Innovations for the fish and catering industry

In northern Germany, fish is part of everyday life – and on every good menu. It is no surprise that the only German fish fair, fish international, has been held at MESSE BREMEN since 1988. As the fishing industry and its customers in the catering, hotel, communal catering and retail sectors have always been closely linked, the GASTRO IVENT gastronomy trade fair has been held in parallel since 2014. This ensures a lively exchange, intensive contacts and valuable synergies between the most important players in the participating sectors in the Hanseatic city. From Sunday to Tuesday, 25 to 27 February 2024, the experts will meet in Halls 5, 6 and 7 at MESSE BREMEN.

„We are very pleased that we will be starting together again in 2024, because as an established and proven trade fair duo, we complement each other very well,“ says Marta Pasierbek, Project Manager of GASTRO IVENT. Sabine Wedell, Project Manager of fish international, adds: „We are opening up both worlds to our trade visitors in a breadth and depth that cannot be found anywhere else. And everyone benefits from this.“

fish international: Germany’s only fish fair
„Every two years, fish international shows what moves the fish industry at home and abroad,“ says Wedell, adding: „Producers and retailers present their innovations, there is discussion, networking and, of course, good business.“ Over 300 exhibitors from Germany and abroad will be taking part in 2024, including industry giants such as Deutsche See and Transgourmet Seafood as well as new exhibitors such as Freezco from Poland and Famille Beaulieu from Brittany. Freezco has many years of experience in fish processing and offers fresh and frozen salmon of the highest quality. Famille Beaulieu from Brittany is passionate about seafood, especially mussels, rock oysters and flat oysters. The latter have been certified organic since 2021.

Young companies with smart ideas are also taking part under the „Young Innovators“ label, for example the retail start-up Ordinary Seafood from Potsdam. They manage entirely without fish trawler and the sea: The company produces vegan salmon and tuna alternatives based on plant-based proteins that not only appeal to vegans. Flexality from Bremen, on the other hand, wants to drive forward the energy revolution in cold stores. To this end, the team has developed an algorithm for cold storage processes that aims to cut electricity costs by up to 15 per cent and CO2 emissions by up to 14 per cent.

Visitors from the food and fish fair, catering and communal catering can also get to know lots of delicatessen products, fresh fish of course, seafood and new products. For example, Wechsler Feinfisch will be presenting the first smoked tilapia on the German market. Pickenpack Seafoods will be presenting a new range of small portion fillets in 100g portions. „The demand for compact, flexible and more easily calculable fish portions is growing steadily,“ says Wieland Jammer, Key Account Manager at Pickenpack Seafoods. „With our new, small portion fillets based on Alaska pollock fillet with the innovative roasted onion, pumpkin seed or pretzel breading, we have developed a product range that fulfils this demand.“

Royal Greenland is presenting its North Atlantic specialities, including for the first time the freshly Seafood Star-winning breaded Greenland ice water prawns. They have been developed in such a way that they can be prepared straight from the freezer in the oven or hot air fryer in just a few minutes. „Whether as a snack, starter or main course: The spicy, slightly hot breading gives the product a variety of uses, both in retail and in the catering trade,“ says Managing Director René Stahlhofen and clarifies: „The prawn retains its juicy bite and is also suitable as a topping for soups, bowls and salads.“

GASTRO IVENT: the industry meeting place for the north-west
GASTRO IVENT is the most important networking platform for professionals from the catering, communal catering and hotel industries in the north-west. It not only offers a good overview of the industry, but also shows all the important trends and deals with the current challenges in a solution-orientated way. „We want to inspire the industry players with exciting trends and ideas from the field,“ says project manager Marta Pasierbek. Around 200 exhibitors from the food, beverage, wholesale, furnishing and equipment sectors, among others, will ensure this at GASTRO IVENT.

Start-up avenue: digitalisation, alcohol-free and opulent tea blossoms
In addition to established major players, a number of newcomers will also be presenting themselves in a special area, the Start-up Alley. David Keuenhof and Gregor Pilz, for example, who founded Ordio in 2021, will be there. This is a comprehensive management app. Among other things, Ordio ensures that (not only) catering businesses can plan their shifts intelligently. Philip Kahnis and Alexander Poljaschenko are also relatively new to the catering market. The two founders have developed non-alcoholic alternatives to gin, aperitifs, sparkling wine and rum under the label „Polly“, which they will be presenting and tasting at GASTRO IVENT in February.

What about tea?
Joyce Veldman from the Netherlands represents the Dutch start-up „Flora Tea“.  The art of the founders of „Flora Tea“ consists of creating opulent tea flowers from high-quality green tea leaves and blossoms such as jasmine, chrysanthemum or rose. When hot water is poured over them, the leaves unfurl into a beautiful blossom. The finished tea has a finely balanced, wonderful flavour that rounds off the visual experience.

Coffee in all its diversity – and three championships…
Coffee is by far the most popular drink in Germany – ahead of mineral water and beer. We drink almost four cups a day. The importance of coffee for the catering industry can therefore not be overestimated. It is a sales driver, but also an important tool for sharpening the image. Coffee therefore plays an important role at GASTRO IVENT. Numerous roasting companies and coffee professionals will be demonstrating the variety of flavours they can extract from the noble bean. In keeping with this, the Speciality Coffee Association Germany (SCA) will be staging three national competitions at the upcoming GASTRO IVENT: the Barista Championship, the Brewers Cup and the Latte Art Championship. This means that Bremen will be the centre of the German coffee scene next February.

(6.441 incl. spaces)

Please add the trade fair duo to your event calendar:

fish international The fish fair in Germany

Sunday to Tuesday, 25 to 27 February 2024

Opening hours:

Sunday and Monday, 10.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m.

Tuesday, 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.

MESSE BREMEN, Hall 5

E-Mail: info@fishinternational.de

Internet: www.fishinternational.de

Contact for editorial offices:
Canan Sevil, T 0421 3505-323
canan.sevil@m3b-bremen.de

GASTRO IVENT

Impulses and solutions for the catering, hotel and communal catering sectors

Sunday to Tuesday, 25 to 27 February 2024

Opening hours:

Sunday and Monday, 10.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m.

Tuesday, 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.

MESSE BREMEN, Hall 6 & 7

E-Mail: info@gastro-ivent.de.de

Internet: www.gastro-ivent.de

Contact for editorial offices:
Christina Witte, T 0421 3505-455
christina.witte@m3b-bremen.de

About fish international
Founded in 1988, fish international at MESSE BREMEN is the only German trade fair for fish and seafood. It takes place every two years together with the gastronomy trade fair GASTRO IVENT and attracts over 10,000 trade visitors from the fish industry, fish wholesalers, food retailers and the catering trade to the Hanseatic city. Around 300 exhibitors from all over the world are on site for fish international alone, providing a framework for information, dialogue and networking.

About GASTRO IVENT
Founded in 2014, GASTRO IVENT is the industry meeting place for north-west Germany. It offers inspiration and solutions for the catering, hotel, communal catering and food retail sectors. The spectrum of exhibits ranges from food, beverages and convenience products, which are often produced by hand, to a wide range of technical aids, furniture and accessories. The approximately 200 exhibitors from Germany and neighbouring countries reflect the entire diversity of the industry: start-ups stand alongside established large companies. GASTRO IVENT takes place in even-numbered years – parallel to fish international, the only trade fair for fish and seafood in Germany.