From September 7 to 11, the Las Vegas Convention Center brought together more than 20,000 baking industry professionals from around the world and about 1,000 exhibitors at the 2019 International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE), rated by the organization as the largest edition, with the largest show floor and the largest offer in its history. Much of this growth is due to international markets with visitors from more than 100 countries that accounted for almost 30% of total assistance, with the largest share from Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Japan, and Mexico. For Joe Turano, IBIE chairman, this statistics show that the fair “continues to provide a platform for the entire baking community to gather and celebrate the vibrancy of this industry, innovative trends and digital automation technologies, advances in baking processes and the thousands of bakers and support services who have a passion and commitment to the success of this industry ”.

This year, the public and exhibitors were able to enjoy a lot of new interactive and recurring features. Among them, The Innovation Showcase with the latest trends; live demonstrations by big names like Antonio Bachour at the Retail Bakers of America (RBA) Bakers Center; Fresh Take Talks by influential opinion leaders who shared their perspectives on consumer, nutrition and industry trends; iba.Virtual Bakery Tours of artisanal and industrial bakeries in Cincinnati, San Francisco, Reykjavik, Vienna, Versailles, Athens, and more, a Day of Learning with practical workshops and personalized sessions where tools focused on business growth were demonstrated.
IBIE also hosted the fourth edition of the BEST in Baking program, which recognized 42 industry and bakery suppliers that have achieved remarkable achievements in sustainability, sanitation, workforce development, and innovation, and the 18th Annual Pillsbury Baker’s Plus Grand Champion Creative Decorating Competition which gave out awards in fondant, sculpted, buttercream, and wedding categories.