The biggest Kind + Jugend ever demonstrated its lively diversity

A new exhibitor record and numbers of visitors at a consistently high level – the results of Kind + Jugend 2019 are nothing to sneeze at! The high degree of internationality, the exciting innovations and the top event programme of the trade fair assured a super atmosphere for exhibitors and visitors.

Kind + Jugend continues to develop exceptionally positively! This year, the numbers of exhibitors set a new record (1,288 companies from 55 countries), and the numbers of visitors, with around 24,000 trade visitors, also once again reached the high level of the previous event.

Especially encouraging: the high level of competence of visitors, of which many came from the business management levels. The internationality of the visitors also increased this year again slightly to 77 %. More visitors came, for example, from Central and South America (Bolivia, Colombia, Brazil and Peru), as well as from the Middle East (Israel, UAE). As in previous years, the visitor presence from the USA, as well as from Asia, in this case especially from Korea, was strong. The biggest share of visitors of course once again came from the EU states, with France and Italy increasing this year.

Mega-trends of sustainability and e-mobility dominate the trade fair

Exhibitors presented many innovations and trends for all segments of the baby and toddler outfitting sector and showed that they are able to repeatedly adapt to their target groups. This year, the focus was especially on e-mobility for prams and the mega-trend of sustainability. This theme received even more visibility and attention through the newly introduced sustainability initiative of the trade fair in the textiles segment. It should be further developed in a segment-related fashion. The new Start-up Area, in which 16 young companies from around the world were able to present themselves with their fresh ideas, will be offered once again in 2020.

The Event programme, with its first class lectures, offered a comprehensive overview of trends in industry and commerce: whether the latest studies and analyses of trend experts, best practice presentations or consumer trends from around the world – there was something there for every target group. The emotional highlight in the Trend Forum was of course once again the awarding of the popular Innovation Award and the Kids Design Award.
Gerald Böse, President and Chief Executive Officer of Koelnmesse, summarised the unique profile of the trade fair as follows in his opening speech: "Kind + Jugend once again demonstrated its very lively diversity this year. The demonstrably high competence of the visitors and the enormous internationality of the event are the decisive factors for its great success as the world's most important business platform for the entire industry".

Convincing in every respect: good prospects for 2020

From the wholesale and retail trade through the specialised trade and department stores to drugstores and online commerce - representatives of all commercial channels came to Cologne and were enthusiastic.Kind + Jugend 2019 was thus a success in every respect!We thank all our exhibitors and visitors who contributed to this. And because after the trade fair is before the trade fair, we already look forward to seeing you all again next year: 17 to 20 September 2020 - note this date in your calendar now!