News

Ambiente, Christmasworld and Creativeworld were held together for the first time at the Frankfurt Exhibition Centre this year.

After a break of more than two years, the international consumer goods sector finally met again on site in Frankfurt. The three consumer goods fairs occupied the entire exhibition center and welcomed 154,000 visitors from 170 participating nations.

“Wow – the comeback was sensational and overwhelming,” said Julia Uherek, vice president of consumer goods fair at Messe Frankfurt, in a news release. “The high degree of internationality and the terrific satisfaction ratings exceeded all expectations. Frankfurt is the one-stop shop for the global consumer goods sector.”

Added Philipp Ferger, vice president of Messe Frankfurt: “With the three leading fairs together, we have managed to create unique synergy effects worldwide. Our market research proves this. Now it’s time for fine-tuning, there is potential for optimization that we want to exploit. We are pleased about the enormous rebooking rate at all three trade fairs – basically we are already overbooked. Also the big players are back at Christmasworld and Creativeworld. This is a great sign of confidence from the industry and spurs us on to do even better next year. We are in contact with the companies to offer suitable space. As fair organizers, we want to offer our exhibitors the best possible placement and at the same time the greatest possible variety for our visitors.”

Looking to 2024

According to Messe Frankfurt, 2024 will bring growth at Ambiente Dining and Working, as well as in the global sourcing section of Ambiente and Christmasworld.

“We are in talks with many exhibitors who did not exhibit in 2023,” Ferger said. “For example, we are currently discussing placement options with Fackelmann, Kuhn Rikon, and Zwiesel. The new layout in the western part offers short distances and optimal structures for buyers. There are only minor optimizations here.”

The product groups in Hall 9.2 will be renamed “Clean Home & Storage Solutions” and in Hall 9.3 “Top Deals & Collections.”

“Hospitality is and remains a strategic growth area. This does not rule out an expansion of the program in Hall 11, but also outside it. For example, the HoReCa Academy will move into the foyer to generate more space for new exhibitors who have already registered,” Ferger said.

Hall 11 is focused on the segments “Front of House” and “Out of House.” In the future, offers from the “Back of House” segment will be found in the Cook & Cut area in Hall 8.

Ambiente Working

Additional space for growth is planned for 2024 with the Festhalle and the Forum. Office suppliers for commercial office supplies and technology will move into Forum 0 and the Festhalle.

Remanexpo, the platform for remanufactured printer components, is located in the Congress Center and additionally in Forum 1. The entire range of gifts, school articles and stationery will in future be united under one roof in Hall 4.2 and will expand to the section Urban Gifts, Stationery & School.

This means that the specialist trade side with European brands and suppliers can grow in the eastern part, but high-volume suppliers of stationery will also be given more space in the western area of the fair ground.

The Global Sourcing section of Ambiente and Christmasworld will be expanded: Hall 10 will be redesigned to accommodate the growing range of products in the Ambiente Giving and Working segments for stationery, office supplies and technology, as well as in the dining segment for tableware. The global sourcing range of Christmasworld will move to Hall 6.2 and thus into the trade fair itself.

“With our special interest labels ‘HoReCa/Hospitality’, ‘Contract Business’ and ‘Concept Decoration’, we specifically bring together supply and demand. With our entire range of products, we want to be even more attractive for specialized buyers from the hotel and catering trade, interior design, office equipment, architecture and project planning,” Uherek said.

The Concept Decoration section of Christmasworld and the Contract Business and Hospitality Business sections of Ambiente will be further expanded to meet the needs of specific target groups, according to Messe Frankfurt. In future, these visitor groups will have access to separate areas, lounges, lectures and guided tours of the fair.

Meta themes for 2024

Messe Frankfurt aims to bring current trends, fresh impulses and valuable expertise in 2024 on the meta themes design and lifestyle, new work, sustainability, digitalization and future retail.

The program includes expert lectures in the academies or the trend shows at the three trade fairs. Other highlights include special presentations such as Decoration Unlimited at Christmasworld, awards such as the Creative Impulse Award at Creativeworld, and the Talents, the promotional program for talented young designers at Ambiente.

“Ambiente has always been a meeting place for designers from all over the world,” Uherek said. “In 2024, we want to create more opportunities for designers to meet with exhibitors, visitors and the media and are planning more visibility and better connecting points for the design community.”

Sustainability will continue to be an overarching theme, according to Messe Frankfurt. The “Ethical Style” program of the three fairs specifically identifies exhibitors with ecologically produced and socially responsible products. Companies can once again apply for the program and be assessed by an independent jury of international experts

Digital offerings

A variety of digital offerings are available, including complementary online platforms such as Conzoom Solutions, the order platform Nmedia.hub, the digital exhibitor and product search, the social media channels and the smart matchmaking provide the trade with fresh impulses, an overview of relevant industry themes and the opportunity to order and network throughout the year.

“Messe Frankfurt is a year-round business enabler. During the fair, however, we clearly focus on the live trade fair experience,” Uherek said. “This means that the digital extension can be used during the trade fairs for uncomplicated contact between exhibitors and visitors. To this end, we are expanding our online events during the year as part of the digital academy – and promoting matchmaking within the global industry.”

The first online event with a focus on sustainability will take place on May 24 from 10 to 11 a.m. Further online events around the meta topics and with exciting speakers will follow.