The trend towards vegetarian and vegan products is unabated. In Germany, 7.8 million people are vegetarians and around one million people are vegan, according to the German Vegetarian Association (VEBU). The figures are also relevant in other countries. According to the European Vegetarian Union (EVU), 2% of the population in Belgium is vegetarian. In Austria it is 3%, in Switzerland 5% and in the USA 4%.
SWEETS FOR VEGETARIANS – Vegetarian and vegan products have also successfully established themselves in the sweets and snacks segment over the past years. This will become very apparent at the world’s largest trade fair for sweets and snacks, ISM, from 29 January to 1 February 2017 in Cologne. Of the over 1,600 suppliers, 290 exhibitors have stated that they will be presenting vegetarian products at the trade fair and 230 exhibitors also offer vegan products. In 2016, only 160 exhibitors presented vegetarian products and 113 exhibitors vegan products. With the growing offer the range of products is also expanding. Chocolate, filled chocolates, wrapped sweets, fruit gums, even chewing-gum are in the meantime available as vegetarian or vegan versions. Not to mention biscuits, snack bars and all types of snack items. In the case of vegan products the objective is not only to replace the animal-based ingredients with alternatives, but indeed all animal substances and resources that are used in the production and packing processes. A product can only be called vegan if all animal-based substances are completely omitted. A Clean Label is indispensable for the reliable information of the consumer.
ISM, FOCUS ON NEW TRENDS – At ISM in Cologne buyers have an opulent selection of product alternatives for all nutritional trends. The exhibitor database of ISM on the ISM website is useful here. It can not only be searched per product group but also per trend themes. These include in addition to Vegetarian and Vegan, also Allergy-friendly, Organic, Fair Trade, Functional, Halal, Private Labels, Artisan Production, Impulse Packing, Kosher, Limited Editions and Sugar-free. On entering these search terms, the buyer can quickly find exhibitors at ISM that are interesting for him. ProSweets Cologne – the international supplier fair for the sweets and snacks industry – will once again be staged parallel to ISM.
