Just under a month before the Cologne exhibition halls and the digital gates open, the worldwide green industry can look forward to a strong spoga+gafa 2022: With a new date, new themes, new brands, a new digital product platform, exhibitors and visitors from all over the globe and its focal theme “Sustainable Gardens.”
With ten well-filled halls and good 1,000 exhibitors from sixty countries, the Cologne fair grounds is ready for the international visitors and so is the digital product, networking and matchmaking platform of spoga+gafa that has just gone online. The visitors and exhibitors in Cologne will use the latter to prepare and accompany the joint trade fair digitally. One week after the trade fair in Cologne, the so-called “After Show”, the actually digital spoga+gafa, will offer the green industry the opportunity to follow up the trade fair and further expand the success already achieved. Subsequently, the digital trade fair becomes a year-round platform, which offers the trade and the suppliers the opportunity to present their products and discuss line-ups online 365 days a year.
The visitors can subsequently also access the contents of the trade fair in Cologne after the event. For example, the highlights of the first day of the trade fair. This focuses once again this year on the specialised garden trade: Visits and guided tours to garden centres in the region of Cologne are on the agenda together with the Garden Centre Reception of the VDG (German Garden Centre Association) in the afternoon as well as specialised trade-specific lectures on the stages of spoga+gafa. The extended cooperation with the German Garden Centre Association and the new collaboration with the purchasing & marketing alliance, Egesa, as well as with Tuinbranche Nederland, the Dutch Garden Centre Association, is having a significant impact on the high number of visitors.
The congress collaboration together with the BHB – the Retailers’ Association for Building, Home Improvement has also been further developed. The BHB’s as always star-studded Garden Summit on the last day of the trade fair addresses the major issues of the trade and supplier themes of the green industry. The visitors can among others look forward to an exciting discussion round with Ralf Dümmel, who is famous through his appearances in VOX’s TV show entitled “Höhle der Löwen (The Lion’s Den).
Product experiences to be enhanced by top-class events
The return to Cologne will also be festively celebrated on the evening of the first day of the fair: At the new 6 o’clock Party – Prime BBQ Night at the Rheinterrassen. A party by the green industry for the green industry, at which among others the BBQ exhibitors will cater for the culinary needs of the visitors and exhibitors from all segments. The US American pitmaster Harry Soo (@HarrySoo) will be present at the party as well as over the three days of the trade fair to demonstrate the finer points of the American barbecue culture, as will Alexandre Straus (@StrauNabrasa), who will present a mixture between Brazilian and Argentine BBQ traditions.
The further event programme of spoga+gafa provides a condensed overview of the innovations in the scope of the Boulevard of Ideas and the Outdoor Furniture, Decoration and BBQ Trend Show as well as the current challenges of the industry (Keywords: Supply chains, raw material shortages, eCommerce).
The most important theme at spoga+gafa in 2022 continues to be sustainability. Together with the rest of the industry, spoga+gafa is searching for answers to the question: How green are the expectations in the green industry? At the trade fair, international exhibitors will show how they contribute towards the sustainability of the industry with sustainable raw materials and eco-friendly production methods. Furniture made from recycled materials, organic fertilisers or a regional selection of plants are just some of the sustainable trends. Trade visitors have the opportunity to collect input on the theme sustainability in the scope of the garden exhibition, lectures and talk shows, which will enable them to push their business forward.
Trends and themes of spoga+gafa 2022
As usual, spoga+gafa will present the trends and themes that are moving both the dealers, the manufacturers and the consumers: Particularly during the pandemic, the garden gained in significance as a healthy balance to the everyday routine. Also urban outdoor areas such as the balcony or roof terrace offer a welcome change of scenery, relaxation or an open-air home office. The new products for the current garden season underscore this desire for a natural and cosy place of retreat. Gardening is manual labour and thus offers a nice balance to the digitalised living environment. Hand-crafted items or wickerwork also play a main role in a great deal of outdoor furniture nowadays. Instead of mass-produced goods, the consumers are more and more frequently placing their bets on hand-crafted items when furnishing their open-air living-rooms.
The more time we spend in the garden, the more comfort we desire for our outdoor area. The green industry is satisfying this need with high-tech materials and optimised functions. Fast-drying cushions and particularly durable textiles for comfortable lounge furniture increase the cosiness of the outdoor seating And the garden is becoming increasingly smarter too: Today, the sunshade and irrigation solutions for the garden or the BBQ temperature can be set via digital end devices controlled by constantly improved apps.
