Innovative technologies, changing consumer behaviour, global change and the search for new forms of nutrition have a comprehensive impact, also on the food industry. Rarely has there been so much movement in all segments of the food world. Against this background, Koelnmesse has launched Anuga HORIZON , which will make its debut in the Rhine metropolis from 3 to 5 September 2024. For the first time, the trade fair will address the future issues of nutrition across all sectors and, as a business and innovation platform, will be an ideal opportunity to present products and solutions along the lines of future topics and trends, as well as to exchange ideas and network with like-minded people - from key players to start-ups. The first panel discussions on future-oriented nutrition topics have already taken place at Anuga 2021. Under the heading " New Nutrition ", experts discussed food trends that we will experience by 2050, tomorrow's supply chains and why "D2C" is considered the great opportunity for smaller companies.

Especially young companies often start their market presence as a direct to customer (D2C) concept, also because this is easier as a first step than being listed in stationary trade. And so Blue Farm from Berlin, founded by Philip von Have and Katia Pott and on the market since January 2021, has initially approached end consumers directly via an online shop. The vision: to become the leading brand for vegan dairy products. The mission: to create products that are good for people and for the environment. Blue Farm's current range focuses on an oat drink powder, partly flavoured with natural ingredients, that can be mixed with water to make oat milk in a few seconds. "Five years ago, no one would have understood this project. Nowadays, however, plant milk has also arrived in the mainstream and is known as an alternative to cow's milk," says Philip von Have.

A re-order rate of 45 percent in August 2021, just over half a year after its founding, confirms the approach, which also includes a subscription model, for example. "Special opportunities lie in the fact that we deliver to the home and a bag of Oat Base fits in the letterbox," Philip von Have is convinced. Blue Farm's corporate values are sustainable, clean, transparent, empowering and authentic.

The Berliners live up to these claims by, among other things, dispensing with unnecessary ingredients, open and honest communication in every direction and, last but not least, by the fact that the products contribute to eliminating food waste, reducing packaging waste and lowering CO2 emissions. "One bag of our oat powder, which is incidentally produced in a climate-neutral way, is equivalent to up to eight litres of milk, which is therefore not produced as packaging and waste," says the CEO. In the meantime, the powder is also available in some shops and cafés. And the founders still see a lot of potential in the market, because according to one estimate, 75 per cent of the world's population is lactose intolerant and "the market with plant-based dairy products is forecast to grow by more than 45 per cent from 2019 to 2029".

José Amado-Blanco, co-founder of Yamo, also sees this great growth potential in the plant-based food market: "Sales in this area increased by more than 27 percent in 2020." The Munich-based start-up launched healthy snacks for babies to schoolchildren in 2018. "Consumer needs are changing, health and sustainability are gaining ground. But what is actually going on with children's food, we asked ourselves? Why does it sometimes last longer than the child who eats it?" is how José Amado-Blanco describes the origin of the business idea. Only organic ingredients from ecological cultivation are used for porridges, bars, squeezies and the like, which are cold-pressed and gently prepared to offer an optimal mix of nutritious and delicious for children of all ages. No sugar or salt is added and no cow's milk or concentrates are used. Yamo also started as a D2C concept, "and we still are at heart". But: in the meantime, all distribution channels are used and the company is currently represented at around 2,000 POS. José Amado-Blanco is of the opinion that multichannel makes sense for all parties involved: "The positioning in stationary trade increases the level of awareness and thus the attention of consumers and has a positive effect on demand - also online. D2C, on the other hand, strengthens the brand image and increases demand in retail. Finally, online business gives us insights that are also important for brick-and-mortar retail." The challenges of the online and offline world were different: In the D2C business, it was first necessary to build trust with parents for the online purchase of baby food. In stationary retail, there was a lack of refrigerators, which were not available for baby and children's food until then.

Time is one of the scarcest commodities in people's lives - today and probably also tomorrow. When time is scarce, fast food is the obvious choice. So far, so bad, thought Benjamin Kremer and Noël Bollmann, founders of YFood, Munich. Their goal: to make conscious nutrition easier for everyone. Their conviction: People have little time, but want to eat healthy. In 2017, they launched healthy fast food on the market, initially in D2C style. The range includes drinks, powders and bars that fill you up, save you time and taste good. "The latter is important if you want to penetrate the mass market, which was our goal from the start," explains Benjamin Kremer. YFood has also been available in bricks-and-mortar stores since 2018. In June 2020, the company began expanding abroad. Today, the products can be found at over 20,000 POS in the DACH region, UK, F and NL, and the field sales team consists of 25 employees. With the still young category of smart food, the company occupies a new field of nutritional concepts, and does so very successfully: after tripling sales in 2020, YFood more than doubled sales in 2021 and has already reached a run rate of 100 million euros. In terms of turnover, the D2C and retail business currently balance each other out. Benjamin Kremer is convinced: "The basis for our success is the macro trends of convenience, health and sustainability in the food sector."

Through quick preparation, long shelf life, balanced ingredient composition (all NutriScore A), reduction of food waste, reduced CO2 emissions and fully recyclable packaging, among other things, these trends are met. Of course, YFood already has a vision for the future: "Personalised nutrition that optimally meets the individual, different lifestyles and physical needs of customers will play an important role in a few years," predicts the CEO. Because one thing has long been clear, and not just to him: "Innovation only works with the customer at the centre."

You can see that: The food community is on the move. Although the future challenges are great, the spirit of innovation that drives the industry is at least as strong.

Sponsered by Anuga HORIZON