Appetite for more: IFFA 2022 expands focus

In addition to the traditional focus on meat, IFFA will open itself to alternative proteins from 2022 onwards. With the new subtitle 'Technology for Meat and Alternative Proteins', the world's largest trade fair for the sector puts the rapid growth of meat alternatives and the underlying production processes in the spotlight. The fair will take place from 14 to 19 May 2022 in Frankfurt am Main. 

"The market for meat alternatives is booming," said Wolfgang Marzin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Messe Frankfurt. "The expertise of our exhibitors and visitors has long been centred around the processing, packaging and sale of meat and meat products. We look forward to expanding this focus, presenting new products and discussing intelligent applications - a real boost for innovation".

Although vegetable products are still a growing niche market, the development prospects for the global market point to rapid growth in the future. For example, global annual sales of plant-based meat alternatives are expected to rise to more than $12 billion by 2025 (1 ), an annual growth rate of over 18%. By way of comparison, sales of processed meat are expected to reach around USD 319 billion (2 ) in the same year, an annual growth rate of only 0.2%. For manufacturers of food processing and packaging machinery, and of spices and additives, this development has enormous potential. Many German companies are already active in the sector. 

Participants in the forthcoming IFFA will see the expansion of the focus in the area of processing technology for meat, meat products, and alternative proteins, as well as the ingredients. This includes not only the production and processing of vegetable products, but also products made from cell-grown meat. 

From mid-January 2021, exhibitors will be able to register. 

iffa.com

1] Source: Arizton Plant-based Meat Market - Global Outlook and Forecast 2020-2025, Sept. 2020.
2] Source: Statista - Consumer Market Outlook, 2020