- About 5,700 exhibitors from 62 countries
- Over 38,000 trade visitors from 145 countries
- Numerous business deals closed
17 May – ProWein 2022, International Trade Fait for Wines and Spirits, made an impressive comeback after the pandemic related break. The atmosphere in the 13 exhibition halls was extremely positive over the three days of the event, and it became more than evident: The in-person format with personal exchange, live tastings and a comprehensive program of expert events is second to none. What’s more: with around 5,700 exhibitors from 62 countries and over 38,000 trade visitors from 145 nations, ProWein is the central industry event and the international business platform “par excellence”. “Due to the Covid peak in the 1st quarter of the year we had to postpone all our spring trade fairs to May and June or cancel them completely, as was the case with boot. At this juncture we would like to explicitly thank our exhibitors and visitors for supporting the postponement to May and for backing ProWein! Obviously, their commitment has paid off – because there are numerous concluded business deals reported by exhibitors, “explained Erhard Wienkamp, Managing Director of Messe Düsseldorf.
ProWein’s special trademark is its extremely broad international coverage on both the supply and demand sides. “ProWein is the only international trade fair that covers the complete world market. Accordingly, the visitors are also international: two thirds of the 38,000 professionals from specialist retail, food retail and hospitality who travelled to ProWein in Düsseldorf come from abroad,” said Michael Degen, Executive Director of Messe Düsseldorf. The decision-making authority of the trade visitors is also extremely high: two thirds of the wine and spirits professionals attending ProWein are involved in business deals in a decision-making capacity.
The importance of the in-person format is also emphasized by the German Wine Institute (DWI) as a conceptual sponsor: “After the 3-year absence, the German exhibitors were happy to have personal conversations with their customers again. Their presentations naturally focused on the 2021 vintage white wines, which were received very well by both German and international wine experts thanks to their freshness and crispness,” explained Monika Reule, Managing Director of DWI, and added: “Not least, the new hall concept has contributed to more time and quietness for talks with customers and made for a very professional atmosphere overall. At the same time, the quality of international trade visitors, who hailed predominantly from the European region, was highly praised.”
VDP also gave a positive feedback: “After two years of pandemic, there were fewer but very interested and above all selected, high-quality trade visitors at the trade fair so there was more room and more time for in-depth conversations. What remains in the end, however, is that despite a lot of change and the creativity required for new concepts, personal contact is irreplaceable and that the reunion of VDP vintners with international friends on German soil is centerstage,” commented Theresa Olkus, Managing Director of VDP.
The internationality of the visitors is a particularly important criteria for Semper idem Underberg AG. Celebrating their 175-year anniversary this year, the company is driving its global growth and has launched an international expansion program focusing on their global core markets. “ProWein is the ideal platform for pursuing our globalization strategy. Düsseldorf’s global No. 1 trade fair for wines and spirits kicks off the international roll-out of our new corporate image while serving as a presentation platform for the latest developments in our brands Underberg, Asbach, PITÚ and XUXU,” stated Udo Bruns, Director International Business at Semper Idem Underberg AG.
Les Grands Chais de France also underlined how important the internationality of the visitors and their decision-making competence is for them. “We are so delighted that things are finally get going again after three years and ProWein is being held in Düsseldorf. We succeeded in reaching out to our customers – especially the buyers from Europe, the USA and Africa – and concluding good business deals,” said Anne-Laure Rayne-Helfrich, Marketing Executive Assistant at Les Grands Chais de France. “To us, ProWein is also so relevant because we can reach our essential target groups here – in concrete terms specialist retail and importers and exporters.”
Miguel A. Torres, President and 4th generation of Familia Torres, agreed: “For us, this year’s ProWein has presented a very high-quality level. The new hall concept has contributed to a more relaxed and yet very professional atmosphere overall. We also clearly noticed this during talks with our customers.”
This statement is also supported by Sandro Sartor, Managing Director EMEA at Constellation Brands, owner of more than 200 wine and spirits brands worldwide. “For our business this year’s ProWein has been very important. We managed to conclude concrete deals with customers from Europe, the USA and even Korea,” remarked Sandro Sartor, who is also Managing Director EMEA at the Ruffino Winery in Italy.
Premieres: “urban gastronomy” and “Caravanning & Wine”
“We have realized two very successful premieres, bringing a breath of fresh air to ProWein: the Lounge “urban gastronomy@ProWein” and the Special Show “Caravanning & Wine”, a cooperation between ProWein and CARAVAN SALON,” explained Bastian Mingers, Project Director of ProWein. The hip hop-focused Lounge offered a tailor-made program for food service providers and their service staff. The five daily workshops with tastings and interviews were geared to the different levels of hospitality staff expertise – from beginners to professionals. The trend theme wine tourism – for many vintners an important sales-promoting and image-building channel – was taken up by the Special Show ‘Caravanning & Wine’. At this Special Show visitors and/or vintners were able to learn about the fascination of mobile vacationing as well as the matching selection of rental vehicles and accommodation at wine estates.
ProWein 2022 key facts at a glance:
- 38,000 visitors from 145 countries
- The top five of countries of origin/visitors by continents: Europe, North and South America, Asia, Africa, Australia
- Top 3 in the visitors’ ranking: specialist retail (28 %), restaurants, cafés & bars (17 %), importer s and exporters (10%)
- Average length of visitors’ stay: 2 days
The next ProWein will return to its traditional March dates – from March 19 – 21, 2023 in Düsseldorf, Germany. Until then, ProWein’s international portfolio of trade fairs will take place:
- ProWine Singapore: September 5 – 8, 2022
- ProWine Sao Paulo: September 27 – 29, 2022
- ProWine Mumbai: October 17 – 18, 2022
- ProWine Shanghai: November 8 – 10, 2022
In 2023, ProWine Hong Kong will be held from May 10 – 12.
For further information on visiting or exhibiting at ProWein 2023 or any of the other trade fairs organized worldwide, contact Messe Düsseldorf North America; Telephone: (312) 781-5180; E-mail: info@mdna.com; Visit www.prowein.com and www.mdna.com
