BioFach 25: Innovations and Congress Tips

Last year, 2,413 exhibitors welcomed 41,794 trade visitors to the world’s leading trade fair in Nuremberg, and a similar number of exhibitors and guests is expected to attend BioFach/Vivaness this anniversary year. On its 25th birthday, the focus of BioFach is on the future: the core theme “Organic 3.0 – Organic Agriculture and the Organic Food Economy of Tomorrow” will be in evidence all over the trade fair and in the Congress. What trends will shape the food industry in the coming years and what influence will they have on the organic sector? Looking ahead, what should the industry be preparing for? The Austrian futurologist Hanni Rützler has produced a study of trends for BioFach and she will present various aspects of her work at the trade fair. (Picture: Futurologist Hanni Rützler was commissioned by NürnbergMesse to research trends in the organic industry and its potential)

Planning your visit to the trade fair really is worthwhile. Via the online floor plan you can get an accurate picture in advance of the layout of the halls, so that you can easily locate the stands of firms you are interested in. Preparation is also made easy by using the lists of exhibitors that are available as a download. These lists can also help you to track down individual products and firms or to search for new products via ask-biofach. (Picture: The interactive overview of the halls makes your planning simple)
 

Around 200 natural cosmetics firms present themselves at Vivaness. New products are on display in the special Novelties exhibition area in the passage from NCC Ost to Hall 7A, and you’ll also find here innovative new firms that present themselves at the special show Breeze.

All exhibitors and their current product information are already available here. A new idea - in Vivaness Hall 7A, you’ll find the rendezvous Vivaness meet+talk (Hall 7A is next to the Novelties). With Elfriede Dambacher and Beate Vogel from Naturkosmetik Verlag as presenters, experts and pioneers from the natural cosmetics industry will talk about their experiences and introduce their projects. Every day at 15:00 there will be a brief session giving current data and facts about the development of the natural cosmetics market. (Picture: Vivaness hall)

The Congress has been consolidated and will now incorporate about 70 events (2013:169) that, according to the organizers, will be more incisive and focused and will ensure greater variety. The Congress is again organized in theme forums: the BioFach Forum with the focal theme ”Organic 3.0”, the Sustainability Forum, the Fair Forum, the Gastro Forum, the Specialist Trade Forum and the Vivaness Forum. The whole Congress Programme can be downloaded here. The online Congress Planner is a useful planning aid.

In collaboration with BioFach, Bio-Markt Info is offering several different tours to specialist wholefood retailers, shops selling natural textiles, natural cosmetics, fair trade items and a visit to an organic farm with further processing facilities. Following the visits to the specialist trade, there will be a guided tour of some places of interest in the historic part of Nuremberg. The first two tours will last two and a half to three hours and will include an organic snack and organic beer tasting. The interesting coach trip to organic farms in the Nuremberg region will take about six hours. The tours will be conducted in German and English, since they are aimed first and foremost at the international visitors to BioFach and in previous years they have proved to be very popular. However, if at least ten people request a different language, we can provide an interpreter, for example, in French, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Russian, Czech, Hungarian, Croatian, Japanese, Chinese and in many other languages. A small fee will be charged for this service.

If you are looking for surprising natural ingredients and processed food products take part in the guided innovation tour (45 minutes) and experience organic products from all over the world. The tour will cover products such as dried herbs from Egypt, coconut sugar, tea and exotic spices from Indonesia, sacha inchi, quinoa and maca from Peru, birch juice and soya beans from Ukraine, goldenberry fruit pulp and hearts of palm from Colombia as well as aloe vera products from South Africa. Interested parties will receive more background information about functionalities and health benefits of the products and will visit the SIPPO and Egypt Pavilion in hall 4 as well as the Colombia and Peru Pavilion in hall 2. The innovation tour is held daily from 12 - 14 February 2014 at 14:00. Meeting point: Switzerland Global Enterprise / SIPPO Pavilion in hall 4, booth 239.
Organiser are NürnbergMesse GmbH in cooperation with Switzerland Global Enterprise / SIPPO.
 

