A beautiful package is not everything, and good, hygienic packaging is just as crucial for any product today. This is why more than 180 companies will be presenting their packaging and material solutions at this year's iba, the world's leading trade fair for bakery, confectionery and snacks. Premiere will celebrate its own sector this time around at the Packaging Area. In Hall B1, approximately 50 exhibitors will be showcasing their latest products and solutions from Sept. 12-17. The focus will, of course, be on natural freshness, protection, durability and hygiene. Conditions that must be met by every good package. However, a product should also have a good appearance - a beautiful package entices buyers.

"The interest of companies in this sector has significantly increased in recent years," says Dieter Dohr, CEO and president of the GHM Gesellschaft für Handwerkmessen mbH. "In the packaging sector alone, we have 30 new exhibitors." Although new packaging solutions, techniques and materials will also be showcased in the 12 other exhibition halls, trade visitors will be expecting the latest packaging innovations in Hall B1 due to the risen demand - from thermoforming to outer packaging - in concentrated form. In the "Packaging Area", it will be demonstrated in a multifaceted way that packaging is not the same as packaging.

The solutions in the packaging sector are highly varied. Three conditions for bakery products must however be fulfilled: They must protect the goods during transportation, provide the necessary conditions for the appropriate durability and also comply with the EU food hygiene regulations. The requirements are therefore high.

Robert Bosch GmbH from the packaging technology sector will be among the companies that will be represented at iba for the first time (Hall B1, booth 567). They will be showcasing their new 301 LS horizontal flow wrapper designed for upright-packed biscuits and crackers. This innovative packaging system guarantees a first-rate product with flexible packaging. It provides manufacturers of biscuits and crackers with unlimited packaging possibilities with the increasing variety of products.

For the customers, resource efficiency as well as prolonged durability of the products play an increasingly important role, explains Tanja Nickels of MULTIVAC (Hall B1, booth 441). This is why the company will be at this year's iba to showcase innovative technologies that make it possible to use packaging material, energy and cooling water very efficiently and, at the same time, support the durability of the products. Among the products that will be exhibited is the R 085 thermoforming machine that can be used to package loaves of bread, sandwiches or light meals. Packages using inert gas are also possible and help prolong the shelf-life of products. For the packaging that uses bags, the BASELINE P 600 double chamber machine will be presented. This is very fast as it enables parallel operations. One chamber can be loaded while the other is being cleared. The manufacturer of the packaging machine also offers its customers comprehensive renovation and retrofitting services to adapt the machines to the changing requirements, e.g., for new packaging formats or materials. After all, as Nickels points out, social changes are also reflected in the packaging industry: smaller households, higher mobility and increasing employment of women means an increasing demand for convenience and proportioned products.

The Dutch company HOBA (Hall B1, booth 360) - which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year - will be presenting a newly developed machine for packaging pita, tortilla and Arabic bread. During the exhibition the company will focus more on turn-key solutions based on their slice-, packaging and closing machines for example with integrated labelling systems and metal detectors. Also different types of packaging such as pillow pack will be present in combination with a bun slicer and counting line.

Similarly, the Italian machinery manufacturers Record SPA (Hall B1, booth 470) will also be marking their 50th anniversary with participating at the exhibition for the first time. The company, which is based in Lombardy, is a partner to companies such as Siemens and Unilever. It offers flexible packaging solutions for products ranging from bread and croissants, cookies and cupcakes to pasta. It will be showcasing a wide range of newly developed flow-pack machines, automatic feeders and semi-automatic packaging systems at iba 2015.

Another addition to iba this year is NJOYCUPS from North Rhine-Westphalia, Lüdinghausen. The start-up company sells climate-neutral coffee mugs and packagings and will be at the "Made in Germany" BMWi booth in Hall B3. The company pays close attention to the raw materials it uses as well as ensures a high level of quality in processing. After all, a consumer usually holds a to-go cup for an average of 21 minutes.

Thus, the trade fair will be a good opportunity for mid-sized stores, wholesale bakeries, manufacturers of dough products and food retailers to get a versatile and comprehensive market overview of the various innovations in the packaging sector.

Further information about iba is available at www.iba.de/en.