Exclusive Interview: Manufacturing, Selling and Managing Take Center Stage at Europain

In 2018, the French event introduces a new structure, around three major themes to better support visiting guests. Marie-Odile Fondeur, Europain’s CEO, shares behind-the-scene insights into all the exhibition’s features.

Over four days, the 48,000 sqm of Hall 6 – at the Parc des Expositions de Paris-Nord Villepinte venue – will bring together more than 500 exhibitors, as well as the strategic players from the bakery and pastry sector worldwide. The new edition of Europain will introduce a simplified structure, segmented into three sections (manufacturing, selling, and managing) which will make it easier to identify the latest services, products and equipment. As the fair is preparing to welcome around 65,000 professionals, it will feature many new and popular events, including live demonstrations, competitions as well as the Forum, hosting back-to-back insightful presentations. Marie-Odile Fondeur, Europain’s CEO, offers us the highlights of the 2018 edition.

How do you characterize the evolution of Europain?

For some years, the bakery industry market has been undergoing radical changes and a major trade show like Europain must reflect the market. That is the primary function of a show: to gather all the actors of an industry, to offer solutions to anticipate changes, and facilitate exchanges. That’s what we kept in mind when we built the 2018 Europain edition.

Europain 2018 will meet today’s bakery challenges, thanks to a wide of offers presented by exhibitors, and introduce a new structure, relevant demonstrations and a rich content at the Forum.

The new edition of Europain brings three major themes. What motivated this new structure?

After the 2016 edition, we polled exhibitors and key players in the industry to gather their feedback and expectations. As a result of these dialogues, we underwent a complete overhaul of the exhibition organization, which will now comprise three sectors: MANUFACTURING – SELLING – MANAGING. To ensure that visitors can easily find what they are looking for, the three themes will highlight:

MANUFACTURING is dedicated to creation, manufacturing and production. Professionals from the bakery and pastry trades will find here all the equipment, appliances, raw materials and ingredients they need to produce in small or large quantities, and for all varieties.

SELLING will gather the best solutions to help entrepreneurs in the bakery, pastry-chocolate industries sell their products in shop or to go. Exhibitors showing packaging, point of sale advertising, digital technologies, shop design, but also agrofood products, food supplements will help visitors optimize their sales, improve their service and ensure customer loyalty.

MANAGING section brings together the best specialized services: financing, legal assistance, staff management solutions, insurance, and training establishments, offering all the solutions to the daily challenges of these professionals who need to run their businesses on a daily basis. The Schools Street (Rue des Ecoles) is set in this section.

And what does the fair imply, in terms of organization?

Besides the organization team, we work in close cooperation with the most competent experts in the bakery-pastry trade to perfectly match the visitors’ expectations: bakers, Meilleurs Ouvriers de France, National Confederations, and key players of the market. For instance, Hubert Chiron, president of the International Association of French Bread and researcher for INRA is working closely with the team dedicated to the Forum.

Please share details about live demonstrations in the show’s agenda.

Over four days, a comprehensive program of demonstrations will offer visitors a fascinating experience that is packed with practical lessons, efficient encounters and useful discoveries for their businesses.

We are welcoming a brand-new stage WELL-BEING AND HEALTH LAB, co-produced with Borea, a bakery network focused on wellbeing and naturalness. Addressing health, quality and authenticity, the Lab will propose a varied program, including practical demonstrations and expert workshops.

As for the BAKER’S LAB, it’s a full-size bakery where 40-minutes demonstrations and 15-minute speeches will be held, by top French and international bakers on different themes such as: healthy breads/allergy free, shop solutions, snacking, classics and revisited, digital, yeasts/leavening, and more.

This program and this lab is coproduced with Cuisine Mode d’Emploi(s), a catering and bakery school created by Thierry Marx.

A real and fully operational shop, the RESTAURANT SHOP, will allow the visitor to experience a shop with an ergonomic and warm dining area, offering product ideas and innovative sales solutions to explore all the possibilities of bakery catering.

As for pastry, the INTERSUC LAB will feature highly professional pastry demonstrations performed in close-up by prestigious pastry chefs. Among them: Stephane Glacier, Meilleur Ouvrier de France, Jean-Thomas Schneider, World Pastry Champion 2017, Cyril GAIDELLA, French desserts champion 2017 and others pastry chefs from famous boutiques and restaurants.

What about the education component at Europain, as the 2018 fair debuts an expanded presentation agenda at the Forum?

At the heart of Europain, the FORUM will showcase four days of exchanges: debates, discussions and reviews by 80 French and international contributors from all over the world among whom: Eric Kayser , Mauricio Sandri from EUROGERM Brazil, Michel Suaz from San Francisco Baking Institute, Pascal Rigo, founder of La Boulange or Stanley P. Cauvain, an expert in soft bread. Many other great names have confirmed their participation to Europain Forum. All of them will share their expertise and present new business models to inspire bakery and pastry entrepreneurs.

What can we expect to see at the New products award?

Europain will put extra focus this year on all new products appearing in the industry and will highlight the most innovative ones. We will give several NEW PRODUCTS AWARDS that will be selected by a committee of experts among each and every new product presented of the show.

But giving voice to daily users was also essential to us and we have therefore created the VISITORS’ AWARDS. An online vote will be available for pre-registered visitors in December.

The Bakery Masters brings together the best 18 bakers in the world who compete for the prestigious title of “World Master Baker”. What are the steps of this competition?

After four years of team competitions for the Louis Lesaffre Cup, then the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie, only 18 candidates from the four corners of the world, motivated by their passion and their burning desire to win, now have the privilege to take part in the Bakery Masters competition as individuals.

Among the candidates, 12 have been selected on the best scores obtained as individuals during either the Louis Lesaffre Cup and/or the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie, six were chosen for their promising potential.

These experienced candidates will compete in one of the three following specialties: Nutritional Bread Making, Gourmet Baking and Artistic Bread Making.

The list of candidates is available online: http://www.europain.com/en/bakery-masters

What is Europain’s collaboration with Meilleurs Ouvriers de France?

Meilleurs Ouvriers de France represent the elite of the trade. They are invited to the show and some of them will share their knowledge with the visitors on the animations stages: Eric Kayser will develop the keys for a successful international development on the Forum, Nicolas Boussin will share his signature recipe. They are also well represented in the contests jury: Chrisitian Vabret as president of the Bakery Masters’ jury.