Seeing as though I’d walked past Libella’s eye-catching Scalextric stand hundreds of times during the course of the week, I decided to start my final day at Drinktec by trying out the German soft drink company’s tricky looking miniature track.
Three likeminded journalists lined up beside me to test out their racing skills, but I honoured the FoodBev brand by mercilessly destroying the competition by slinging my remote control car around the course in the fastest time.
After taking a few moments to learn more about Libella’s latest ventures, and gloat to anyone who’d listen about my flawless remote control car skills, I moved on and took a final look at all 12 halls Drinktec 2013 had to offer.
This year’s show included more than 1,400 exhibitors from over 80 different countries, and approximately 60,000 visitors attended the beverage and liquid food industry trade fair.
There were hundreds of innovative new products on display and a variety of different companies set up huge, full-scale constructions of their creations to show visitors exactly how their machines operated up close.
Packaging devices beeped as they wrapped bottles in ergonomic handles, sorting systems whined as they filed beverage produce, and water filtration systems whizzed and whirled as they cleared liquid impurities. It was an impressive display of technological advancement that really had to be seen to be fully appreciated.
Something else that had to be seen to be fully appreciated was the sheer number of visitors who had opted for traditional Bavarian dress, as the show coincided with the opening day of Germany’s famous Oktoberfest. There were more lederhosen and feather hats than you could shake a stick at!
Knowing I probably wouldn’t be able to get my hands on any of the new beverages on offer at the Innovation Flow Lounge after the show, I decided to swing by the lounge’s stylish bar and sample a few more tasty drinks before packing up the FoodBev Media stand. Despite the amazing array of fruity drinks and energy beverages on offer, Maito Kahvi was still my favourite!
As we finished taking down the FoodBev stand and witnessed the incredible speed of Drinktec’s exhibition hall clearers, it suddenly dawned on me that I wouldn’t get to experience this show again for another four years. It was a lot of fun while it lasted, though, and some great contacts were made throughout my four-day Drinktec experience.
Hopefully, the show in 2017 will be even better.
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