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The international confectionery and snack industry meets every year in Cologne when ProSweets and ISM, two of the most important trade fairs for the global confectionery industry, open their doors. In 2026, both events once again confirmed their role as a central platform for innovation, market observation, and strategic exchange. Thousands of trade visitors from industry, commerce, start-ups, and research took the opportunity to find out about the latest developments in confectionery, snacks, raw materials, processing technologies, and packaging solutions.

Paris Packaging Week 2026, which also included the Pentawards ceremony, once again impressively demonstrated the profound structural change currently taking place in the packaging industry. Anyone walking through the exhibition halls could see a clear common thread: packaging is becoming more sustainable, inclusive, technological, and emotional. Topics that were still considered niche just a few years ago are now key drivers of innovation.

A store check in Thailand, specifically in the province of Hua Hin, which is often referred to as "Florida for Thais" due to its popularity among Bangkok retirees and expats, reveals a retail world that differs significantly from Europe. Walking through air-conditioned supermarkets and convenience stores here, you find yourself in a world where highly developed convenience infrastructure meets a design aesthetic that challenges Western viewing habits and common sustainability narratives. Our impression: a market of extremes. Extremely sweet, extremely colorful, extremely service-oriented.