Kind + Jugend @home: Combining in-person trade fair with digital features mean more value
Sustainability is a main topic in 2021
Kind + Jugend, the international leading trade fair for premium baby and toddler products, will take place from 9 to 11 September 2021. The fair is moving forward a week this year and will be shortened by a day. Especially now, the shortening of the trade fair sends the right signal for the economic restart. A streamlined exhibition programme, optimised hall planning oriented toward greater effectiveness and an event programme focusing on central content themes provide the baby and toddler outfitting industry with the right impulses for once again being successful with convincing products, strategies and trading partners.
Above that, Kind + Jugend will take place in a hybrid format for the first time. In addition to the physical exhibition, the Kind + Jugend @ home digital platform provides information on products and trends, and enables the streaming of webinars, press conferences, events and one-to-one interaction with customers. This means consistent international reach combined with a successful trade fair experience.
At a trade fair or in day-to-day commercial activity, the success of a company is based on three essential building blocks: inspiration, interaction and business. Where these crucial elements fall short, Kind + Jugend @home offers additional opportunities. Extensive features make it possible to reach more potential customers easily, experience trends and presentations on demand and establish valuable contacts – from anywhere in the world.
Only a few industries are as keen on innovation as the world of baby and children’s outfitting: thousands of new products and a never-ending series of new trends find their way into children’s rooms worldwide, and exciting ideas for parents and children are conquering the market everywhere. The trend here too is also increasingly toward design, quality and not least environmental consciousness and sustainability.
The international leading trade fair for premium baby and toddler products is the perfect platform for global commerce and the order business. In no other place in the world can one see so much of what will already be in children’s rooms tomorrow.
A further especially attention-grabbing format for the presentation of new products is the
acknowledged Innovation. With a special event, the award show at the start of the trade fair and media coverage by the international press – an ideal opportunity for exhibitors to present your new products right in the heart of the industry. It will, of course, be possible to follow the award ceremony both in Cologne as well as all over the globe via the Internet.
New this year: the category “Sustainability”. To this end, Kind + Jugend has especially recruited a renowned expert in this field, namely Nils Bader, founder of the Green Product Award, as a new jury member
Trends in the kids world:
In 2019 Kind + Jugend already started an initiative to make sustainable textiles visible to the trade visitors. Together with the German Textile Trade Association (BTE), which is also a member of the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles, Kind + Jugend separately listed those exhibitors who could attest to the sustainable production of their exhibited textiles by means of recognised seals of approval and/or other certificates. The recognised seals include, vfor example, GOTS, Oekotex, bluesign or Made in Green. The list of manufacturers showing sustainable textiles at the trade fair were available at the Kind + Jugend website, so that trade fair visitors were able to plan their tour with a focus on this area of interest.
This initiative was well received by producers and buyers alike. Especially young parents turn to sustainable and environment-friendly products when it comes to buying new items for their children.
Also with regard to toys and furniture the trend for sustainability is hardly to be missed. An increasing number of parents wish for playthings that are not only colourful, but are also ecologically unobjectionable, fairly produced and durable. The chances for this are good. In the face of pollution loads and large quantities of packaging waste, parents are searching for sustainable alternatives: for playthings that are unobjectionable in health and ecological terms, are durable, recyclable and repairable. Fair working conditions in production are also an important criterion. As a result, many toy manufacturers process wood from sustainable forestry and test innovative materials. Sustainable toys are no throw-away articles. They accompany children over a longer period of time and promote their development.
The same is true about furniture: Sustainable furniture is not only produced with regard to environment and ecology but also to “grow” with the little ones and adjust by design and special features to the child’s development.
An also clearly notable trend is the breaking free from the pink and blue gender-oriented design for babies. More and more gender-neutral products for kids enter the market. And not only young start-up companies engage in the design and production of such products. Also established brands offer alternatives to pink and blue and are thus prompting the gender-neutral trend.
Of course, high tech is also part of the child’s world. Not only help digital gadgets to guard the well-being of children and parents in their homes. Electro mobility is right now entered the construction of prams and bike trailers. Especially in Europe’s big cities more and more parents quit from using cards and turn to eco-friendly mobility.
At Kind + Jugend trade visitors and trend scouts can easily explore what it new in the business and what trends will dominate the future. In addition, the informative Trend Forum with lectures from business experts will help understand and evaluate the market dynamics. The new hybrid format will give access to new insights even to those who might not be able to travel to Cologne this year.
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