Koelnmesse has postponed the 2023 ProSweets Cologne from January to April 23-25 to align with ISM, which organizers had postponed in June.

The one-off postponement comes after organizers solicited feedback from exhibiting companies and industry sponsors. Koelnmesse said in June it decided to push back ISM because of the cost increases facing the confectionery industry and unpredictability in consumer behavior.

"The feedback from our customers to the survey we carried out and the many personal discussions with our exhibitors underline the need for the execution and offer of a ProSweets Cologne 2023 special edition in April,” said Claire Steinbrück, food technology vice president trade fair management, Koelnmesse GmbH. “Regardless of the date being postponed, the secret of ProSweets Cologne 2023's success has also asserted itself, and this is the fact that it is staged parallel to ISM — their unique constellation of covering the entire value chain of the production and supplier industries and the trade. We are thus convinced that the exhibitors of ProSweets Cologne 2023 will be able to network with the relevant key players and do business in the usual manner in the course of this special edition.”

Partners of ProSweets Cologne, such as the German Agricultural Society (DLG), Sweets Global Network e.V. (SG), the German Confection Industry (BDSI) and the Central College of the German Confectionery Industry e.V. (ZDS), will take part in the trade fair as usual and will be involved in co-shaping the event and lecture program. They will inform the visitors about the latest developments regarding global raw material procurement or sustainable packaging concepts.

Over the coming weeks, ProSweets organizers will work on the concept of the special edition and inform exhibiting companies and visitors about the new format in a timely manner.