The international vending and coffee trade fair, Eu'Vend & coffeena, came to a close on Saturday, September 26, 2015 with extremely positive results. 186 exhibitors from 25 countries presented the latest trends and innovations on the themes vending, coffee, hot drinks, supplementary products, snacks, drinks, refill products, payment systems, cups and services to the international trade visitors. With over 5,000 trade visitors from 59 countries, the event recorded a slight increase in the attendance figures. The share of foreign trade visitors rose up to around 40 percent. Above all, a higher number of purchasers from Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland and Switzerland attended the event. "In the trade fair calendar 2015, Eu'Vend & coffeena has succeeded in presenting all of the relevant vending machine manufacturers on one platform, explained Katharina C. Hamma, Chief Operating Officer of Koelnmesse GmbH. "A unique range of exhibits, which the international trade visitors have honoured with their strong participation. The trade fair is the international industry platform here at the Cologne location." The German Vending Association e.V. (bdv), the industry sponsor of Eu'Vend & coffeena, praised the exceptional result. "The industry is very satisfied with Eu'Vend & coffeena. The trade fair is an important source of inspiration. The many ideas and concepts will have a positive influence on the development of the industry over the coming months," explained Karl-Heinz Blum, spokesman of the bdv Board.
In addition to the high degree of internationality, predominantly the quality of the trade visitors was an important criterion that contributed to the good mood among the exhibitors at the trade fair: According to an independent survey held among the trade visitors, 67 percent of the respondents are involved or decisively involved in the purchashing decision-making process.
With a view to the visitor structure, key operators like Dallmayr Automatenservice, Coca-Cola, AP and die CA Group, caffé & co., Maas, ServiPlus, Geile, Kaffee Partner, JOBmeal, SV, and Selecta were represented.
Purchasers from the trade such as Edeka and Rossmann as well as large companies like Airbus, Alte Leipziger, Bayer, Kimberly-Clark, KPMG, Siemens and Solvay were present.
The out-of-home market was represented by major organisations such as the European Commission, Pelican Rouge, Aramark, Tank & Rast, Lekkerland, many student organisations as well as Tabaccoland.
"We prepared for the trade fair over a period of one and a half years, by developing a brand relaunch with the intention of presenting the new brand 'La Rhea' to the trade audience at Eu'Vend & coffeena. This went down very well. The quality of the discussions at the trade fair took on a new dimension - very high-quality, very professional discussions. In summary, this was the most successful Eu'Vend & coffeena that we have experienced so far and we did excellent business. The highlight was receiving the 'Vending Star' Award for the machine concept of the new brand," commented Frieder Steigler managing partner of servomat steigler Vertriebs- & Beratungs GmbH.
Spirits were also very high among the trade visitors. In particular, the range of products of the trade fair convinced once again. In this connection, 81 percent of the trade visitors interviewed were satisfied or very satisfied. In addition to the latest machines, refill products and innovations, a further focus was digitalisation. The trends included primarily machines with big touchscreens and apps for the coffee supply as well as the theme sustainability.
Trends and innovations were presented in the scope of the 'Vending Star' innovation prize, which was conferred by bdv and Koelnmesse. In the category, 'Technical Appliance', the prize went to servomat steigler for the machine series 'La Rhea'. In the category 'Auxiliary devices used to operate vending machines', Hug-Witschi won the award for the product 'DeLight - Controlled Vending'. The company Ernst Kühner was distinguished in the category 'Concept' for the 'LadeGenussCenter+' and FleXoco walked off with the prize in the category 'Innovative vending product" for 'Moouw 100% milk'. All of the nominees were presented in the 'Vending Innovation Area' throughout the entire duration of the trade fair.
The well-attended lectures and discussions on the 'Red Sofa' and the international roundtable of experts "Visions of Vending' set further impulses.
The 'Water Works' special event, which addressed the opportunities and advantages for operators of implementing water coolers, also aroused widespread interest.
The trade fair was supported by the European Vending Association (EVA).
Eu'Vend & coffeena 2015 in figures:
186 companies from 25 countries participated at Eu'Vend & coffeena 2015. 109 exhibitors came from Germany and 77 exhibitors from abroad. The gross exhibition surface spanned 13,500 square metres. Including estimates for the final day of the trade fair, more than 5,000 trade visitors from 59 countries attended Eu'Vend & coffeena, of which around 40 percent came from abroad.
