BioFach to celebrate 20th birthday in 2009

Happy Birthday BioFach! The international organic market meets at the industry’s annual festival in Nuremberg to source information about the latest trends in organic products and natural personal care from 19-22 February 2009. There are many special reasons for celebrating this time: BioFach will be 20 years old and promises a variety of birthday highlights. Some 2,900 exhibitors (2008: 2,764) and again more than 46,000 trade visitors (2008: 46,484) are expected at the world’s leading exhibitions in 2009, BioFach for organic products and Vivaness for natural personal care and wellness. Country of the Year is Denmark – Hjertelig velkommen!

(Picture: Denmark is Country of the year at BioFach 2009)

The current boom would be unthinkable without the industry’s pioneers. In the anniversary year, the World Organic Trade Fair pays tribute to the special importance of the organic trade and organizes the first German Organic Trade Day at BioFach on February 21, 2009. The Saturday at BioFach 2009 is devoted to the organic product trade with a series of events – and not just in the congress programme.

Sales in the German specialised organic food retail (not in conventional supermarkets) were 1.75 billion Euro in 2007, according to ContRate, the current industry comparison from the organic consultancy Kommunikationsberatung Klaus Braun. Sales of 1.6 billion Euro were achieved with organic food and the remaining 150 million Euro with natural personal care and natural products. The umbrella organisation "Bund Ökologische Lebensmittelwirtschaft" (BÖLW) estimates German organic growth in 2007 at 15 % and total sales at 5.3 billion Euro.

High-quality, modern textiles produced in harmony with nature are one trend at the exhibition in 2009. Natural textiles and organic fashions have long since shaken off their woolly socks image and international fashion labels with their organically produced creations are capturing the catwalks around the world. BioFach 2009 offers exhibitors from the natural textiles segment a newly designed and attractive display area with a textile oasis in hall 7.

A separate special show will be devoted to fair trade for the first time at BioFach 2009. Manufacturers of organic products who attach special importance to aspects like fair trade and social working conditions in addition to ecological production present their products and projects to visitors in hall 3.

Organic wine moved into its new home in the day-lit hall 4A at BioFach in 2008. 347 wine exhibitors from 23 nations presented their top wines to interested experts for the four days of the exhibition. 10 % more wine exhibitors are expected at BioFach 2009, when the variety of culinary delights plus the congress programme will again make the Wine Hall a big attraction for visitors.

An award for the best organic olive oil chosen by the visitors was presented for the first time at the Olive Oil Bar in the Wine Hall. The finest organic olive oils face the visitors’ verdict again in 2009. Top organic wines compete for the coveted BioFach International Wine Award every year. Of the wines entered in 2008, 8 were awarded “Special Gold”, 21 “Gold” and 118 received a “Recommendation”.

Vivaness – the World Trade Fair for Natural Personal Care and Wellness- casts its spell on everyone. Almost 20 % of the visitors at both exhibitions in 2008 travelled to Nuremberg exclusively for Vivaness. Altogether 56 % of the visitors included Vivaness in their tour of the exhibition. Almost 45 % of the Vivaness visitors came from the trade, mostly from organic food shops (16 %), the wholesale trade, cosmetic shops and health food stores. Some 215 (2008: 196) producers of natural personal care products, including all the well-known German world market leaders, will present their products and new developments for visitors in 2009.

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