ISM Brings Ingredients, Manufacturing and Finished Products Under One Brand

Koelnmesse will restructure its sweets and snacks trade fair portfolio from 2027, bringing ingredients, manufacturing and finished products together under a single ISM umbrella brand.

The new structure will comprise three specialised formats: ISM Ingredients, ISM Manufacturing and ISM Snacks & Sweets. Together, they are intended to cover the sector’s value chain from raw materials and product development through processing, packaging and technology to finished products and retail.

The change will also see ProSweets Cologne, which has run alongside ISM since its launch in 2006, renamed ISM Manufacturing. The existing ISM exhibition will meanwhile become ISM Snacks & Sweets, positioning it specifically around finished products, brands and the retail market.

ISM Ingredients will focus on raw materials, ingredients and semi-finished products, including functional ingredients and solutions relating to flavour, texture and product development.

ISM Manufacturing will cover production, processing, packaging and technology, with areas including machinery, automation, artificial intelligence and quality management. ISM Snacks & Sweets will represent the downstream end of the chain, bringing together finished-product manufacturers, brands and trading companies.

Koelnmesse said the restructuring reflects the increasing overlap between ingredient development, production technology and product commercialisation as manufacturers look at innovation across the complete development and manufacturing process.

“The sweets and snacks industry is increasingly taking a holistic approach to innovation. That is why, with ISM and its three trade fair formats, we are creating a brand architecture that unites all relevant areas of the value chain under a strong umbrella brand. This provides improved orientation, strengthens synergies and opens up new, more intensive opportunities for business, exchange, and innovation,” said Bastian Mingers, Vice President Food & Food Technology at Koelnmesse GmbH.

The organiser will also introduce a unified identity and shared infrastructure across the three formats, including a central website, ticket shop, trade fair app and integrated networking and communication platforms.

The first ISM under the new three-format structure will take place in Cologne from January 31 to February 3, 2027.