LAS VEGAS — When the bread was cut on Sept. 18 in Las Vegas, the wait for the much-anticipated International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE) was finally over. Although the show didn’t lose a moment of its three-year cycle — the last Baking Expo having taken place in October 2019 — the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on nearly every tradeshow in the world, leaving the baking industry to beg the question, “What will happen to IBIE?”
But after a three-year hiatus from traditional in-person events, IBIE bounced back, stronger than ever.
With nearly 20,000 registered attendees and more than 800 exhibitors, IBIE flooded the North and West Halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center. After spending the better part of the pandemic working inside strict safety protocols that left most interaction with suppliers to be done remotely, bakers showed up in force with a record 25% increase in attendance.
Despite continuing international travel challenges due to restrictions still in place for several countries, international baker attendance increased 34% over 2019. Hailing from more than 105 countries, international registrations made up more than 27% of baker attendance, with the largest participation from Brazil, Canada, Colombia and El Salvador — and a record-setting delegation from Mexico.
“IBIE 2022 has exceeded all expectations,” said Dennis Gunnell, IBIE chair and president of Formost Fuji Corp. “The Baking Expo has a long history of championing innovation aimed at the changing needs of our bakers, from the advancements on the show floor and IBIEducate presentations to the high-quality buyers walking the aisles.”
Known as the largest onsite tradeshow education offering, IBIEducate delivered more than 100 sessions with nearly 200 speakers, including a full day dedicated to education on Sept. 17 prior to the show floor opening.
Topics ranged from hands-on workshops to seminars centered on business, marketing, plant operations, formulating and more. Hour-long sessions took deep dives, while QuickBITES offered attendees 20-minute presentations with insights into some of the most critical issues facing the industry today.
A total of 61 demos took place throughout the show floor in both halls.
Two new show features — the Sanitation Pavilion and Cannabis Central — proved to be hits with attendees, with demonstrations livestreamed from Cannabis Central.
Influencers and celebrity bakers including Buddy Valastro, Paulina Abascal, Coinneach MacLeod (The Hebridean Baker) and more gave demonstrations to standing-room-only crowds in the RBA Bakers Center.
After show floor hours, celebrity pastry chef Duff Goldman performed with his all-chef band, Foie Grock, during Rockin’ Pint Night, presented by AB Mauri. The American Bakers Association (ABA)’s NextGenBaker Forum — sponsored by AB Mauri, Lesaffre, B.C. Williams, Shick Esteve and the Society of Bakery Women (SBW) — welcomed four esteemed industry CEOs for a panel discussion. Cordia Harrington, CEO of Crown Bakeries; Paul Bakus, president, North America of Puratos; Ryals McMullian, president and CEO of Flowers Foods; and Tyson Yu, CEO of Aspire Bakeries shared their insights and inspiration on leadership during an era of unprecedented change.
“I loved hearing about the challenges each of those CEOs have had to overcome, and how those challenges have helped them grow as leaders,” said Lili Economakis, division VP for Aspire Bakeries and NextGenBaker co-chair.
Special events, including Donuts with Dawn, took place before the show floor opened. The women’s networking event, hosted by Dawn Foods, showcased commentary from Harrington, along with Carrie Jones-Barber, Dawn Foods’ CEO; Lee Sanders, SVP of government relations and public affairs and SBW president; and Brittny Stephenson Ohr, director of product management for Sugar Foods Corp. and chairman of the board for the American Society of Baking.
As the world finds more ways of returning to normal, representatives from the iba trade fair — which has a strategic partnership with IBIE — announced its return to in-person during the show, set for Oct. 22-26, 2023 in Munich.
Despite the pandemic’s seemingly insurmountable obstacles, IBIE 2022 was, by all measures, a notable success. Gunnell attributed this success to the enduring commitment of the baking industry.
“During a time when trade events are getting a fraction of their pre-pandemic participation, our industry showed up,” he said.
IBIE 2025 is set for Sept. 13-17 in Las Vegas. The plans are currently underway under the leadership of committee chair Jorge Zarate, SVP of global operations for Grupo Bimbo.
This story has been adapted from the October | Q4 2022 issue of Commercial Baking. Read the full story in the digital edition.
