BrauBeviale Forum highlights: big data, bottle deposits and raw material sustainability
On the first day, Professor Markus Hengstschläger, director of the Institute of Medical Genetics at the Medical University of Vienna, will put the spotlight firmly on the future in his keynote address: The challenge of the future – how do we use the resource of talent and provide suggestions and food for thought for industry players grappling with the issue of sustainability.
On the second day, a discussion on bottle deposits in Germany will take place. Breweries in particular are faced with the problem that not enough empty bottles are making their way back to them, so they don’t have enough bottles for their beer. Purchasing new returnable bottles is a costly business, and some small and mid-sized breweries are already worrying about their viability. According to Private Brauereien Bayern, the honorary sponsor of BrauBeviale, the deposits are too low to provide an incentive for people to actually return the empties. In this session, the German Private Brewers Association, Independent Brewers, Association of German Brewers, Federal Association of Beverage Wholesalers and representatives of beverage logistics companies and the food industry - all representatives of the deposit system supply chain - will have a say.
The issue of mineral water versus tap water will also be under debate: for decades, mineral water in Germany has thrived on the image of being a healthy product with a globally unique system of returnable bottles. But is tap water now supposed to be actually better than mineral water? And who actually defines what good water is? What are the criteria, and what roles do tap water and mineral water play? What are the requirements of legislators, associations, producers and consumers that need to be reconciled? Representatives from the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Reactor Safety, German Environmental Action (DUH), the Bavarian Nature Protection Society, the Association of German Mineral Springs and leading mineral spring operators will come together to discuss these questions.
Meanwhile, the BrauBeviale Think Tank will also reflect the key themes covered in the BrauBeviale Forum such as raw ingredients, technologies, packaging, marketing and entrepreneurship. What distinguishes “generation Z” from its predecessors and what are the resulting challenges for beverage manufacturers and their marketing? In the Marketing Forum, organised by K&A BrandResearch, the spotlight will be on these subjects.
Digitalisation continues to be a buzzword for the beverage industry: so what progress is being made with digital development in the beverage industry? What can big data, algorithms and artificial intelligence do for producers and retailers? On the second day of the fair, visitors can hear about current uses of digitalisation and learn from industry experts. This panel is organised by logistics and digital transformation consultancy Huesch & Partner. Discussions on the topic continue in the subsequent slot by the BVE (Federation of German Food and Drink Industries). The buzzword issues under the spotlight are digitalisation, automation, individualisation, batch size 1 and blockchain in beverage logistics.
On the last day of the show, the topic of climate will dominate the morning session in the BrauBeviale Forum. Titled Future risk climate: developments and consequences for raw brewing ingredients, renowned industry players will discuss the possible consequences of climate change for malting barley, hops and water.
The afternoon of the last day is devoted entirely to the “Next Generation”. There are lots of aspects to be considered when preparing the ground for a successful future, including promoting young talent, recruiting and keeping skilled professionals, and managing company succession strategies.
This is just a taster of some of the talks and events on offer: find out more at https://www.braubeviale.de/en/events
