Trends and innovations of ISM 2020
In its 50th year, ISM, the summit meeting of the sweets and snacks industry is setting a new record with 1,750 exhibitors.
New products and innovations are as usual a key theme at ISM 2020.
This is also reflected by the New Products Database, which comprising around 700 entries, is highlighting mega trends such as convenience and the consumers’ related desire for small, compact snacks in the Trend Snacks and Natural Snacks sections in Hall 5.2. Here, trade visitors can gain a detailed overview of the product world of snacks and learn more about the theme Bean2Bar chocolate.
A range of original, oven or kettle baked crisps, nuts from unique regions of cultivation and various varieties of gourmet nuts as well as innovative vegetable crisps are of interest here. On top of this, there are new products like sticky rice crisps, crunchy cheese crisps or crispy snacks with turmeric and orange/ginger as a new alternative to potato crisps.
Individuality
This year’s products at ISM demonstrate that individuality still plays a major role.
Conscious enjoyment, authentic products, sustainability, but also joie de vivre and combining different trends and needs to suit the occasion or season are of key importance.
Many established trends like organic, vegan, vegetarian, fat and sugar-reduced, gluten and lactose-free or halal and kosher are ongoing.
A new development is the increased implementation of vegetable proteins like lentils, beans and peas, which serves as the basis for muesli bars enriched with nuts and hemp additives or for crisps and salty pea snacks. Insect snacks will also be represented at ISM again. ISM is for example presenting chocolate enriched with green ants, insect protein bars as well as chocolate-covered grasshopper snacks.
Sustainability
A further focus of ISM lies on the theme sustainability. The growing number of exhibitors registered under the trend theme “Fairly traded products” rose from 254 in the year 2019 up to 298 companies this year.
The focus is on sustainable raw materials and sustainable packing, because climate protection and resource-saving production processes are also on the priority list of consumers. For example, the exhibitors are presenting chewing-gum without plastic parts, organic chocolate made of organic cocoa or sandwich spreads without palm oil in the New Products Bank of ISM.
Ingredients
High-quality ingredients, premium products and unusual flavours are gaining more importance than ever this year.
Whether it is classic dried fruit, exotic berries, nuts or fruit granules – sweets with natural fruit ingredients are now more popular than ever before.
Hence, the “Ingredients” special event in Hall 10.1 of the supplier trade fair ProSweets Cologne also demonstrates the diverse opportunities for using natural ingredients such as chokeberry, pomegranate, raspberries, cranberries, lemon and mint in chocolates, bonbons or healthy snacks and muesli with berries, unsweetened dry fruit and nuts.
Here, for example, ISM is presenting bonbons with a guava filling, pizza chocolates made of natural fruits, cocoa and coffee, plain chocolate with lemon and mint extracts or plain chocolate filled with high-quality single malt whisky or cognac.
The New Product Showcase in Hall 2.2 and the New Product Database on the ISM website provide an overview of the new products of ISM: https://bit.ly/2tWFd9N