Hot topics on Forum stage in beverage industry exhibition BrauBeviale 2019 business program

Preparations are in full swing and it won’t be long till Nuremberg is once again the hub for the international beverage industry. From 12 to 14 November 2019, the sector will come together for what will be the world’s most important capital goods fair for beverage production and marketing this year. 

The products and solutions showcased by the around 1,100 exhibitors cover the entire beverage process chain, including all segments like beer, cider, spirits, sparkling wine, wine, water, juices, soft drinks and liquid dairy products. This year too, the main theme is the future viability of the beverage industry, and the challenges facing both equipment suppliers and beverage manufacturers will be explored. Through its product range and supporting programme, BrauBeviale provides the sector’s key platform for knowledge-sharing and innovation. The BrauBeviale Forum is just one of the ways that the event provides momentum and delivers inspiration.

As well as an official opening and various awards ceremonies, the popular BrauBeviale Forum offers its audience information, inspiration and the opportunity for interaction. The opening ceremony including presentation of the Bavarian Beer Order by the Bavarian Association of Private Breweries, the honorary sponsor of the exhibition, is a great way to kick off the event. Professor Markus Hengstschläger, Director of the Institute of Medical Genetics at the Medical University of Vienna, will explore exciting ideas in his keynote address: “The challenge of the future — how do we use the resource of talent” and provide ingenious suggestions and food for thought for industry players grappling with the issue of future sustainability.

Hot topics on stage

The BrauBeviale Forum highlights include high-calibre panel discussions with the who’s who from the beverage industry and political sphere on two topics that are also hotly debated by the wider public. On the afternoon of the second day, we are expecting an especially lively discussion on an issue that is highly topical and controversial.

That issue is “bottle deposits”. Breweries in particular are faced with the problem that not enough empty bottles are making their way back to them, so they don’t have enough bottles for their beer. Purchasing new returnable bottles is a costly business, and some small and mid-sized breweries are already worrying about their viability. According to Private Brauereien Bayern, the honorary sponsor of BrauBeviale, the deposits are too low to provide an incentive for people to actually return the empties. This is why the organisation has invited the major associations from the sector to take to the stage of the BrauBeviale Forum to discuss this issue. As well as the German Private Brewers Association, Independent Brewers, Association of German Brewers, Federal Association of Beverage Wholesalers and representatives of beverage logistics companies and the food industry, all representatives of the deposit system supply chain will have a say.

Under the heading “Mineral water — a problem not a pleasure?” the topical issue of mineral water versus tap water will be put under the microscope. Highly praised for decades for their healthy product and globally unique system of returnable bottles, mineral spring operators are now suddenly being pilloried. Is tap water now supposed to be actually better than mineral water? And who actually defines what good water is? What are the criteria, and what roles do tap water and mineral water play? What are the requirements of legislators, associations, producers and consumers that need to be reconciled? Representatives from the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Reactor Safety, German Environmental Action (DUH), the Bavarian Nature Protection Society, the Association of German Mineral Springs and leading mineral spring operators will come together to seek shared responses and propose solutions.

The key issues in the beverage sector

The BrauBeviale Think Tank also reflects the key themes covered in the BrauBeviale Forum such as raw ingredients, technologies, packaging, marketing and entrepreneurship. What distinguishes “generation Z” from its predecessors and what are the resulting challenges for beverage manufacturers and their marketing? In the Marketing Forum, organised by K&A BrandResearch, enlightening answers will be sought and provided to current questions. On the afternoon of the first day of the trade fair, the example of the beverage market and its players will be put under the microscope. The forum will explore exceptional company concepts and the “hidden champions in the beverage market”. JOSEFS Brauerei Olsberg, Premium Cola and Lauffener Weingärtner are just a few of the companies that will be featured.

Digitalisation is a buzzword that is making its presence felt in numerous industries, divisions and departments, and the beverage industry is no exception. So what progress is being made with Digital development in the beverage industry? What can Big Data, algorithms and artificial intelligence do for producers and retailers? On the morning of the second day of the fair, interested visitors can learn about current examples and gain inspiration from beverage industry experts. This panel is organised by logistics and digital transformation consultancy Huesch & Partner. Discussions on the topic continue in the subsequent slot by the BVE (Federation of German Food and Drink Industries). The buzzword issues under the spotlight are digitalisation, automation, individualisation, batch size 1 and blockchain in beverage logistics.

On the last day of the show, the topic of climate will dominate the morning session in the BrauBeviale Forum. Under the heading “Future risk climate: developments and consequences for raw brewing ingredients”, renowned industry players will discuss the possible consequences of climate change for malting barley, hops and water. The afternoon of the last day is devoted entirely to the “Next Generation”. There are lots of aspects to be considered when preparing the ground for a successful future, including promoting young talent, recruiting and keeping skilled professionals, and managing company succession strategies.

Awards and prize ceremonies

BrauBeviale is the key platform this year for the international beverage industry, so the famous award ceremonies in the BrauBeviale Forum are sure to attract a lot of attention. Yet again, the World BEVERAGE Innovation Award by FoodBev Media acknowledges outstanding innovative ideas in 25 different categories, all of which cover aspects of the beverage sector. The overarching categories are products, packaging, manufacture and marketing. The Federal Ministry for Food and Agriculture will reach a wide public when it uses the BrauBeviale Forum to present the awards for the “German Hops Champion 2019” competition organised by the Association of German Hop Growers in partnership with the Bavarian State Research Centre for Agriculture/Hop Research Centre Hüll. The Ludwig-Narziss Award for Brewing Science, named after Professor Emeritus Ludwig Narziss, long-time holder of the Chair of Brewing Technology I (now Department of Brewing and Beverage Technology) at the Technical University of Munich, recognises an outstanding paper, whose results are relevant to brewing practice, published in a volume of the scientific journal “BrewingScience”. Another accolade for the next generation of skilled specialists is the IGL Innovation Prize Technical University of Munich. This competition for innovation in food and drinks, organised by the Faculty of Brewing and Food Technology, offers students the opportunity to realise one of their own innovative ideas in the field of food or beverages.

Register for BrauBeviale 2019

The text/image source: official exhibition website BrauBeviale 2019