A virtual gathering of the Deutches Tiefkühlinstitut (DTI) membership will take place on June 7 and 8 as the German trade association hosts its annual frozen food conference (Tiefkühltagung 2021) “live from Berlin.”
The digital event is organized to safely facilitate the exchange of information and ideas and maintain business contacts at a time when the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic (SARS-CoV-2) has prompted further restrictions on public and private gatherings and travel to, from and within Germany. On April 23, new “emergency brake” rules were implemented for areas impacted by high rates of Covid-19 infection, giving the federal government power to impose lockdowns on states for the first time.
“For over a year now, our lives – professionally and privately – seem to have been unhinged. Nothing is as it was. The entire frozen food industry has been affected,” commented the DTI in an April 30 e-mail dispatch [translated from German to English] promoting the upcoming Tiefkühltagung. “Consumer behavior with regard to shopping and nutrition changed during the pandemic, with the increased demand for frozen products and the high level of consumer acceptance leading to an exceptionally good performance in food retail and home services. On the other hand, out-of-home consumption has been struggling with sales losses since mid-March of 2020, and for the most part coming to a standstill.”
The first day of the virtual Tuefkühltagung conference will be largely dedicated to analyzing and discussing the likely medium to long-term effects of the pandemic on the frozen food industry. Among questions put forth will be: How will the world of work and consumer behavior change? Also to be asked: How can we prepare for future crises?
Offering responses to these and other queries will be Dr. Simon Reitmeir, managing director of the the Kulmach, Germany-based Competence Center for Nutrition, which has conducted an extensive study to imagine possible future scenarios and consider their effect on the frozen food industry.
“With our actions, we all influence which ‘future’ will ultimately become reality,” noted the DTI’s e-mailed communique. “With the scenarios, we would like to give our participants a tool to check for themselves what opportunities may arise in the future and what this means for the strategic direction of each individual company.”
In interactive working sessions, Tiefkühltagung attendees will discuss the business and social impact felt during the coronavirus crisis and the road ahead for their companies in particular and the frozen food industry generally in a post-pandemic environment. Among specific topics on the agenda are:
• Evaluation of future scenarios and lessons learned during the pandemic
• Out-of-home market: back to normal, or restart with realignment?
• Frozen food in the grocery trade: the ‘fresh’ option for the future or just a supplier in crisis?
• Evaluation of strategic options
• Adjustment requirements for the frozen food industry
• Outlook for future direction
Further details about the conference, including registration information, is available by contacting the DTI: Telephone +49 (0)30 2809362-12; E-mail www.herckelrath@tiefkuehlkost.de.
