INSIGHTS trade forum
The first day of the trade fair started with specialist lectures from renowned speakers. Prof. Ph. D. Marcel Fratzscher, President of DIW Berlin – German Institute for Economic Research, kicked things off with his informative lecture on the topic of "Determining Germany's position – prospects of a nation in tense international circumstances". Nick Sohnemann, founder and CEO of the innovation agency FUTURE CANDY GmbH, then gave an insight into a highly topical subject and spoke about "Metaverse – the new reality! Key factor for success in retail and the branded goods industry?" Deniz Aytekin, former FIFA referee, football expert & entrepreneur, concluded the event by giving the participants advice on the topic of "Clear decisions despite pressure and uncertainty".
NIGHT trade forum
The first day of the trade fair was rounded off with the NIGHT trade forum in the garden hall of the Karlsruhe Congress Centre. Franz-Friedrich Müller, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Markant AG, launched the Markant trade forum over 40 years ago. To mark this anniversary, he joined Bernhard Delakowitz, Head of Marketing/Sustainability International at Markant AG, Dominik Scheid, Managing Director of Markant AG and John Grewe, Managing Director of Markant Deutschland GmbH, in personally welcoming the guests and addressing them with a few words of celebration. In this context, the management team emphasised what the Markant trade forum has always stood for – namely dialogue and cooperation. The Markant trade forum is a platform that enables industry and retail to meet and exchange ideas twice a year.
The highlight event was crowned by two well-known top acts from the music scene: singer-songwriter Nico Santos thrilled the audience with his hits such as "Better", "Play with Fire" and "Rooftop". Oli P., the iconic 90s star, later created a great atmosphere on the dance floor as DJ, while he played and sang along above the crowd.
Start-up arena
On both days of the fair, there were a total of 36 pitches to marvel at in the voilà! start-up arena. Twelve start-ups presented their innovative products to Markant's retail partners, other manufacturers and many other interested parties. The pitch winner of the 125th Markant trade forum was the start-up "NaschNatur", which produces organic date purée and organic, vegan, date-sweetened ice-cream tarts. The start-up won an article including a product presentation in ONE Markant magazine and a free trade fair booth at the
126th Markant trade forum, which will take place in Karlsruhe from 18 to 19 September 2024. The winning start-up also received a retailer meeting with V-Markt. Six other start-ups impressed the jury with their concepts and products and each received valuable retailer meetings with V-Markt, tegut, Rossmann and K & K.
Markant would like to thank all its suppliers and retailers, external service providers and, of course, its own employees for making the 125th Markant trade forum a real highlight!
