Review Trade Fairs 2021

In the last two years the “classical” trade fair business was strongly affected by the pandemic and trade fair organisers had to rethink previous concept and go new ways in organising events.


In autumn 2021 the trade fairs were again held but with mainly a new model of a hybrid format (combination of physical and online event) with high safety standards for the presence format. These lead to more intense preparation work for the organiser as well as for exhibitors and visitors.

The first for AUSTRIA JUICE relevant trade fair in autumn 2021 was the ANUGA in Cologne.
From 9 to 13 October 2021 the world’s largest trade fair for food and beverage was treading new paths and was staged as a hybrid format for the first time. Namely, the physical trade fair was additionally enhanced by the digital element Anuga@home. Due to the challenging circumstances, AUSTRIA JUICE decided not to attend with a booth at the physical fair but only take part at the online format Anuga@home.

The Anuga@home was a matchmaking platform with the focus of networking. As a digital exhibitor AUSTRIA JUICE presented latest product concepts like Hard Seltzer, sugar-reduced juices and current beer-mix creations. The sales team was available online to answer questions from interested visitors via live chat or video calls.


As expected, the digital exhibition can never be a substitute to the multi-sensory experiences at a physical trade fair, primarily due to the lack of opportunities for sensory product tastings and the missing of meeting people face to face.

Personal contacts could then be cultivated at the appearance of AUSTRIA JUICE at the physical trade fair Gulfood Manufacturing from 7 to 9 November 2021 in Dubai. At the common booth of our partner FSL, AUSTRIA JUICE presented a selective product portfolio of beverage compounds and flavourings including trendy concepts like “juice shots+” or a milky drink with coffee and hazelnut.

In summary, it was a successful appearance for AUSTRIA JUICE at a trade fair that recorded many international visitors and was characterised by a palpable spirit of optimism.

A somewhat different picture was shown parallel in Europe, where preparations for the FiE in Frankfurt - due to the tense situation caused by steadily rising Covid numbers and the accompanying entry restrictions from Austria to Germany - were very challenging and the participation at the fair was internally discussed right up to the end. However, on the one hand the costs of non-participation and on the other the high safety precautions led to the decision to participate together with AGRANA in the fair from 30 November to 2 December 2021.


Not surprisingly, the trade fair recorded significantly fewer visitors compared to the previous years, but the quality of interested visitors was high. The presented product concepts mainly with a focus on drinks with functional benefits had a strong appeal to the visitors. A special highlight was the first presentation of flavour applications for the confectionery & bakery segment as well as the new developed beverage emulsions. These presented hard candies, fruit gums and biscuits produced with AUSTRIA JUICE flavours as well as various emulsion applications underlined the Know-how and competence in the flavours & beverage compounds development.