Anzeige
bio-markt.info
| Advertising | Imprint | data protection
Biofach 2019: Algae, hemp and the future of agroecology
by Daniela Nickel (comments: 0)
The international organic market continues to grow and is on the verge of breaking the 100 bn mark. But in addition to constantly growing sales and new trends, the industry needs one thing above all else: forward-looking concepts for an ecological future. organic-market.info visited Biofach and reports on strategies towards more agroecology as well as the latest trends in organic food and natural cosmetics.
Trade fair duo extends by two halls
A total of 51,500 visitors made their way to Biofach this year to see and try out 1,945 new products from around 3,273 international exhibitors, including 1,245 with vegetarian and 1,345 with vegan products. The organizer NürnbergMesse was thus able to record a good 1,300 more trade visitors than last year. The two trade fairs were also able to welcome new countries to the group of exhibitors: at Vivaness the Philippines and Serbia exhibited for the first time, at Biofach it were Botswana and the Comoros.
Watch the video from the grand opening of Biofach and Vivaness 2019:
Source: YouTube/bioverlag
Due to the increasing number of visitors and the growing demand from exhibitors, the organic trade organisers have now announced that they will expand the exhibition area by two halls in 2020. The Vivaness natural cosmetics fair will then be able to move into the brand new Hall 3A. Hall 7A will then be taken over by Biofach - at the same time, Hall 3C will be added to the world's leading trade fair.
According to current industry figures, worldwide sales of organic food rose to 90 bn euros in 2017. At the same time, the German natural cosmetics market alone recorded around one mn new buyers in 2018. If the organic market continues to develop so rapidly in the coming years, Biofach may as well continue to grow.
„Scaling up Agroecology“ for a better future
At the Biofach Congress, IFOAM Organics International and the World Future Council invited to their event "Agroecology: World's Best Policies for an Organic Future". Louise Luttikholt (IFOAM International), Bernward Geier (activist and journalist/Colabora) and Paul Holmbeck (Organic Denmark), moderated by Prof. Dr. Franz-Theo Gottwald, spoke about the aims and background of the Future Policy Award and presented the World's Best Policies for an Organic Future.
An award for a better future
"We should look much further into the future" said Louise Luttikholt while explaining why the Future Policy Award is such an important tool for a future worth living in. The award aims to support and represent concepts and strategies that have a positive impact on the environment, society and nature. With the award, the initiators want to promote agroecology and create better living conditions for future generations. This means: strengthening smallholders and family farms as well as protecting, preserving and increasing natural resources.
Policy Toolkit
In addition, Luttikholt explains, the award should also create awareness for exemplary concepts. The initiators are not exclusively concerned with ecological agriculture for its own sake, but rather with all areas of our lives that are influenced by it. In this way, organic agriculture can make a major contribution to the international Sustainable Development Goals worldwide. To support the development of such strategies, IFOAM International provides a Policy Toolkit.
Future Policy Award Winners 2018
The following concepts, among others, were awarded the Future Policy Award in 2018:
- Winner Gold: Sikkim, India for the State Policy of Organic Farming and the Sikkim Organic Mission
- Winner Silver: Brazil for the National Policy for Agroecology and Organic Production (PNAPO) (watch video)
- Winner Silver: Denmark for the Organic Action Plan „Working together for more organics“ (watch video)
Watch the video about Gold Winner Sikkim:
Bernward Geier, who has been to Sikkim several times and has closely followed the development towards an organic state, spoke enthusiastically about his experiences and Sikkim's Chief Minister Pawan Chamling: „He was voted by 65% of Sikkim’s population, he is a loved politician.“ According to Geier, Chamling’s wish is to achieve an „organic, chemical-free world“. But this can only happen step by step, explains Geier. However, he said he knows how Chamling got to convert the whole state of Sikkim: „Policy was the key!“
Trends and novelties at Biofach and Vivaness
Allrounders algae and hemp (Scroll down for the Novelties Gallery)
A glance at the list of new products presented reveals the presence of two new trade fair stars with all-round talent: algae and hemp. Especially with regard to the use of vegetable proteins, hemp has become a favourite alongside lupine, oats, soya and co. The market now offers a wide range of hemp products from hemp nougat (Hanfland*) and CBD Infused Chocolate (Love Chock) to hemp honey muesli (Zagler Müsli Bär) and a hemp custard alternative (Soyade) to hemp-emmer-loafs (Soto). However, hemp has also arrived at natural cosmetics manufacturers as a valuable active ingredient. Among the Vivaness-novelties there were products like hemp scent balm (River Duftmanufaktur), CBD skin balm (Hemptouch) and CBD skin repair cream (You & Oil).
