Oct 9, 2019 - News

The success story continues

südback closes with another convincing score: Positive investment mood and optimism at the industry event in Stuttgart

Four exciting, stimulating and successful days of exhibitions: On Tuesday 24th September, südback closed its doors with a positive result all round. The 28th staging of the largest German bakery and confectionery trade fair in 2019 drew up to 37,500 visitors and impressed with a clever concept, blending product showcasing, the industry platform and an informative accompanying programme into one unique mix. From 21st to 24th September, 710 exhibitors occupied six separate halls covering a gross floor area of 65,000 m2 and presented literally everything to do with the baking craft – from raw materials and work clothing to digitalisation. Visitors, exhibitors and organisers alike expressed their satisfaction with the outcome of the event

Constructive collaboration with partners

Since it was first staged in 1978, südback has, according to Trade Fair President Ulrich Kromer von Baerle, developed into one of the most important industry
events for Germany and its neighbouring countries. “Our trade fair has managed to clearly assert its position again this year. This success is the result not least of many years of constructive collaboration with our partners.”
Stefan Körber, Managing Director of the State Guild Association for the Bakery Trade in Baden, Hesse, South West and Württemberg, praised the trade fair as the “best südback of all time, a fantastic success! The new hall structure, with its shorter routes, proved ideal. Our programme went down superbly: The forum was busy throughout. What I found particularly great were the competitions for apprentices, which were very well-received – the future holds no fear for me!”
A similarly positive review was given by Klaus Vollmer, Master of the State Guild Association for the Confectionery Trade in Baden-Württemberg: “The confectionery family feels at home at südback. We know each other, we meet up, everyone was there! Interest in the confectionery profession is still there, even among young people with advanced school qualifications.”
Also expressing his delight was Gunter Hahn, Director of BÄKO-ZENTRALE eG: “We were very pleased with the frequency, quality and quantity of visitors on all days of the fair, and also with the new hall layout and the display in the Paul Horn Hall, which gave us a central position from which to make our presentation. südback is the quintessential regional bakery trade fair – with a compact range of exhibitions where the traditional craft baker can feel at home.”

High-calibre experts

Such was the opinion voiced by the respondents to a representative visitor survey, in which 85 per cent stated that they thought that südback’s diverse range of exhibitions ticked all boxes. Top of the list of interests were raw materials and semi-finished products, working and operating technology, coffee and coffee machines, followed by organic raw materials. Almost half of the südback visitors were from the bakery and confectionery trade, while an increase in numbers from the gastronomy and hotel sectors was recorded. The generally high calibre of the audience was gratifying: Two-thirds of those surveyed are involved in purchasing and procurement decisions, with the other third actually having the final say. Over half the visitors want to invest soon in the next six months

Satisfied exhibitors

It’s little wonder that the altogether positive response was also echoed by the exhibitors. Bernd Anton, Head of National Sales WMF Professional Coffee Machines, commented: “For the WMF, südback is the perfect place to present our products and services in the ideal way and to engage with the decision-makers in the sectors that are so important to us. The visitor frequency was right, and we were able to secure plenty of good deals.
südback makes it possible to have fantastic face-to-face and intensive conversations with our customers and partners.” “Bigger, more enticing, more
international” are the words that Jürgen Horstmann, Managing Partner of the WP BAKERYGROUP, used to summarise his trade fair experience. “südback was a total success! The new hall layout proved excellent. It enabled us to upsize our stand considerably and present ourselves in the best possible way in what is Werner & Pfleiderer’s 140th anniversary year. Our stand was very well-attended on all days, the contacts were of high professional quality and, what’s more, we were able to expand our customer network even further.”

Good marks for südback

The catchment area of such networks is growing steadily: This year’s südback welcomed guests from 97 countries, including Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Russia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Greece, France and the Netherlands. In giving südback a fantastic overall score of 1.8, visitors once more backed the exhibition’s coherent concept. A majority of respondents (76 per cent) stated that they were already planning a visit to the next gathering, while most (89 per cent) are planning to recommend the trade fair to friends and colleagues. The next südback will be taking place from 17th to 20th October 2020 at Messe Stuttgart.

Exhibitor comments

Stefan Praller, Head of Marketing, FRITSCH bakery Technologies GmbH & Co. KG: “Once again, we’ve enjoyed four exciting days of exhibitions here at südback. They’ve been shaped by lots of interesting and inspiring talks with customers and prospects, who we had the pleasure of welcoming back to our stand in great numbers again. We are leaving südback 2019 very happy and already looking forward to next year.”

Carmen Rist, Marketing/PR, LCM Schokoladenmaschinen GmbH: “For us, südback is the most significant trade fair of the year and completely met our expectations again this year. From the planning to the proceedings, everything was sensational! At südback, we met the trade professionals that suit us: Interested customers who take their time. We would describe the quality of trade visitors, our acquisition of new customers and cultivation of relationships with
existing customers, but also the presentation of our new model line, as very successful. We are looking forward to südback 2020 already!”

Günter Muth, Head of Sales Fresh Crafts, AICHINGER GmbH: “südback is the leading exhibition for the bakery trade and holds tremendous importance for the whole industry. We were very pleased with the trade fair proceedings and the audience appeal and were able to make a host of new contacts!”

Gesine Beck, Marketing/Event Manager, Franke Coffee Systems GmbH: “Many businesses are prepared to travel from further afield to attend südback. We had people from North Rhine-Westphalia, Thuringia and Eastern Europe visiting the stand. Among the visitors were several interesting customers. Our colleagues reported good, promising contacts, including major bakery chains and retailers. So I think we’ll be there again at the next südback!”

Marc Bräuning, Commercial Agent and Stand Manager, Vectron Systems AG: “For me, südback has become the most important bakery trade fair. The regional audience alone is appealing to us. Many of our customers now visit nowhere else but südback because they can see everything all compacted into one place. We made lots of high-quality contacts and were able to provide information about fiscalisation. We will gladly come back to the next südback.”

Jochen Kramer, Head of Marketing, SALOMON FoodWorld GmbH: “We are very pleased with the response we received at südback. Together with the Wild Bakers, we were able to showcase a new concept here and I think that we were able to deliver genuine added value in the gastrofication of bakeries. The new hall layout was a success in my opinion; we made good contacts, both in terms of quality and quantity – bring on 2020!”

Ute Lund, Corporate Communication and PR, J. J. Darboven GmbH & Co.KG: “This year’s impression of südback was positive all round. Our new product initiatives were met with great interest. We were able to hold many interesting talks with existing customers, but also with potential new customers. Our positioning as a hot drinks expert with a new on-the-go campaign was very positively received and seen as innovative.”

Simone Ruhrberg, Managing Partner, Dreidoppel GmbH: “For us, südback is the ideal platform to make our new products and concepts a tangible experience for the user. We were able to have plenty of expert discussions with existing and new national and international customers – and also position our products. Overall, we were pleased with the proceedings and the trade fair’s new hall layout.”