What a fair does well
Fairs such as BAU in Munich, Heimtextil in Frankfurt, Anuga in Cologne or Hannover Messe bring a whole industry into one place for a few days. They are good for seeing the market, meeting people you already know and showing a product that needs to be touched.
Where it falls short for a first entry
- Months of planning. Stand space, construction, travel, samples and staff need to be organised long before the fair opens.
- Chance decides who walks by. The buyer you need may not visit, may visit on another day, or may walk past a supplier they don't know.
- A few days a year. Sourcing decisions happen all year, when contracts run out or a supplier fails, not on the dates of the fair.
- The work starts afterwards. Business cards still need a follow-up in German, and that is where many fair contacts go quiet.
What matching changes
Instead of waiting at a stand for the right visitor, matching starts from the other end: a German company writes down what it needs, and your portfolio is checked against it.
- You know the requirements before the first contact.
- The company has agreed to review and answer a matching introduction.
- It runs all year, not on the dates of the fair.
- It needs no stand, no German company and no local hire. You pay per qualified introduction.
This is what we do: German companies send us their requirement profiles, manufacturers abroad send their portfolios, and when both fit, we introduce them. Free for German companies, €1,000 per qualified introduction for manufacturers.
Using both
The two don't exclude each other. Once you have been introduced to German companies, a fair becomes far more useful: you arrive with appointments instead of hoping for visitors. Fairs like Hannover Messe are also where many German companies show what they make, which is a good hint at what they buy.
