Greentrade BIOFACH 2016: Next generation of organic producers waiting in the wings

Fresh ideas, exciting concepts, the slightly different product – that is precisely what buyers from the trade expect of a visit to a trade fair. At BIOFACH, the World’s Leading Trade Fair for Organic Food, and VIVANESS, the International Trade Fair for Natural Personal Care, these can be found in abundance from 10 to 13 February 2016. The trade fair duo offers the complete organic package and shows the global market for organic food and natural personal care in all its diversity. Trade visitors should definitely include the special areas for young, innovative enterprises, the “German newcomers” in Hall 9 (BIOFACH) and – to make the 10th anniversary of the trade fair – for the first time also in Hall 7A (VIVANESS), in their tour of the trade fair. More than 50 newcomers will present themselves with the support of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie, BMWI).

In February 2016, the next generation of organic producers is once more waiting in the wings to inspire the organic sector with innovative ideas and individual concepts at BIOFACH and VIVANESS. With high-quality manufacturing, originality and superfoods, the wide-ranging newcomers from Germany create a spirit of optimism. In 2016, many new product creations come from the beverages segment. In the process, some providers are going back to the roots of their products. “Going back is the real progress,” says Nils Beierlein, Managing Director of Ailaike, Mainz (D). In search of the best iced tea in the world, he came across the original concept from 1904: freshly brewed, the tea is cooled with crystal-clear ice cubes. The basis for the tea is orange pekoe black tea from Sri Lanka, organically cultivated and fairly traded, which is prepared in a traditional manner.

Pick-me-ups made from natural products

A number of natural pick-me-ups, such as the maté spritzer, are positioning themselves as an alternative to the energy drink boom. The mixture of maté and apple juice dispenses with adding additional caffeine, preservatives or further sweeteners. “The customer will find nothing in Maki-Mate that he or she does not want,” say Uwe Schulz und Clemens Voigt, Managing Directors of Maki GmbH from Leipzig (D). The product is also available as a concentrate for mixing oneself. This can, for example, be used to mix a customised mulled maté. The energy drink Matcha Magic is also going for pure energy.As the manufacturer Zekkei discloses, bioavailable Matcha green tea powder is used for the first time in an energy drink here. Pure Matcha has five times as much caffeine as coffee and has a stimulating effect that lasts for hours, without putting the consumer on edge.

Berioo GmbH from Münster (D) also intends to score points in the smoothies segment with pleasure without a guilty conscience. “We no longer want artificial foodstuffs, false promises about health and pesticide-laden food. This is why we want to go back to nature with superfoods,” says Berioo Managing Director David von Papen. At BIOFACH, the superfood company is presenting an acai smoothie, amongst other things. Today, the acai fruit is still an important staple food for the inhabitants of the Amazon region, thanks to its high nutrient content. In the nineties, the “apple of the Amazon” advanced to become a lifestyle product of the Brazilian surfer scene and in our minds it is now inseparably linked with beaches as the “acai bowl”.

The providers of gin produced from organic ingredients promise a high-proof taste experience. The aromatic spirits for aesthetes are currently experiencing a renaissance. The Organic Distillery from Friedrichshafen (D) is launching two idiosyncratic gins for purists, Ginn & Ginnie. Ginn, with its more bitter, woody and resinous accents, is designed more for the male target group, whilst Ginnie, with a floral and spicy note, appeals more to the feminine senses. “An elixir, which best unfolds its power pure and at room temperature,” says company boss Christine Brugger, fourth generation distiller.

The new vegan convenience

In the convenience segment, a number of animal-free product concepts bring a breath of fresh air to the organic shelves. The vegan lifestyle has arrived in the mainstream. But even this group of customers does not want to dispense with convenient, fast food. Vegan burgers, regional, animal-free menus from the butcher’s or classic sandwiches bring diversity to the vegan plate.

Plantwich is the name of the organic quality club sandwich offered by TRENKLE FOODS. The Berlin-based company has reinvented the classic sandwich in three versions and combines wheat wholegrain toast with, for example, a tofu and seitan slice, a spicy chutney and vegan mayonnaise. GUTDING from Travenbrück (D) wants to give the traditional sausage sandwich a run for its money with “bright spreads” and funny names such as Bolle, Schmauck, Schnucki or Nett. In Grandmother’s tried-and-tested preserving jars, the vegan and gluten-free “friends of sausage and cheese” aim to conjure organic quality variety onto the dining table.

