5 Highlights From IFEAT Berlin 2023

Perfumer & Flavorist+ (P&F+) made its way to Berlin to attend IFEAT 2023 at the Intercontinental Hotel from October 8-13. From the opening cocktail reception to the closing party, the weeklong event was filled with expo hall exploration, pages of notes from conference sessions and reconnecting with F&F colleagues from around the globe. Here are five highlights from IFEAT 2023.

1. Record-breaking Attendance. First I'd like to congratulate the IFEAT team for a record-breaking attendance, hosting over 1,600 attendees. The opening reception felt like a sea of new and familiar faces excited to clink glasses celebrating reunions and solidifying fresh connections. The event also welcomed new president Ramon Bordas (photo below). The closing party held at the Station Berlin offered carefully curated entertainment and dancing. Next year's conference will take place in Bangkok from November 10-14, 2024. 

2. Conference Session Lineup. This year's session lineup was filled with discussions and panels covering topics including mint, sustainability across markets, biodversity, blockchain and regulatory. One special guest was Maria Spyraki (pictured above), member of the European Parliament for Nea Demokratia (EPP). We will have an overview of the "Crop Market Report on Citrus" session by Karin Bredenberg, Business Development Director Citrus Ingredients at LMR Naturals by IFF. Stay tuned!

3. Artistic Expression. IFEAT tapped an artist to sit in on every conference session and create a collage drawing of each session that would later be configured to spell out IFEAT, and later auctioned at the closing reception. 

This drawing was created as a culmination of Wednesday's conference sessions touching on certifications, ethical biotrade and sustainability.Jenna Troyli

4. Reconnecting. It was such a treat to place headshots from email signatures to living, breathing, F&F professionals. I was happy to meet the Argumaria Reggina team in person and experience the Nature Spark portfolio. You can find more selfies and booth photo ops on our LinkedIn page as well as on Instagram (@perfumer_flavorist). While I am missing my proximity to my European connections, it was nice being able to reconnect in the bustling expo hall or in the hotel lobby while waiting for our next meeting. ICYMI I am now stationed in New Jersey in the United States, so if you're on the East Coast, please feel free to email me should you have an event on the East Coast!

Adobe Stock

5. Inventive Booths and Cocktail Party Receptions. While plenty of networking can be done during the day at IFEAT, some companies went above and beyond to host offsite events. One of which is Ultra International, which hosted a party near the Bradenburger Tor (pictured above). Ultra also hosted an inventive cocktail reception allowing guests to mix their own cocktails utilizing Ultra ingredients. Another exciting afterparty was hosted by Ventos at Zoo Berlin, complete with a lion and lioness sighting. The company hosted its own version of Oktoberfest with beer, pretzels as well as various other sips and bites. In terms of inventive booths, Ventos paid homage to Buddy Bears Berlin by utilizing a blue bear with a yellow nose to echo the company's signature colors and even created little bear-shaped gummies with ingredients from the Ventos portfolio. Speaking of bears, the Oqema booth hosted a "foamy homage to Berlin" by crafting bear-shaped bars of soap. The Oqema booth was also generously pouring beers for attendees throughout the day which may have contributed to the high morale.

On behalf of P&F+ I'd like to thank IFEAT for hosting our team at the Berlin event, looking forward to next year in Bangkok!