Ukrainian students have undergone an apprenticeship course at the AVK stand during an international exhibition of ISM in Cologne

5 February 2019

The confectionery company has presented its products for the eighth time at the world’s largest exhibition of ISM confectionery and snacks in Cologne, Germany.

During this year’s exhibition, the AVK company also implemented a social mission: eight Ukrainian students - finalists of the competition, organized in the context of company’s cooperation with the Institute of International Relations of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, underwent an apprenticeship course at the AVK stand.

The AVK company brought unique product specialties to the European consumer. Thus, much attention was given to the collection of chocolate bars presented with new tastes and formats. KRESKO snack line has been complemented with the products with new recipes and packages.

Cherry on top of the stand was white TRUFFLE strawberry candies - another interesting development of the company. The AVK team is sure of the global success of its sweets, as it has already received many positive reviews from international delegations regarding their taste qualities.

During four days, hundreds of negotiations with the prospective clients took place on the exhibition ground of the company. During business meetings, the Ukrainian students had a unique opportunity to solidify theoretical knowledge in practice. Young people watched the work of experienced specialists, participated in business negotiations, improved communication skills, learned to work with a large amount of information and analytics.

The youth was happy to share the emotions, gained during the exhibition, in social networks.

Yelyzaveta Onufriienko, a 1st year student, wrote: “Thanks to Volodymyr Avramenko and the AVK company, we managed to fulfill a dream of all the sweeteeth and come to an annual confectionery exhibition in Cologne. We have got a huge amount of positive emotions and a wide range of taste impressions. Having tried the products of the companies presented at the exhibition, I made a conclusion that the AVK company takes a rightful place among the world manufacturers”.

Vladyslav Kushnir, a 4th year student told: “I was impressed by the level of the exhibition and the preparation of the AVK team. Most of all, I liked an open-mindness of the company employees, who were always ready to help, responded to numerous questions and provided useful instructions as for the further development. It is nice that we, the students, had an opportunity to see the process of establishing cooperation with potential partners and to better understand the peculiarities of the functioning of the confectionery industry”.

After returning from Cologne, the AVK specialists traditionally summed up the main trends and consumer sentiments in the confectionery industry, which were observed at ISM-2019.

Thus, a healthy lifestyle remains the trend number 1. Consumers around the world choose healthy products with increasing frequency, therefore, manufacturers are expanding their portfolios with plant products. Sugary brands are transforming into other categories.

In “chocolate” category, manufacturers try to combine profit and treat. Chocolate products like snacks and gastronomic cookies are those categories that are developing most rapidly. Compared to last years, the exhibition represented a large number of snack products.

Among the main trends in the confectionery industry, the specialists of the company distinguish consumers’ desire for non-traditional flavor combinations. As for product packaging, small formats are popular.

Food personification trend is gaining popularity. Packaging of the goods becomes the main tool of communication with the consumer. Moreover, the buyers are attracted by the manufacturer’s transparency. Studies confirm that 8 out of 10 buyers choose brands that honestly tell about the composition of the product, the origin of the ingredients, etc.

An absolute hit of this year’s exhibition became pink or ruby ​​chocolate.

The company is convinced that the knowledge and experience gained during the exhibition will become the basis for new results and building strong partnership relations.