Highlights of the Congress Program

BioFach Forum – Organic 3.0

Wed 14:00 – 15:30, St. Petersburg Room: Trend und Potential Study
The study addresses the development potential offered by the organic agriculture of the future. It is based on current megatrend analyses and ongoing trend research carried out by the Zukunftsinstitut (future research organization) and the futurefoodstudio. Renowned food trend expert Hanni Rützler presents the results; industry representatives will discuss them.
Moderation: Gerald A. Herrmann, Organic Services GmbH, Hanni Rützler, Zukunftsinstitut GmbH, panelists: Gunnar Rundgren, Grolink, Michael Radau, SuperBioMarkt AG, Laura de Nooijer, Lovechock, Mark Retzloff, Alfalfa's organic supermarket, USA

Wed 15:00 – 16:45 | Riga Room: EU Commission Update: Regulation
Reinforced control provisions, new accreditation guidelines and online tools for CBs acting in third countries. Serge Massart, European Commission, Brussels, Guilia Medico, European Commission, Brussels

Wed 16:00 – 16:45 | Istanbul Room: The World of Organic Agriculture, Current statistics

Presenters: Markus Arbenz, International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) Barbara Jäggin, SECO, Switzerland, Dr. Helga Willer, FiBL Forschungsinstitut für biologischen Landbau, Switzerland Beate Huber, FiBL Forschungsinstitut für biologischen Landbau, Switzerland, and Amarjit Sahota, Organic Monitor, United Kingdom

Wed 17:00 – 17:45 | Istanbul Room: Trends in Organic Regulation: 
Increasing controls or reducing the burden of conformity assessment?
Presenters:Diane Bowen, International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) Beate Huber, FiBL Forschungsinstitut für biologischen Landbau, Switzerland Jacelyn Bowen, Quality Assurance International (QAI), United States Dr. Sabine von Wirén Lehr, European Organic Certifiers Council (EOCC), Brussels

Thu 10:00 – 11:30 | Shanghai Room: The Future of Organic Control
The new implementing regulation regarding organic controls came into force in January 2014. A Commission Proposal regarding official food and feed controls that will affect the organic control system has already been under discussion by the European Parliament and the Council for several months. A revision of Organic Regulation, proposing changes in many areas including the organic control system, is imminent. Based on the experience of the organic control system, the discussion will centre on what could potentially change for operators and control bodies, and on the degree to which the revisions will contribute to improving organic integrity.
 

Thu 11:00 – 11:45 | Kopenhagen Room: EU Import Regulation: First Experience
 Opportunities and challenges of the new rules, the implications of the ending of import authorizations. Update on the EU/US mutual recognition agreement.
Presenters: Marco Schlüter, IFOAM EU Group, Brussels Joao Onofre, European Commission, Brussels Arjon Kalter, Tradin Organic Agriculture BV, The Netherlands Michel Reynaud, Ecocert S.A., France Beate Huber, FiBL - Forschungsinstitut für biologischen Landbau, Switzerland

Thu, 16.00-17.30  Riga Room, NCC Ost , Organic Market in China
Introduction to panel 1: Mr Dr. Bernhard Schulz, CERES: How to export organic food to China?
Introduction to panel 2: Mr Udo Censkowsky, Organic Services: Organic market in China- status quo and trends

Fri 09:00 – 17:00 | Mailand Room, NCC Mitte: Science Day 

This is the second Science Day held at BioFach, and it will focus on the work of the European Technology Platform for Organic Food and Farming Research (TP Organics) and TIPI: the Technology Innovation Platform of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM). Participants will have the chance to learn about recent developments in European and global organic food and farming research, to discuss the European research agenda setting, and to contribute to TIPI’s global vision for organic food and farming research. Science Day is organized by TIPI, TP Organics, IFOAM, the IFOAM EU Group and the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL).
Presenters: Konrad Hauptfleisch, International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) Prof. Dr. Gerold Rahmann, Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut, Germany Helmy Abouleish, Sekem Group, Egypt Hilde Fauland- Weckmann, Märkisches Landbrot GmbH, Germany Prof Dr. Pablo Titonelli, Wageningen University & Research Centre, The Netherlands (tbc)

Fri 10:00 – 11:30 | Istanbul Room: BioFach World: Trends and news of organic markets in Brazil, China, India, Japan and the USA
The organic markets are flourishing and so are the shows in the BIOFACH network taking place in those countries. The BioFach shows bring together some 3,500 exhibitors and 100,000 trade visitors each year. Each market is special: find out about the latest trends and news and take this opportunity to hear experts from these countries speak on the subjects. 

Ming Chao Liu, OrganicsBrazil, Brazilian Organic and Sustainable Producers, Brazil Alexandre Harkaly, IBD - Associaçâo de Certificaçâo Instituto Biodinâmico, Brazil Adam Andersen, New Hope Natural Media, United States Stefan Hauke, Hauke Consulting LLC, United States Country Experts from India, China and Japan

Fair Forum

Fri 10:00 – 11:30 | Kopenhagen Room:  – Does Fair Trade Certification Matter?
Presenters: Kerstin Lindgren, Fair World Project, United States David Bronner, Dr. Bronner ́s Magic Soaps, United States Andrea Fütterer, GEPA The Fair Trade Company, Germany Errol Schweizer, Whole Foods Market Inc., United States, Rudi Dalvai, World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO), The NetherlandsFri 14:00 – 15:30 | St. Petersburg Room: BIOFACH Forum – Organic 3.0 in the Mainstream Trap, The organic sector envisages a 100% adoption of organic agricultural systems. What are the risks and the traps?
The event shows strategic options, including intensive ecological agriculture and agroforestry, precision agriculture, low-input agriculture, and systems with high consumer involvement. The presentations and subsequent discussion will then move on to take a broader view of the entire economic system.

