IFFA 2022 took place last week and saw high interest in alternative proteins and sustainable production. The leading food industry trade fair has reported that the increased interest in the alt protein sector shows the great future potential of the market, with IFFA expanding its product portfolio to focus on process technology and ingredients for alternative proteins.
Around 50,000 visitors from 129 countries traveled to Frankfurt am Main for the leading international trade fair, historically one of the world’s oldest meat fairs. Taking place on a three-year cycle – corresponding to the industry’s innovation cycle – IFFA placed a special focus on ingredients and manufacturing processes in the alt protein sector for the first time.
IFFA reports visitors showing great interest in plant-based meat alternatives, hybrid products, and cell-cultured meat both on the exhibitors’ stands and with their participation in the event program. The conference by ProVeg and the Discovery Tours led by the Good Food Institute Europe were reported to be very popular. Israeli cultured meat leader MeaTech also hosted a tasting session of hybrid chicken nuggets at the fair, while bio-based packaging also emerged as a key theme of the event.
Fabio Ziemßen, first chairman at the German Association for Alternative Protein Sources, draws a positive conclusion from his association’s premiere participation at IFFA: “IFFA 2022 has made it clear that alternative protein sources will continue to have a firm place at the leading international trade fair in the future, and that this topic will continue to grow in the coming years. It is therefore indispensable for producers and distributors of alternative protein sources to be present here in three years’ time. Being the German industry association, we look forward to continuing to accompany and shape this development in the future.”
