in front of the Eingang Mitte entrance, from 17.30, the visitors can also sample tasty creations from diverse trucks – from delicious burgers up to exotic noodles. Admission to the Street Food Market is free.

After the fair: the BierErlebnis Nürnberg (Nuremberg Beer Experience)

Beer lovers and beverage experts can also experience the creative beer culture in the city in select restaurants and bars. That is why the “BierErlebnis Nürnberg” (Nuremberg Beer Experience) is already being held for the third time, a revised and expanded guide with around 30 eating-out and restaurant suggestions, which have particularly full-bodied beers on the drinks menu. The Nuremberg Beer Experience is accessible online: www.braubeviale.de/biererlebnis

International: Beviale Family with a new member

In the last 40 years, NürnbergMesse has proved its competence and expertise in things beverage industry, as the successful development of BrauBeviale shows. In order to also open up new markets abroad for its customers, it has recently been exporting the successful concept of the mother fair to exciting growth regions under the name “Beviale Family”. 

Beviale Moscow started last year. As the only investments goods fair for the Eastern European beverage market, it immediately impressed and did so despite the difficult economic environment. The second edition will follow from 28 February to 2 March 2017. Also very successful was the CRAFT BEER CHINA, Exhibition and Conference, which was staged by NürnbergMesse China this spring in Shanghai for the first time. The next date: 17 to 19 May 2017. The youngest child and newest member of the Beviale Family is CRAFT BEER ITALY, which is being held on 22 and 23 November 2017 in Milan for the first time, organized by NürnbergMesse Italia. Other new additions are expected. The still-young Beviale Family will be presenting itself and its new members in a pavilion in Hall 7A, Stand 7A-115. 

Global beverage consumption continuing to grow

In 2015, worldwide consumption of packaged beverages reached almost 916 billion litres, around four billion litres more than the previous year. According to the experts’ opinions, it will continue to rise even further, probably by an average of 3 percent each year up to 2020. The driving forces behind the global increase are in particular the Asian-Pacific region with China and Japan (24 percent) as well as the Middle East / African regions (41 percent). In Europe, both the West (4 percent) as well as the East (5 percent) still promise further potential. In worldwide terms, the ratio of non-alcoholic to alcoholic drinks was as before around 70 to 30 percent (Euromonitor May 2016). 

Last year, in Germany, 764 litres per head (including coffee, tea and milk) were drunk. That is around two litres more than in 2014. At 106 litres, in 2015, every German citizen drank one “Maß” of beer less (0.9 litres) than the year previously. The consumption of alcoholic drinks overall has declined somewhat from 136.9 to 135.5 litres in 2015. But in contrast, around three litres more alcohol-free drinks were consumed by the Germans: 303.6 litres per head (Beverage Production Associations). 

Beverage technology supports Industry 4.0

While food and packing machinery in general experienced a lateral movement in 2015, the production value in the beverage technology sub-sector increased by 3.7 percent to 2.5 billion Euro. The focal point here is beverage packaging machinery, which increased at an above-average rate of 5.4 percent. For 2016, the VDMA Fachverband Nahrungsmittelmaschinen und Verpackungsmaschinen (Mechanical Engineering Industry Association, Food Processing and Packaging Machinery Division) expects a renewed increase in growth for the entire beverage technology sector, especially as the export figures for key machinery groups picked up in the middle of the year. 

Overall, the VDMA Division puts the production value of beverage technology at around 5 billion Euro, as components and in particular PET-bottle processing machinery, are statistically registered separately. PET, which has been in use as a packing material for beverages since the 1970s, is used today in around one third of all filled beverage units. Across all container types, the consumption of packaged beverages including milk has increased in the last 10 years by around 37 percent. There are indications of further growth due to the increase in the world population, greater prosperity and higher urban population figures. German beverage technology has underlined its leading position on the world market with large investments in innovations including digitization. The mechanical engineers are accompanying beverage filling plants on the path to Industry 4.0 and data-protected production. 

1 BrauBeviale has a special event rhythm. It is held each annually, for three years consecutively and takes a break in the fourth year.