5 minute read
2022 Kind + Jugend Innovation Award winners
This month Online4Baby’s Managing Director Christy Foster and Senior Buyer Jenny Brooks takes a view on Kind + Jugend this year having visited the show in September.
The Online4Baby buying team recently attended Kind + Jugend International trade fair in Cologne from the 8th to the 10th September. Managing Director Christy Foster and Senior Buyer Jenny Brooks reflect on what they saw and look ahead to Harrogate International Nursery Fair coming up in October.
Christy observed that although not on the scale it used to be, attending the Cologne International Show for the first time post-Covid was a fantastic occasion. It was especially beneficial to meet with brands in person, something we’ve not been able to do for a while. The team enjoyed seeing new products in the flesh and found it gave an insightful look into what we can expect from the upcoming Harrogate International Show.
A trend that Jenny noted was a move towards more contemporary styling in the nursery. The team noticed an increased use of feature wood paneling, darker tones, and monochrome colour schemes. They felt it reflected broader home interior trends where we’re also seeing a high use of wood paneling and Scandi styling through living room furniture. It’s a design we’re confident will transition into the nursery over the next few years.
Another highlight of Kind + Jugend in Cologne was attending presentations at the Trend Forum, including 2023 baby and kids design trends and insights into the European baby care market since Covid. Additionally, the key highlight for any event is being able to see products in front of you, get out of the office, and even let our hair down after a busy few months.
Looking ahead to the Harrogate International Nursery Fair, Jenny notes that she’s looking forward to seeing how product innovation has stepped forwards compared to last years’ event. The team are now in the process of booking meetings with brands and look forward to catching up with our valued partners in person.
Team Clippasafe: From left: Heidi Grier, Sue Ellis, Roger Cheetham, Roger Scott UPPAbaby: Richard Bamforth
TFK: Henrik Lieberg
Kind + Jugend
impresses the industry
Top decision-making competence of visitors underlines the significance of the international trading platform Kind + Jugend and sets a clear business signal.
High number of foreign visitors, dynamic business, satisfied exhibitors: Kind + Jugend from 8 to 10 September 2022 was a successful trade fair experience in all respects.
With an impressive number of around 500 exhibitors from 38 countries, from top players through to newcomers, the trade fair offered a comprehensive overview of the industry again this year. Around 10,000 trade visitors from 103 countries attended, 75 percent of whom came from abroad. They showed a high interest in new and existing products from all exhibition segments and ensured good order books and high hopes for a good post-fair business.
“This on-site edition of Kind + Jugend with such high-quality encounters, has impressively demonstrated that the industry and trade need and intensively use the marketing tool, trade fairs, more than ever,” commented Oliver Frese, Chief Operating Officer of Koelnmesse GmbH. “The first event after the RE-START edition has already accentuated this. This was an important step in returning to the old strength of Kind + Jugend,” Frese added. Alongside the excellent visitor num bers, the trade fair’s international attendance was particularly impressive – over 75 percent of the visitors came from abroad. The majority of the visitors travelled to the trade fair from all countries of Europe.
A high number of buyers from Turkey also attended Kind + Jugend in Cologne. Furthermore, a large number of visitors attended from North America and Australia, as well as from the Near and Middle East, particularly from Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Many visitors also travelled to Cologne from Korea, India and Japan as well as from other Asiatic countries.
The exhibitors unanimously praised the high degree of decision-making competence of the visitors. They came from the international wholesale and retail trade, from the online trade, from drugstores and furniture stores, from purchasing associations as well as from the import trade.
This year, the exhibitors came from all areas of the baby and toddler outfitting sector and included products from the segments of strollers, child seats and carriers, children’s furniture and room furnishings, safety and monitoring, fashion and streetwear for babies and pregnant mothers, toys for kids and, of course, care and nutrition. 85 percent of the exhibitors came from abroad.
Along with numerous leading manufacturers and brands, many small and medium-sized suppliers as well as young companies and start-ups were represented at Kind + Jugend. The majority of the exhibitors came from European countries and Turkey. However, companies from China, India, Israel, Canada, Korea, Pakistan, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore and the USA were also represented at this year’s trade fair.
