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Article Excerpt
The dates are Oct. 10-14, the venue is Cologne, Germany's Koelnmesse, and Anuga is the event.
The world's largest trade fair will feature around 400 suppliers of frozen products in Halls 4.1 and 4.2, with others exhibiting elsewhere on the fairgrounds. This, says the organizer, makes Anuga Frozen Food, one of Anuga's 10 specialized trade shows within a show, the most comprehensive international exhibition on the topic of frozen food products.
The sector will also point the way forward with a supporting program, Frozen Food '09, which will take place on the Sunday evening of the fair. It will bring together top decision-makers of the retail trade, industry, foodservice/catering and industrial supply segments. The Oct. 11 gathering in the Congress Center East's Offenbachsaal, which will begin at 5:45 PM, is organized jointly by Quick Frozen Foods International, the German Frozen Food Institute, Lebensmittel Praxis, and Koelnmesse GmbH. QFFI will award the Golden Ice Crystal prize in a ceremony set for 6:50-7:20 PM.
Among companies exhibiting their products in the Anuga Frozen Food section will be Agrafrost, Ardo, Aviko, Congelados de Navarra, Erlenbacher Backwaren, Fishermans Choice, Freiberger, Frenzel, FRoSTA, Galileo, Herbafrost, Hiestand, Lamb-Weston/Meijer, Mex-Al El Sombrero, PinguinLutosa, Oerlemans Foods, Salomon FoodWorld, Vossko, Wagner and Ysco.
The frozen food business is booming. Around the globe more consumers appreciate the benefits of fresher than fresh products. According to surveys conducted by Nielsen, frozen foods generated turnover exceeding EUR 5.1 billion in the German food retail trade during 2008, up 4.3% over the previous year.
The British Frozen Food Federation reported a 6.7% increase in revenue in the retail business in the UK, to around EUR 5.5 billion. And according to the National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association, the US retail market rang up nearly $40 billion from sales of frozen food products, an increase of nearly 4%.
The driving forces of growth in the frozen business in Europe are mainly pizza and fish. In Germany, they are running neck and neck in the race for the pole position within the frozen food group. In 2008, the food retail trade was able to break the billion-euro turnover barrier in both segments for the first time.
"Product innovations have propelled the frozen pizza market forward," said Andreas Durr of Information Resources. "However, the trends of wellness and organic food haven't been able to penetrate the pizza segment. Leading manufacturers are increasingly focusing on premium products with unusual toppings and mini-pizzas for children."
Consumers are also very open to new products in the frozen fish segment. They are increasingly purchasing fish fillets and other forms of frozen exotic fish products, such as goatfish and barramundi. Shellfish and crustacean products are also becoming fast sellers in the retail trade. In general, consumers are increasingly attaching importance to sustainable products when purchasing frozen fish and seafood.
In the business of frozen ready-meals the keyword is "premium." The trend is towards complete meals made from challenging recipes, which are increasingly available as single-portion meals and aimed at consumers with high expectations.
What follows is a preview of some of the innovative new products that will be showcased by companies at the exhibition.
Agrarfrost, Wildeshausen, Germany (www.agrarfrost.de), will be at Hall 4.1, Stand B089, with a recently launched line of premium french fries for the fast food market.
On one hand, extra long Premium Longs, the 1/4" cut offer ideal length, a golden appearance and full potato taste. On the other hand, the Premium Fast Food offering features extra crunchy fries with a salty coating. Export packaging for both is in Arabic as well as English and French. The largest German potato processor has several additional innovative developments in the pipeline.
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Moreover, some of Agrarfrost's classic fast food items are currently in re-launch, including: Crazy Frites (curly french fries in a seasoned coating) and Griddies (grid-shaped potato slices in a seasoned coating). Both products have been reformulated to become even crunchier and spicier.
Vossko Tiefkuhlkost GmbH, Ostbevern Germany (www.vossko.de), is holding forth at Hall 7.1, Stand B100 with a broad range of frozen meat products that cover different market segments, levels of quality and price categories.
Vossko produces high-grade convenience products made from poultry, pork and beef in Ostbevern and in Lages, Brazil, headquarters of the Vossko do Brasil unit....
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