Exhibitors and organisers were upbeat at the conclusion of Eu’Vend 2009, International Trade Fair for the Vending Industry, which came to an end in Cologne on Saturday, 12th September 2009. The event’s stable exhibitor and visitor numbers bucked the general trend in vending trade fairs, demonstrating stability at a high level. The companies particularly emphasised the internationality and decision-making competence of the visitors.
“Eu’Vend 2009 has proved that Cologne occupies a leading role in the international vending sector,” emphasized Michael Maurer, Spokesman for the Board of Directors of the German Vending Association (BDV).
Gerald Böse, Chief Executive Officer of Koelnmesse GmbH, added: “We have succeeded in bringing the decisionmakers to Cologne in large numbers – a clear recognition on the part of the sector that Eu’Vend is a key international business and innovation forum.”
Eu’Vend presents a comprehensive overview of the relevant topics in the world of vending: vending machines, filling products (food and non-food), operating systems, payment systems and services.
Alongside the new products with even easier operation of hot and cold drink vending machines or payment systems, the visitors and the media at Eu’Vend could once again get to know the innovative developments and new sales ideas. From gourmet meal vending machines in the form of ‘the world’s smallest canteen’, a voice-controlled coffee machine and a pizza machine to the vending machine that doesn’t need a power cable – thanks to fuel cells – Eu’Vend 2009 showcased a wide range of impressive new concepts.
With around 5,000 buyers from 59 countries, visitor appeal at Eu’Vend remained constant. More than 38 per cent – around 1,900 – of the visitors came from abroad. The good visitor numbers from the Benelux countries, Rumania and Austria were particularly noticeable. The fair also attracted the interest of visitors from Scandinavia, France and especially the Middle East. Due to the economic conditions, visitor numbers from Spain and Portugal, in contrast, declined slightly.
The visitors were impressed by the products on offer at Eu’Vend. Around 74 per cent of the buyers assessed the range of products on offer as very good/good, 76 per cent added that they had been able to meet their targets for their visits.
More than 73 per cent are already planning their visit to Eu’Vend 2011 and 90 per cent would recommend the event to colleagues. Almost 76 per cent of those surveyed were also mainly or partially responsible for purchasing and procurement decisions – a further proof of the importance of Eu’Vend as an international meeting place for the vending sector. Alongside the sector heavyweights such as Autobar, Selecta, Sodexho, Maas, Dallmayr, café+co, Sogeda, JOBmeal, Fountain or Darea, interested visitors from the tobacco wholesale sector such as DTVTabak, taboccoland or Tawagro were also present in Cologne – as were renowned large companies such as Fraport, Tank & Rast and the various European student catering organisations.
The participants in Eu’Vend 2009 comprised 205 suppliers from 18 countries. These consisted of 134 exhibitors and 2 additionally represented companies from Germany and 69 exhibitors from abroad. The exhibitors praised the atmosphere and the high decision-making competence of the visitors: “The atmosphere and the mood here in Cologne are simply good. The trade fair has also succeeded in attracting the right visitors to Eu’Vend. In addition to a large number of promising discussions, we were also able to conclude a series of concrete business deals,” reported a vending machine supplier.
Alongside the market’s key players from Germany and abroad, a range of renowned companies also participated in Cologne for the first time, including the suppliers Lekkerland Deutschland GmbH, Daint, Stüwer, Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A, Brandt Zwieback, Campina GmbH Milchprodukte and RHODIUS Mineralquellen und Getränke GmbH & Co. KG (together with Pepsi).
Eu’Vend is once again the world’s only vending trade fair to have succeeded not only in addressing the concrete facts of supply and demand but also in presenting the perspectives and visions of the vending sector in an attractive way. The “Vending Worlds” special show, for example – a cooperation involving Koelnmesse, the BDV and the Cologne University of Applied Sciences – took a look at the topic of “The design of vending machines in public indoor spaces”. The students’ works provided convincing creative approaches to the question of which public areas could provide ideal settings for vending machines in the future.
The premiere of the interview and discussion forum “The Red Sofa” was also a success. Experts addressed current topics in compact, competent and exciting interviews and in-depth discussions at the heart of the exhibition area. The topics on the agenda included school catering, new coffee solutions, new filling products, vending machine innovations, category management for vending machines, new location possibilities for vending machines and the new vocational training courses in the area of vending.
The highlight of Eu’Vend 2009 was once again the Vending Party in the Rheinterrassen with the award of the “Vending Star 2009”. This year’s winner was the company Stüwer GmbH with their concept of a gourmet meal vending machine as a miniature canteen.
The program of presentations “Visions of Vending” took place on the Friday for the second time. Renowned European vending experts presented trends, tendencies and their countries’ facts and figures under the title “European Way of Vendinglife”.
Eu’Vend in figures:
The participants in Eu’Vend 2009 occupied a gross exhibition space of 16,000m2 and comprised 205 suppliers from 18 countries. These consisted of 134 exhibitors and 2 additionally represented companies from Germany and 69 exhibitors from abroad. Including estimates for the last day of the fair, Eu’Vend attracted approximately 5,000 trade visitors from 59 countries, including approximately 38 percent from abroad.
The next Eu’Vend will take place in Cologne from Thursday, 8th to Saturday, 10th September 2011.
