Biofach / Vivaness 2021: What exhibitors and participants can expect in the "eSpecial”

For the first time, the world's leading trade fair for organic products will be held online only. But in addition to pure exhibitor profiles and product presentations, the organizers offer highlights such as congress events via live streams and "on demand".

From 17^th until 19^th February 2021, Biofach / Vivaness  will be held digitally for the first time. With an "eSpecial", the organizers of Nürnberg Messe want to digitally implement the core aspects of the well-known world's leading trade fair for organic food and the associated congress. Which functions and highlights the participants can expect from the online exhibition platform and which developments in the natural cosmetics industry have preceded the fair, was announced last week at a press conference for Biofach / Vivaness 2021 eSpecial.

According to Petra Wolf, Co-Managing Director at Nürnberg Messe, around 1,200 exhibitors from 81 countries have registered for the eSpecial so far. The digital innovations stand already includes more than 600 submitted new products, among which the Best New Product Award for the most innovative new product will be presented again this year.

"The Biofach / Vivaness eSpecial is the right format at this time," Wolf said at the press conference. "At the same time, we feel that the personal contact on site and the experience in the exhibition halls cannot be replaced. But: with the eSpecial, we are pleased to be able to make an offer, Corona-compliant and contemporary, that bridges the time in the best possible way until we all meet again live on site in 2022!"

Transformation in focus

This year's Biofach / Vivaness will focus on the transformation of the global food system. Under the motto "Shaping Transformation. Stronger. Together.", the trade fair events in particular will address questions of economic success while respecting planetary boundaries, true-cost accounting, future forms of nutrition and other contexts.

Dr. Felix Prinz zu Löwenstein, Chairman of the German Organic Food Association (BÖLW), is looking forward to the digital gathering of the organic community: "What is urgently needed, according to science, is a transformation of agriculture and nutrition. Our organic farms have long been actively shaping the transformation. And Biofach is just the right place to discuss these issues and, together, to achieve our goals."

Company profiles and digital meeting rooms for exhibitors

Registered exhibitors are given the opportunity to create a company profile within the digital trade show platform and present themselves at the innovations stand. In the online profile, companies can provide virtual stand personnel in order to be approachable for visitors at any time.

Other features of the exhibitor profiles also include direct appointment scheduling and digital meeting rooms that can be individually designed and used for lectures, product demonstrations, presentations or discussions. Participants of the eSpecial can be specifically invited for this purpose.

To make it easier for companies and visitors to the Biofach and Vivaness 2021 eSpecial to get started with the digital trade fair, organizer Nürnberg Messe offers short webinars and video tutorials for participants in general and exhibitors in particular.

The official "on-boarding", i.e. registering on the eSpecial platform and setting up the company or participant profile, will start on 9^th February, 2021. Appointments can also be made among participants and exhibitors from that day.

Congress „on demand“

The approximately 70 congress events of the trade fair duo will take place within six forums bundled in the eSpecial. The core topic of the congress program, which can be viewed online, is the question of how the nutrition turnaround can be better advanced through cooperation between the various transformation movements. "At the Biofach Congress, groundbreaking solutions that have already proven their effectiveness will be presented," explains Luise Luttikholt, Managing Director at IFOAM Organics International, in the press release for the press conference.

Parallel to the Biofach and Vivaness congress, trade fair participants also have the opportunity to attend events of the "Stadtlandbio"-congress. The advantage of the digital congress events: The lectures, workshops and discussion panels will not only be streamed live, but will for the first time also be available following the online trade fair until at least 24^th February  2021, according to the organizers.

Thematic forums of the eSpecial-congress:

• Biofach
• Specialized trade
• Sustainability
• Politics
• Science
• Vivaness Congress

The congress, designed by IFOAM - Organics International and BÖLW together with Biofach, is also planned as an interactive platform with an integrated chat function and the possibility for live video calls.

Natural cosmetics market undergoes massive change

With regard to the Vivaness eSpecial, Mirja Eckert, owner of the market research company “The New”, gave an initial insight into developments in the German and international natural cosmetics market at the press conference. At the moment, she said, megatrends such as digitalization, individualization, health and neo-ecology, the new interplay between ecology and economy, are the relevant growth elements on the market.

While the overall cosmetics market is saturated, the natural cosmetics market continues to grow steadily. In 2020, for example, natural cosmetics in Germany recorded sales growth of around 5.5 to 7 percent compared to the previous year. According to Eckert, the reasons for this growth and the approximately 1.3 million new natural cosmetics customers are diverse. For example, social aspects of value chains are increasingly coming to the fore. In addition, consumers are generally taking a more mindful approach to the purchase of cosmetic products - both in terms of environmental aspects and the impact of products on their own health. Trends such as "Conscious Lifestyle" and "Zero Waste" are currently an integral part of natural cosmetics ranges.

The retail situation on the natural cosmetics market has also changed significantly, especially in recent months – due to the Corona pandemic. Consumers' buying habits have adapted rapidly to the pandemic conditions. Thus, the development is moving more and more in the direction of one-stop shopping, i.e. buying all the products they need in one store, as well as online retailing.

Partners

Long-standing partners of the Biofach and Vivaness trade fair duo are the international patron IFOAM - Organics International and the national conceptual sponsor BÖLW. The conceptual sponsors of Vivaness are Cosmos and Natrue.