Are You Ready for Everything Hybrid?

ISM and ProSweets are preparing new, hybrid formats of their upcoming shows early next year, introducing digital methods for product presentation and networking. As consumers are coming to terms with newly-formed habits and 2020-changes in lifestyles, the industry is undergoing self-adjustments of its own and one of the positive outcomes is a leap towards digital tools, not simply just a step at a time. This is a good thing.

It has been challenging to forego in-person meetings and sealing deals with a handshake, admittedly. It’s been even more challenging to run business with mass lockdowns turning people away from entering bakery shops and restaurants. But digital solutions have proved to be the safety net that provided support in both of these scenarios, and quite the upper hand, too – for example, for businesses that saw opportunities to change the way they worked and swiftly switched channels and production. Online stores, retail and curbside pickup or home delivery are just a few that proved successful. If “hybrid” in bakery notoriously means cronuts, it’s now making room for new ways of working.

Germany upholds its ban on large-scale events for the rest of the year, with the exception of trade shows and congresses – these can take place already, as long as protection and hygiene measures are strictly in place. The industry has been cautious about resuming large in-doors, in-person affairs so far, so the stakes are high for trade fairs to start the next year well. For ISM and ProSweets, Koelnmesse’s big start-of-the-year events, going hybrid means a revised and extended Matchmaking 365+ platform. Via this service, ISM exhibitors can reach trade visitors way ahead of the fair’s opening. The new 365+ version offers the exhibitors additional options regarding the product presentation. The users can present their products as photo and text information within the exhibitor showroom and increase the attention their company attracts by embedding video content. New products are especially highlighted here. Koelnmesse will also provide contact proposals via Matchmaking 365+, based on the participants’ interests, to help them establish new, interesting contacts. The platform now also enables chat, audio and video meetings. Online appointment scheduling will also come in handy to prepare early for the visit and to follow up on conversations after. Moreover, about 80% of ISM’s exhibition space has already been booked, four months ahead of the fair – great signals that business carries on. It’s a reasonable assumption that we can expect Koelnmesse to bring similar goodness to Anuga FoodTec as well; quite exciting!

It’s not only trade fairs that are getting a digital makeover; entire business models have quickly begun to transform into hybrids themselves. This meant revising the entire workflow around staff and process safety, made easier by adding any possible automation. It meant switching market channels from foodservice to retail, for example, and bringing changes to entire product ranges, and their respective processes and supporting technology. Marketing that works is key at any times, but now it means finding new ways to reach consumers and meet their convenience needs. Convenience is altogether redefined now around mealtimes that are not so much on-the-go, but should still save time while bringing the most nutritious option in an utterly safe packaging. We’ve recently published an analysis courtesy of GlobalData in Asia Pacific Baker & Biscuit, showing room for opportunities for breakfast occasions and in making mixes, for example.

The route to recovery from the COVID-19 impact is outlined. The global bakery and confectionary market is expected to grow from USD890.9bn to USD916.2bn in 2020 at a CAGR of 2.85%, despite the disruption in supply chains as a result of trade restrictions and lockdowns imposed across countries owing to the COVID-19 outbreak. Research expects the market to then grow at a CAGR of 7.19% from 2020 to reach USD1128.2bn in 2023 (MarketResearch.com).

Previously untapped export opportunities also hold a path to potential routes to recovery – and the UK will be particularly interesting to observe, in this respect. The FDF issued a new report detailing viable avenues for exports this year and it highlights Canada, the US, China, UAE and the Gulf.

While consumption of bakery goods has not in the least gone away, it has changed to the extent that, in some cases, bakeries have had to double production; this is an entirely different problem to have. If anything, we are seeing a newly-found appreciation for bread and staple products, which should be sustained by the product offerings themselves. As with the other recent disruptions, there are digital answers to many issues. Why is everything hybrid a good thing? We’ve been analyzing Industry 4.0, the Internet of Things, smart automation and their opportunities already; the next step in digital transformation is just here faster. I am rooting for “the hybrid stage” and the flexibility it brings in our work.