Fri 14:00 – 14:45 | Kopenhagen Room: Fair Forum – The Global Organic Fair Alliance

Fair trade certification schemes join forces to promote fair trade standards, facilitate trade by mutual recognition and development into a common, global standard
Presenters: Dr. Pierre Ott, Ecocert S.A., France Julia Edmaier, Institut für Marktökologie, IMO, Switzerland Laurent Lefebvre, Ecocert S.A., France Manfred Fürst, Naturland e.V., Germany Pierre Gaubert, Association Bio Partenaire, France
 
Sustainability Forum

Thu 12:00 – 12:45 | St. Petersburg Room:  – SOS2: Save our Soils and Seeds – The Solution Potential of Organic Agriculture and Trade
Presenters: Bernward Geier, COLABORA – let's work together, Germany Prof. Dr. Ulrich Köpke, Universität Bonn, Germany Dr. Vandana Shiva, Navdanya, India Sarah Wiener, chef, entrepreneur and force behind SOS – Boden-Kampagne, Germany Volkert Engelsman, EOSTA B.V. Organic Fruits & Vegetables, The Netherlands

Vivaness Forum

Wed 16:00 – 16:45 | Kiew Room: Making integrity integral to organic and natural cosmetics
The organic and natural cosmetics world is changing as it grows – how to ensure that consumers can not only trust the cosmetic products they buy but can also be confident that these deliver both performance and value. Are the various initiatives in this area (EU, ISO, COSMOS‐standard, etc) helping this process? What else can they do? What else is needed? Market experts discuss these questions. Presenter: Francis Blake, Soil Association Ltd., United Kingdom

Thu 12:00 – 12:45 | Shanghai Room: Natural cosmetics: Data – Facts – Markets, 
Current market research results: natural cosmetics market dynamics, sales channels – who is gaining new consumers? Progressive differentiation calls for new POS and brand advertising concepts.
Elfriede Dambacher, naturkosmetik konzepte, Germany Denise Nordbeck, GfK SE – Bereich Panel Services Deutschland, Germany Nadia Cimbollek, Information Resources GmbH, Germany

Fri 12:00 – 12:45, Kiew Room: Healthy Living: Will the global natural personal care market's previous strong growth continue?
 Global Market performance in 2012 and 2013, trends and developments.
Followed by a discussion with market experts about current market issues in Russia, Japan, China and USA, Elfriede Dambacher, naturkosmetik konzepte, Germany Dr. Kirsten Hüttner, Russian expert, Germany Moritz Aebersold (tbc), Contura Consulting, Switzerland Sheila Linderman (tbc), Sheila Linderman Consulting, United States Mei Gräfe, Intergate Außenhandelsberatung und -services, Germany Ewa Grigar, Kline CZ s.r.o, Czech Republic

Company seminars

Wed, 14:00 - 15:30, Athen Room, NCC Mitte: The Next Generation of Certification - Risk-based Audit Management, Jochen Kleboth, University of Wageningen, Thomas Lorber, Intact Consult GmbH, Frank Gerriets, Organic Services GmbH.
 

Thu, 16:00 - 17:30, Athen Room, NCC Mitte: Organic Integrity and Quality Management, Johannes Doms, Hipp GmbH, Paolo Camemolla, Federbio, Gerald A. Herrmann, Organic Services GmbH, Thomas Lorber, Intact Consult GmbH   
     

Thu, 14:00 - 15:30, Kopenhagen Room E: Improving Smallholders’ Market Position: Tools and Initiatives along the Value Chain, Dr. Ulrich Hoffmann, UNCTAD, Switzerland
n. n., Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ), Germany, Roberto Longo, IFAD, Italy, Michele Maccari, SAMCERT, Italy, Frank Gerriets, Organic Services GmbH
 
Fr, 14:00 - 14:45 Athen Room (NCC Mitte): Strengthening of Farmer Groups for better Market Success, A practical introduction to the software solution Group Certification Management
Frank Gerriets, Organic Services GmbH, Lea Michalczik, Organic Services GmbH, Melina Armijo, Organic Services GmbH, Kung Wai Ong, Certification Alliance, Malaysia