128th Markant Trade Forum
New products, personal exchanges, prominent speakers and a special evening event: around 2,000 participants travelled to the Markant Trade Forum at the exhibition centre in Karlsruhe on 17 and 18 September. 370 exhibitors – including 74 new exhibitors and 21 start-ups – presented their new products to retailers there. In addition to the well-known industry giants, promising start-ups also used the Markant Trade Forum as an established platform.
The main topics were stationery and fruit and vegetables
With 45 stands, the 128th Markant Trade Forum placed a special focus on stationery. Markant thus responded to the great interest in this product area, which had already become apparent at the previous trade forum. The wide range of suppliers – 22 of whom were new to the forum – met with keen interest from visitors from the retail sector.
Markant's subsidiary Iberiana also presented itself at a large stand with fruit and vegetables and offered exclusive specialist presentations. A total of 20 fruit and vegetable suppliers from Italy, Spain and the Netherlands were represented.
Trade Forum INSIGHTS: Prominent experts provide insights
At the start of the first day of the trade fair, well-known speakers from the worlds of business and sport provided insights and inspiration in their presentations.
Prof. Dr. Moritz Schularick, President of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, gave a lecture with the highly topical title "Trump 2.0 – how long will Europe put up with this?". He astutely analysed the political and economic relations between the USA and Europe under the current US President.
Former professional footballer and national player Mario Basler provided exciting insights into his professional sports career in "Powerplay with SuperMario". He impressed the audience with his authenticity, humour and many anecdotes from his career.
Trade Forum NIGHT: A journey into space
Guests gathered at the Trade Forum NIGHT for a galactic conclusion to the first day of the trade fair. Under the motto "Into Space", this time they embarked on a fascinating journey through space. The garden hall of the Karlsruhe Congress Centre was transformed into an atmospheric universe. The band everso provided the perfect music for the evening.
Start-up Arena: Concentrated start-up power
Not only established industry giants but also young companies with interesting ideas have their place at the Markant Trade Forum. Ten innovative start-up teams pitched their products in the Start-up Arena voilà! A total of 21 young companies were represented in the start-up area, presenting their products to the Markant Group's trading partners.
Fancy by Nature impressed the voilà! jury with its pitches and was named the most remarkable start-up. The winning team made a lasting impression with its fermented fruit snacks. Fancy by Nature can now look forward to an article in Markant Magazine ONE and a free exhibition stand at the 129th Markant Trade Forum, as well as a meeting with Globus.
Other voilà! start-ups were also successful: BETTER CAKEZ, Elvis Eis, ECKN, NXTUP, pure.lyte and Bawra's impressed retailers and also secured vouchers for talks with retailers.
The next Markant Trade Forum will take place on 25 and 26 March 2026 at the exhibition centre in Karlsruhe.
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