Optimism reigns supreme amongst South African businesspeople who are heading to Germany to participate in the Anuga Food and Beverage Trade Fair.
The fair will take place in Cologne, Germany, from 4 - 8 October 2025.
As part of the county’s export market diversification initiatives, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) has set up a national pavilion at the fair, in which 30 South African agro-processing companies will showcase their products.
As they prepare to depart for Germany, the businesspeople are looking forward to participating in the trade show, having committed to taking full advantage of the opportunity to showcase their products with the aim of grabbing the attention of international importers.
They relish the prospects of returning home with bags full of trade leads that will develop into concrete deals.
“We are looking forward to the trade show in Germany. We are excited by the opportunity to interact with potential new customers, linking with current customers and networking amongst other companies from around the world.
“We are hoping to expose various companies to our vitality-centred products,” said the Sales Executive of Macavation, Peter Symons.
Macavation innovates with macadamias and produces a range of high quality products, including extra virgin macadamia oil, crude cosmetic macadamia oil, macadamia protein powder, macadamia protein crispies and various styles of macadamia kernel.
The KwaZulu-Natal company, which employs 34 full-time employees, sells its products to local food manufacturers, as well as exporting them mainly to Europe and Canada.
The Chief Executive Officer of Limpopo-based Setšong Tea Crafters, Retang Phaahla, said she is excited about the opportunity to showcase proudly Limpopo and Proudly South African products in Germany.
“We have been eyeing Germany as a potential market for quite some time. There is a big tea market in Europe, and Germany is one of the countries that already import Rooibos tea from South Africa.
“For us to be able to tap into that market and showcase the products that we have developed is really exciting. We hope that this will help us create more jobs and build the revenue of the business,” Phaahla said.
Setšong Tea Crafters are based at Ga-Matlala Ramoshebo village near Marble Hall, where they provide permanent employment to 30 people, and seasonal employment to 15 people. They produce tea from indigenous plants that have been consumed as herbal tea by the people of Limpopo for hundreds of years.
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The Co-Founder and Managing Director of Niice Foods, Taryn Muller, says her main objective for travelling to Germany is to secure new retail, import, and distribution partners in key European Union countries and the United Arab Emirates.
“This will be the second consecutive Anuga fair that we will be participating in. It is an opportunity for us to expand our global market presence and establish long-term, strategic territory.
“It also provides a platform for us to elevate brand recognition and showcase our new value-added macadamia offerings. Our premium macadamia cooking oil is our flagship product. It is positioned perfectly as a more affordable, functional, and versatile cooking oil with an extremely favourable health profile,” Muller said.
Niice Foods, which is based in Mbombela, Mpumalanga, where it employs 12 people, manufactures value-added macadamia nut, ready to eat products, macadamia cooking oil, macadamia nut spreads and macadamia seasoning.
The General Manager of the South African Fruit and Vegetable Canners Export Council (SAFVCEC), Jill Atwood-Palm, says as one of the largest trade shows globally, Anuga provides her with a perfect opportunity to showcase the South African canned fruit and vegetable industry to the world.
“Anuga also serves as a platform for gathering market information, benchmarking competitor activity, assessing supply-demand conditions and identifying emerging consumer trends," said Atwood-Palm. – SAnews.gov.za
