Larger, more international, more social

One year after its successful relaunch, including a new date in July, the Cologne Exhibition Centre was once again the place for the garden sector to come together between 18 and 20 June. Once more, Spoga+Gafa attracted visitors from all over the world to the Rhineland - around 30,000 visitors from 122 countries, to be (reasonably) precise, as organiser Koelnmesse announced afterwards. On the Sunday evening, trade fair director Stefan Lohrberg already appeared satisfied, saying that "the start went smoothly and we had 20 per cent more visitors compared with the Sunday in 2022”. With these figures, the fair also came close to its previous record year of 2019.

The show occupied 14 halls full of products and innovations - four more than last year, when the last remnants of coronavirus regulations and travel restrictions kept visitors and exhibitors from the Far East and some other countries from participating. This year, the picture was different: a colourful stream of visitors of all nationalities rolled through the halls again, especially on the Monday, traditionally the strongest day of the fair. In addition to Germany, the most important visitor countries included Great Britain, the fair’s partner country this year, plus Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands, according to Koelnmesse. The biggest growth in trade visitors compared with the previous year was recorded by Great Britain, Italy, the USA and Canada.

There was certainly some criticism by visitors and exhibitors of the schedule, however. Some exhibitors are not really happy with the June date. This is because products under development are often not yet presentable so early in the year, let alone have a price attached to them. The historically established Sunday start was also a topic for discussion, not least since the fair’s sister event, the hardware fair, announced during Spoga+Gafa that it would be moving away from the Sunday date from 2024 and would start on Tuesdays in future.

The focal point of the fair was the leading theme of Social Gardens - Places of Encounter, and several Instagrammable photo motifs for social media were featured. In line with this theme, places were also created for meeting and talking, such as the Social Beer Garden in the outdoor area of the show. In the supporting programme, the theme was reflected in the choice of topics for the Forum Garden Café with interviews, panel discussions and lectures, for example, on inclusive gardening, community marketing in social media or “Creating a Community - the theme of the garden as a social link”.  

The associations had also taken the central theme to heart. The Association of German Garden Centres (VDG) - before the VDG Happy Hour on Sunday evening - awarded prizes to its members for the best "social gardening", i.e. the best event concept implemented in the garden centre. The Industrieverband Garten (IVG) scored with its traditional garden party on the second evening of the fair, and earlier the logistics provider Dachser had celebrated the 25th anniversary of Dachser DIY Logistics at the BHB stand. Partnership, coming together and social togetherness were the focus of the respective events.

"It has become apparent that there is simply no substitute for the encounters in such a setting. You meet colleagues, acquaintances and all the important decision-makers in the industry. For manufacturers in particular, it is enormously important to present their products live - i.e. to experience and touch - on such a platform," says Anna Hackstein, managing director of the IVG. Martina Mensing-Meckelburg, president of the VDG, agrees with her: "The importance of personal contact was once again confirmed at Spoga+Gafa. Business is still done by people with people."

The retailers were also satisfied: "Spoga+Gafa is the most important trade fair for our members. The fact that the big brands have returned in full force shows that the fair is indispensable and a must-attend event for the industry,” said John Herbert, general secretary of the international industry association Edra/Ghin.

The next Spoga+Gafa will take place from 16 to 18 June 2024. Koelnmesse will announce the theme of the next fair in the course of the summer.