A visitor's impression of the Novelty Stand posted on Instagram:
Source: Instagram/Vanilla Bean Project
At Biofach, algae were mainly found in new vegan products. Since they provide vitamin B12, iodine or calcium, for example, they are often used as additional sources of nutrients. The algae product range offers products in the form of pure powder, such as spirulina powder (Ox*), dips and spreads such as seaweed pesto with wild garlic (Georg) and Wakame algae hummus (Vitam), vegan algae chocolate (Algenheld) and fertiliser from seaweed (LTD Naturemir).
Alternatives outside the niche: Kimchi, cashews and coconut blossom sugar
At the latest since the Korean dish kimchi has become a food trend, more and more manufacturers are experimenting with techniques of preserving and fermenting. The advantage: Fermented food not only lasts longer and tastes good, the bacteria and microorganisms from kimchi, kombucha and co are good for intestinal health. In addition to kimchi (Complete Organics*) and kombucha (Fairment), there were also fermented tofu (Feto by Taifun Tofu) and fermented cashew nuts (Fermé by Euro Company) presented at Biofach.
However, cashew kernels can also be used in a variety of ways for vegan nutrition and thus offer a good alternative to dairy as well as soy products. The brand Harvest Moon* introduced a new yoghurt based on cashew kernels, while others are offering cashew cheese (Happy Cheese GmbH) and a magarine alternative made from cashews (Megarine Cashew by Fauser Vitaquellwerk).
At Biofach 2019, Harvest Moon presented its new vegan yoghurt based on cashew kernels:
Source: Instagram/Harvest Moon
Sugar alternatives and sugar reduction continue to be a major issue for many manufacturers. Many products such as Lycka's* mug ice cream and chocolates such as Vivani's and Love Chock's or Zagler's mueslis are now sweetened with alternatives to sugar such as coconut blossom syrup or sugar, dates or agave syrup. Some brands also focus on the reduction of sugar, such as Björnsted from Ecofinia with the 30% sugar-reduced Soulmate range.
Cosmetics like day and night
Among the new products presented at Vivaness, some black cosmetics were particularly striking. The intensive black colour is obtained through activated charcoal: from black toothpaste from Ben & Anna* and Abiocom to activated charcoal soaps from Speick and Klar, masks and pure organic activated charcoal powder (Cultivator Natural Products).
The many newly presented sun care products from brands such as Les Laboratoires de Biarritz*, Mlle Agathe, Sativa, Wooden Spoon and Speick (awarded with the Best New Product Award for the Speick Sun facial care) are anything but black.
Read more
Organic market continues to grow - in Europe and worldwide
In 2017, the European and international organic sector again recorded strong area and market growth. In Europe alone, organic sales grew by around 11%. This was announced by FiBL and its partners at Biofach in Nuremberg.
Beard care, Nordic Beauty and curiosities from France
The trend towards a groomed beard and more care for men's skin continues: Brands such as Madara*, Lamazuna, GRØN and Beyer's Oil offer individual care products through to complete care series.
When developing their products, some natural cosmetics manufacturers have recently focused on the active ingredients of Nordic and Arctic plants such as Rhodiola Rosea, white pine bark, the Chaga mushroom, chanterelles, birch and cloudberry (e.g. Mádara Organic Skincare and Inari).
On the other hand, Birkenstock's natural cosmetics series, which was launched in December 2018, is based on active ingredients of the cork oak, which grows in the Mediterranean.
Natural cosmetics manufacturer Mlle Agathe has presented a curiosity among the new developments at Vivaness: an anti-aging serum for facial care that contains 93% manually harvested snail slime extract. However, Mlle Agathe products are currently only available online or on the French market.
* Brands and producers named are only examples of companies offering products certain containing trending respectively new ingredients – other producers and brands may have presented similar products without being listed here.
Click through the Biofach and Vivaness novelties:
Tags
Anzeige