Covid-19 outbreak leads to cancellations and postponements (updated: September 23, 2020)
As a producer and distributor of plant-based raw materials, Kräuter Mix regularly has its own stand at trade fairs across Germany and Europe. In 2020 too, the company had hoped to present its dried natural products – herbs, vegetables and spices both as individual ingredients as well as in mixes – to a broad audience from trade and industry. Four events had been on the schedule before the Covid-19 outbreak stalled these plans. While Nuremberg-based Biofach, the world’s largest trade fair for organic produce, still took place as planned in February, the pandemic soon turned plans upside down across the trade fair calendar. Given that these are major events with several thousand exhibitors and tens of thousands of visitors, it became impossible to adequately guarantee the health and safety of all those taking part in the trade fair and to avoid the risk of infection.
In early March, the Alimentaria fair in Barcelona decided to postpone its original dates by five months from April 20–23 to September 14–17. At the end of June, these dates were also canceled. Following this second postponement, the trade fair is now set to open its doors from May 17–20, 2021. Whether Kräuter Mix will take up its place at the Spanish trade fair specializing in food, drinks and catering on these alternative dates remains to be seen. But it is a different story when it comes to Interzoo in Nuremberg. The world’s largest pet supplies exhibition was due to take place on May 19–22. As the organizers felt the trade fair could no longer be held in 2020, Interzoo has been moved to June 1–4, 2021 when Kräuter Mix will have a stand there for the first time. After the postponement, Interzoo will maintain its biennial rhythm and in future will continue to be held in odd-numbered years.
Food ingredients Europe, initially scheduled to take place in Frankfurt on December 1–3, remained on the Kräuter Mix trade fair calendar up until late September when the organizer of Europe’s leading industry get-together for ingredients needed in the food and beverage sectors decided to cancel in view of the continuing Covid-19 situation and the associated travel restrictions. Despite a sophisticated safety and hygiene protocol, it was feared that significantly fewer exhibitors and visitors would come to Frankfurt, according to the reasons given. The 2021 fair is scheduled for November 30 to December 2. Frankfurt will remain the venue of the annual trade fair, which is not scheduled to return to Paris until 2022.