CAPE TOWN, South Africa — The Africa Food Show will join Koelnmesse GmbH’s global Anuga network and become Anuga Select South Africa — and Koelnmesse’s debut in Africa.
It will serve as an international launchpad for producers, innovators and SMEs, and is scheduled for June 22-24, 2027, at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC). Koelnmesse will partner with dmg events for this project.
A Trillion-Dollar Opportunity
Darrin Stern, President and Managing Director of Koelnmesse Inc., shared that this project is rooted in market reality.
“The African Development Bank projects the continent’s food and agriculture market could reach $1 trillion by 2030, driven by urbanization, demographic expansion and rising consumer demand. These are structural, long-term shifts — and the global food industry is paying close attention,” Stern said. “Start with the fundamentals: 1.4 billion people, a rapidly growing middle class, accelerating urbanization and the youngest population of any continent on earth. Those are the exact ingredients that drive consumer market expansion, retail development and food service growth.
“Across many countries, you are seeing the emergence of strong domestic brands, modern retail infrastructure and new trading networks. The question for global companies is no longer whether Africa matters. It is whether they move early enough to shape how they engage before competitors define the terms.”
Stern explained that, from a trade show perspective, this environment creates strong demand for what Koelnmesse does best: efficient, structured business platforms where buyers and sellers from across the globe can find each other, evaluate products and establish commercial relationships.
“South Africa is the right starting point,” Stern said. “It is one of the continent’s largest economies, a major trade and logistics hub, and a genuine gateway into Sub-Saharan African markets. Cape Town in particular is a recognized center for food innovation and hospitality with the international infrastructure to support a world-class trade event.”
Building on Strong Foundations
The Africa Food Show’s 2026 edition drew more than 14,000 visitors and had exhibitors from 36 countries and 11 national pavilions.
“That level of international participation in a regional event tells you something important: serious, structured business engagement in Africa is not just possible; it is already happening,” Stern said. “What attracted us to the Africa Food Show was the combination of established market presence, a strong regional community and a clear ceiling it had reached on its own. Pairing that foundation with the Anuga brand creates something meaningfully more powerful than either platform could deliver independently.”
Stern explained that Anuga Select South Africa will expand the show’s scope, deepen its international reach and raise the ceiling on what it can deliver in three distinct ways:
1. Brand Authority
“The Anuga name carries over a century of credibility in the global food and beverage industry. For international exhibitors, it provides immediate context and confidence. For buyers, it signals a quality threshold that accelerates trust and decision-making,” Stern said.
2. Global Network Access
“Anuga Select South Africa becomes part of an interconnected ecosystem that includes Anuga Cologne, Anuga Select Brazil, Anuga Select India, Anuga Select China, Anuga Select Japan, THAIFEX in Thailand, and Anuga Select Ibérica. Participants gain connectivity across that entire network, not just within the Cape Town venue,” Stern added.
3. Co-Location
“Running concurrently with Hotel & Hospitality Expo Africa at the CTICC creates a broader value proposition across the full food service and hospitality value chain. That crossover audience creates business matchmaking opportunities the previous format was not designed to capture,” Stern said.
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A Powerful Partnership
Stern shared that Koelnmesse and dmg events’ partnership is a deliberate combination of complementary strengths, not a convenience arrangement. “Koelnmesse brings more than 100 years of experience producing the world’s leading food trade fair, a global database of exhibiting companies from 129 countries and a proven playbook for launching regional Anuga satellite events. We know how to build food and beverage trade platforms that produce real business outcomes,” Stern said. “dmg events brings something equally critical: genuine regional presence. They are already operating in Africa with established networks and deep market relationships.
“Their flagship portfolio, including Big 5 Global, ADIPEC and The Hotel Show, demonstrates their ability to build serious trade platforms across the Middle East, Africa and Asia. This is not a new market for them; it is home territory.
“The two organizations have also already worked together successfully in Saudi Arabia. That gives us a proven operational model rather than a theory. Koelnmesse brings the brand, the methodology and the global network. dmg events brings the regional market knowledge, local relationships and infrastructure. Together, they significantly de-risk the launch and create a clear path to long-term relevance.”
A Landmark Event
This show is designed to deliver tangible commercial outcomes across the full food and beverage value chain.
International suppliers, regional manufacturers, distributors, buyers and decision-makers from food service, hospitality and retail will convene for business development, networking, and knowledge exchange.
“For African SMEs, producers and innovators, this may be the most significant development of all,” Stern said. “For the first time, these businesses will have access to international trade fair infrastructure and a global buyer audience without leaving their region. That is a material competitive advantage for companies that have historically had to travel to Cologne, Bangkok, or São Paulo to access those same conversations.
“For international exhibitors, Anuga Select South Africa removes friction and provides a credible, structured entry point into a market that has been strategically compelling but operationally complex to navigate. The Anuga brand does a lot of that heavy lifting.”
Portfolio Optimization
Stern shared that every successful regional Anuga event makes the entire network stronger.
“We have seen this consistently in Brazil, India, Thailand, China and Japan. Satellite events do not compete with Anuga Cologne; they extend its reach, expand its exhibitor base, and attract new audiences back to the flagship. The pipeline effect is well documented,” Stern said. “Africa has been the one major growth region without a formal Anuga presence. That gap meant leaving market development on the table. Anuga Select South Africa closes it.
“From a portfolio strategy perspective, we now have meaningful Anuga activations across Asia, Latin America, Europe, and Africa. That geographic completeness strengthens the case we make to global exhibitors every day: if you want to reach every major food market in the world through one connected platform, Koelnmesse is where you do it.”
Stern added that from a North American perspective, this launch is worth paying close attention to.
“African markets represent a real and underutilized growth opportunity for U.S. and Canadian food and beverage producers, particularly those looking to diversify beyond increasingly competitive domestic channels or established export markets,” Stern said. “Anuga Select South Africa gives North American companies a structured, credible on-ramp into that conversation.
“Koelnmesse, Inc. will be actively communicating with our North American community as we move toward the June 2027 debut. If you are exhibiting, sourcing, or simply trying to understand where the next wave of growth is coming from in global food and beverage, this event belongs on your radar.
“The broader point is simply this: Koelnmesse just completed the largest Anuga in the fair’s 100-plus-year history, with more than 8,000 companies from 118 countries in Cologne. We are not slowing down. Africa is the next chapter.”
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