"Digital marketplace for the industry"

BrauBeviale Special Edition | The starting signal for the BrauBeviale Special Edition has been given. The next three days are packed with exciting presentations, top-class discussions and important impulses for the future viability of the companies in the beverage industry. The new digital platform myBeviale.com now provides a virtual home for the regulars' table of the beverage industry on 365 days a year.

"This year everything is different - all over the world," emphasized Rolf Keller, member of the management board of NürnbergMesse GmbH, at the opening of the BrauBeviale Special Edition. Thus, the opening of the exhibition with digital press conference and virtual opening discussion was completely different from what everyone had imagined at the beginning of 2020.

In the press conference moderated by Sabine Ziener, PR manager BrauBeviale, Rolf Keller and the association representatives Georg Rittmayer, president of Private Breweries Bavaria e. V., Richard Clemens, managing director of VDMA Food Processing and Packaging Machinery, and Dr. Detlef Groß, general manager of the German Non-Alcoholic Beverage Industry Association (wafg), looked back almost wistfully at 2019.

"We lack the direct contacts"

"It is and will remain a people's business," Clemens emphasized, "even though much now works digitally, we lack direct encounters and can hardly wait for the travel restrictions to be lifted. Among the mechanical engineering companies, the sales and commissioning departments in particular have suffered from the effects of the pandemic.

"The slump in draught beer due to the loss of festivals and the closure of restaurants and bars cannot be compensated by the pleasing increase in bottled beer," concludes Georg Rittmayer, summarizing the effects of the Covid 19 pandemic on the brewing industry to date.

Looking ahead

But there was not only whining, it was important to emphasize to everyone that it goes on - yes, must go on! It also became clear that despite all the negative effects of the crisis, there are also positive aspects to be gained from it.

Georg Rittmayer was enthusiastic about the creativity of the companies. Stephan Barth, managing director of BarthHaas, also hit this mark during the opening discussion: "The resilience factor should not be underestimated, the catch-up effect will be a bomb!

"We are seeing a digitalization push that would probably have taken three to four years without Corona," Clemens is sure. Peter Ottmann, CEO of Nürnberg Messe, agrees. With www.myBeviale.com, a digital platform for the industry was created within half a year, which was actually not planned for the next three years. These positive effects should also be kept in mind.

Corona was not the all-dominant topic of the opening round. A controversial discussion about packaging materials, reusable and disposable deposits and the future development of the industry made clear that there is a life after Corona that one should think about and prepare for now.

Many thanks to the trade fair team for their extraordinary commitment

In order for things to continue in the new normality, digital platforms are needed to exchange ideas about the future of the beverage industry - and that is exactly what myBeviale.com was developed for. "We need new marketplaces and that is why I would like to thank NürnbergMesse most sincerely for providing a digital marketplace for the beverage industry with myBeviale.com," emphasized Dr. Groß.

All participants in the opening discussion agreed: the entire team at NürnbergMesse deserves a huge vote of thanks for their tireless commitment and the development of three different trade fair concepts within a very short time to enable a (now virtual) meeting of industry representatives under these challenging conditions.

"We have a changed normality with which we are learning to live better and better and are now concentrating on making the future more sustainable," pointed out Dr. Johannes Grobe, managing director of KHS, in his closing words.

"A personal conversation, a handshake, a beer at the bar is worth so much more than any digital video conference," stated Georg Rittmayer at the end, expressing confidence that the industry will be back at its regulars' table in 2022.

"The digital appearance is just the bridge, we want to meet again here in the exhibition halls in Nuremberg in 2022, it's all about showing optimism," emphasized Peter Ottmann at the end of the opening round.