SIGEP Rimini 2020 - the trade fair blog

There are many fairs where the topic of ice cream and soft ice cream is present (sometimes more, sometimes less): from the typical gastronomy fairs (Internorga in Hamburg, GAST in Salzburg, HOST in Milan) to various bakery fairs (Südback) to the infamous MIG in Longarone every December.

But the leading trade fair, THE trade fair par excellence for ice cream, is and remains SIGEP, which takes place every year in January in Rimini. Now Rimini is neither around the corner, nor in the winter particularly well to reach by plane - and really exciting is the place Rimini in the winter, outside the bathing season, also not.
But that doesn't matter, you have us - we were there for you and would like to tell you about our impressions and experiences of SIGEP 2020.

The first impression of SIGEP 2020

Wow, that's big - that's what we think every time we drive to the exhibition center "Rimini Fiera". 16 large plus 8 smaller exhibition halls makes a total of 24(!) Exhibition halls - who wants to visit everything in one day, needs good shoes and good condition. Of these 24 exhibition halls, 12 deal with the topic "Gelato" in all its facets - the rest is distributed among the topics "Pasticceria" (10 halls), "Espresso" (five halls ) and "Chocolate" (one hall). So you see: ice cream is the main theme of the fair!

And to get to the fair in the morning and back from the fair in the evening, you really need patience: If you have your hotel in Rimini or Riccione (Rimini's neighbor to the south), the few kilometers from the hotel to the fair and back can take a long time - one and a half hours and more are not uncommon, and also the fight every evening for the fastest way out of the parking lot (which costs a measly € 18 per day) requires good nerves. Once you're inside the exhibition halls, however, there's a lot to see.

Parli italiano?!

The first thing that stands out is that you don't get very far with German (with a few exceptions) - Italian is the language of the fair, although you can also get by with English at most of the stands. But of course - if you know at least a few words of Italian, you have a clear advantage.

The stands are almost always impressive: imaginative, imposing stand structures dominate the picture - some of them are even multi-story, with seating areas on the upper floor, unusual decorations (in vogue this year: "Living Walls," green wall decorations made of real or imitation plants) and lots and lots of ice cream. And yes, every now and then your gaze will linger on one of the countless, consistently strikingly good-looking trade fair hostesses.

International audience

The audience is mixed: Of course there are many visitors from Italy - especially on weekends the fair is also a popular destination for families from the (near and far) region. But otherwise the magic word is: "International". Besides (a few) Germans, one sees customers from Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western Europe, Middle and Far East, India and the USA. The stand of our main supplier, Carpigiani (the world market leader in ice cream technology), is also teeming with dealers from all over the world - and at the annual gala dinner of the dealers, we get to meet one or two of them. For example, I sit at the table with colleagues from Austria, Albania, Greece, Italy and other nationalities. And in interesting conversations with the colleagues, I realize once again that each country has its own ice cream market with its very own rules, products, challenges and customers.

News from Carpigiani

What's new in products? There are three major trend themes at the Carpigiani stand.
We find the topic of "show production " the most exciting - what has long been known as "front cooking " in restaurants is also becoming increasingly popular in ice cream parlors: ice cream that is not "hidden" in an ice cream lab, but produced right in front of the customer in special show ice cream machines - and also sold very fresh directly from the machine. So not only can customers watch the ice cream being produced (and it looks great when the liquid mass slowly freezes out into creamy ice cream), they can also taste what is probably the freshest and creamiest ice cream they have ever tasted. A brand new, innovative machine from Carpigiani (the "IdeaUno") even allows you to prepare fruit ice cream in portions using only pureed fruit, without any additives - all you need is fruit and a blender. This makes delicious ice cream attractive again even for the very nutrition-conscious.

The second theme is small ice machines tailored specifically to the needs of the HoReCa sector - perfect for hotels and resorts, high-end restaurants, canteens and cafeterias or catering companies.

And as a third major topic, new presentation and production methods for soft ice cream will be presented: For example, there are brand new machines that inject a liquid syrup core into the soft ice cream, and the possibility of producing soft ice cream not only in the classic star shape, but also in many other shapes, such as "lasagna," "spaghetti" and much more. This is presented at the booth in pretty, colorfully painted machines and in original variations - for example as "popcorn ice cream" or pearl soft ice cream. Will this become the new trend in Germany? I have my doubts, but one thing is clear: customers from the Far East are incredibly keen on the subject. Which brings us back to the different markets and their laws...

Presentation and facilities news

And what is new apart from Carpigiani? Once the new IFI Milia ice cream display case - in the opinion of our entire team currently the most beautiful ice cream display case on the market: almost a work of art with perfect ice cream presentation, high-quality cooling technology and optimal ice cream presentation. And to be honest: We are also positively surprised by the price. Of course, such a high-quality device cannot be cheap - but we would have imagined the price to be significantly "worse", considering the quality and technology, the showcase is more than worth its price. We had to smile about the Top ice cream display case "Al Volo - a practical and innovative top ice cream/praline display case for small needs and gastronomy, but which somehow reminds us a little of a microwave. At FB, the top label of the display case experts of the Clabogroup, we see the "Chérie", a shapely and space-saving ice cream display case with a depth of only 90 cm. Interesting is also always the theme Shopfitting and design - here the trend is again away from the "rough" , natural materials (real wood, gres) and deliberately irregular shapes of recent years, towards clean lines, classic colors and glossy surfaces. The material of the hour is quartz stone.

Anecdotes and conclusion of the ice cream fair SIGEP 2020

But a complete report of the Rimini trade fair also includes the curiosities: Again and again there are large stands, some not even badly made, of companies that we have honestly never heard of - and in all likelihood will never hear of again. Manufacturers from the Middle and Far East try with all their might to get a foot into the attractive market, but the quality of the products is frankly often almost dangerous for users and/or consumers. More or less curious scenes play out again and again: Stand operators who leave the stand during the trade fair because of falsified CE marking. No-name manufacturers whose machines cost € 10,000 on the first day, € 8,000 on the second and then € 1,000 on the last. Salespeople who start sweating when asked "may I have a look inside the machine upstairs" and stammer something about "prototypes". For the customer, it is indeed often difficult to distinguish serious and high-quality products from cheap imitation goods. In case of doubt, it is indeed often better to stick with the tried and tested manufacturers. And of course there are also curious and pointless products - we dare to doubt whether the world really waited for wobbling liquor bottles in the shape of the male member. But at least this was the most curious measuring job we have seen - a lady was responsible as a "wobbling penis pusher" for the fact that the bottles always wobble already...