A convenient and practical solution for barbecue-lovers is celebrating its debut with JANS ORGANIC Marinade. Whether you are eating meat or tofu, vegetables or poultry – the marinade in a practical zip-up bag provides the right flavour and saves washing up.

Indigusto stands for an individual taste with organic quality and is the motto of the Berlin-based (D) delicatessen factory of the same name, which exclusively produces vegetarian and vegan pestos, sauces and soups. At BIOFACH, the founders Simon Koelle and Maximilian Hutter are presenting the first online pesto mixerIndipesto. Here, every customer can select from a variety of ingredients online and then create their own favourite pesto.

Customised snacking

Individuality is also at the centre of the snack segment. Anyone who wants to produce their own crisp flavour will find what they are looking for at myChipsBox from Munich (D). Exciting spices and flavours, such as ginger and lemon or yoghurt and blueberry provide surprising taste experiences. At BIOFACH, varieties with vegetables are also to be presented.

ChocQlate from Munich (D) has dedicated itself to creative chocolate art for making at home. “In 20 minutes, anyone can realise their own chocolate ideas at home,” explains founder and Managing Director Julia Brodbeck. ChocQlate uses unroasted fine cocoa beans which have been gently dried at less than 42°C, in order to preserve the 300 nutrients and vital substances of the cocoa. “These special beans determine the distinctive taste of our chocolate and cocoa products and turn them into a power bar,” says Brodbeck. With the chocolate making kit, everyone can pour his or her own fresh and vegan chocolate, made from one of five purely plant-based basic ingredients, into moulds. The Munich-based start-up team has already received two German design awards for the original packaging of the products.

A number of non-food providers are to present themselves imaginatively at the world’s leading trade fair with a plastic substitute which is suitable for everyday use. From soulbottles – the designer glass bottle with a soul to Tütle – the CO2-neutral and compostable bag made from recycled paper to ajaa! – the world’s first baby spoon made from renewable materials, the manufacturers are to demonstrate sustainable solution concepts. In Germany, several billion plastic drinking straws are used year after year, to manufacture which tonnes of crude oil are consumed and CO2 is released. Here, the alternatives are sometimes quite simple: such as straws made from straw. “Our straws are produced from certified organic rye straw and cut, washed and ecologically disinfected by hand,” explains Jana Gessert, Managing Director of Bio Strohhalme GmbH. The company’s return to the origins of the product has been rewarded with first place in the Lifestyle category in Europe’s largest environment and business award, the Green-Tec Award.

Back to the roots with high-tech

Whilst the organic newcomers are, in many cases, returning to their roots on the production side, modern technology is predominant on the marketing side. Social media and online marketing are part of the day-to-day business for the new generation of entrepreneurs. So that the consumers are more easily able to discover the large number of new providers in their regional environment, three Darmstadt students have founded the company frimeo and developed a regional app for the smartphone.
Here, factories, farm shops and sales booths nearby are displayed for the interested consumer on an interactive map. “With the frimeo app, these providers get access to the growing number of customers who would like to use a smartphone for their shopping and to discover the regional diversity,” explains frimeo Managing Director Nezar Mahmoud.

VIVANESS 2016: 10 newcomers wish VIVANESS a happy 10th anniversary!

Erstmals können die Fachbesucher 10 junge innovative Unternehmen mit Naturkosmetik „made in Germany“ an einem vom Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (BMWI) geförderten Gemeinschaftsstand der VIVANESS erleben. Das Angebot der zum Teil bereits für ihre Produkte ausgezeichneten Hersteller reicht von kostbaren Ölen und innovativer Rasurspezialpflege über nachhaltige, wasserneutrale Produkte bis zu revolutionärer und „weltrettender“ Zahnpflege.

Download information:
Short portraits of the 10 newcomers to mark the anniversary of VIVANESS can be found in the press section at www.vivaness.de.
Overviews of both pavilions for German newcomers can be called up on the respective websites of BIOFACH and VIVANESS under Exhibitors & Products.

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