Appetite for more: IFFA 2022 expands its focus

In addition to its traditional focus on meat, IFFA will open up to alternative proteins from 2022. With the new sub-title, ‘Technology for Meat and Alternative Proteins’, the world’s leading trade fair for the sector will spotlight the rapid growth of meat alternatives and the manufacturing processes behind and thus offer the global food industry a platform for innovation and networking

IFFA

The coming edition of IFFA, the world’s leading trade fair for the global meat industry, will expand its product nomenclature to include technologies and solutions for plant-based products and alternative proteins, with this broader base, reflecting a future-oriented international trend. IFFA – Technology for Meat and Alternative Proteins – will bring together all players from the sector in Frankfurt am Main from 14 to 19 May 2022.

“Participants in the coming IFFA will be able to see the expansion of the product nomenclature in the range of processing technology for meat, meat products and alternative proteins”

Wolfgang Marzin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Messe Frankfurt, explains: “The market for meat alternatives is one of the world’s booming sectors at present and we aim to depict this development at the next IFFA. The core area of expertise of our exhibitors and visitors has revolved around the processing, packaging and sale of meat and meat products since time immemorial. Therefore, we are looking forward to expanding this focus, presenting exciting new products and discussing intelligent applications – a genuine boost to innovation.”

Although plant-based products are still a growing niche market at present, development forecasts for the global market point to rapid growth in the future. Thus, worldwide annual sales of plant-based meat alternatives are expected to climb to more than US $ 12 billion [1] by 2025. This represents annual growth of over 18 percent. In comparison, sales of processed meat are predicted to reach approx. US $ 319 billion [2] in the same year – an annual rate of growth of just 0.2 percent. For manufacturers of food-processing and packaging machines, as well as spices and additives, this development has enormous potential. Many German companies are already active in the sector.

Participants in the coming IFFA will be able to see the expansion of the product nomenclature in the range of processing technology for meat, meat products and alternative proteins, as well as in the ingredients field. This covers not only the production and processing of plant-based products but also products made from cell cultured meat. Additionally, a new key visual will give IFFA a highly modern image reflecting the broader focus and thus open it up to new players and increase its appeal not only to established food manufacturers but also to young start-up companies and representatives of research and investors.

Exhibitors can register for IFFA 2022 from the middle of January 2021. Information about this will be published beforehand at www.iffa.com.