A total of 176 contributors will shape 55 sessions on the Innovation Stage and in the new Community Hubs SMART and SUSTAINABLE, with a further 44 sessions on the Speakers Corner stage. The programme, developed by the German Agricultural Society (DLG) as the event’s professional and conceptual sponsor, is complemented by nine Guided Tours to selected applications in the exhibition halls.
With 20 sessions, the Innovation Stage is the largest stage. Each day focuses on a different processing area: milk and milk alternatives, meat and meat substitutes, liquid food and special water, and finally plant-based food and food packaging. Topics range from food processing and safety & analytics to environment & energy, intralogistics and pet food. Innova Market Insights (eight Top Trends sessions) and Euromonitor (four sessions) contribute as Knowledge Partners.
“New technologies are only convincing once they work in everyday industrial operations. Our programme shows what they can achieve and brings developers and users into conversation,” says Carola K. Herbst, Deputy Managing Director of the DLG Competence Center Agriculture and Food.
The two new Community Hubs move away from traditional lecture stages. Community Hub SMART dedicates 19 sessions to AI, digital twins, robotics, automation and cyber security. Community Hub SUSTAINABLE, sponsored by Ecolab, covers resource efficiency, circular economy, sustainable packaging and alternative proteins in 16 sessions. Fishbowls and BarCamps actively involve the audience.
“The Community Hubs bring science and operational practice together. Visitors can raise their own questions and discuss directly with experts which solutions can be implemented in practice,” explains Roland Thiemann, Director of Anuga FoodTec.
On the Speakers Corner stage, exhibitors present their innovations in compact talks, while the Guided Tours lead directly to solutions in the halls, where production lines and live demonstrations illustrate their use.
On 23 February, the DLG and its partners will present the 13th International FoodTec Award at the Theater am Tanzbrunnen in Cologne-Deutz. Awarded every three years, it recognises pioneering food technology developments that combine innovation with sustainability and efficiency. The day before the show, the 5th International Conference “Separation and Drying Technologies for Milk, Whey and Vegan Raw Materials” and the International FoodTec Forum take place. On 26 February, the Careers Day brings together students, young professionals and companies from food and beverage production.
