fairtrade Messe

What fairtrade Messe does

fairtrade Messe Gmb & Co. KG, founded in 1991 by Martin März and headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany, is a family-owned trade fair organizer specializing in the agrofood and plastprintpack verticals for Africa and the Middle East. The company operates a portfolio of approximately 20 individual trade shows under two core brands — agrofood (Agriculture, Food & Beverage Processing, Ingredients, Food & Hospitality) and plastprintpack (Plastics, Printing, Packaging) — spanning Algeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, and Nigeria, with regional subsidiaries in Cairo, Dubai, Algiers, Tashkent, and Vilnius supporting execution in market. Operations are event-driven: fairtrade books exhibition space from international and local exhibitors, arranges booth construction, customs clearance, and travel support, and monetizes year-round visibility via the exportal online B2B marketplace built on infrastructure provided by ngn (new generation network GmbH) and fronted by a Salesforce-powered online exhibitor shop.

Name

fairtrade Messe

Legal name

fairtrade Messe GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://fairtrade-messe.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

fairtrade Messe is a Heidelberg-based, family-owned trade fair organizer that has operated agrofood and plastprintpack exhibitions across Africa and the Middle East since 1991, serving 36,000+ exhibitors and 1.5 million trade visitors cumulatively.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trade Fair Organization

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)

akta.pro primary industry

General Consumer Expos & Trade Shows (MPAGAFAA)

Keywords

• Trade fair organization
• Agrofood exhibitions
• Plastprintpack trade shows
• B2B exhibition services
• Exhibition booth services

Headquarters

HQ city

Heidelberg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Exhibition Participation Fees: Revenue from exhibitors renting booth space at trade fairs. Exhibitors book stands through the fairtrade online shop or by contacting the team directly. Additional services such as stand upgrades, furniture, and technical equipment can be purchased.
2. Booth Construction Services: Modular stand construction, upgrades, additional furniture and technical equipment for exhibition stands. Also offers recommendations for contractual stand builders.
3. exportal Premium Services: Year-round platform access and visibility for exhibitors to connect with trade visitors 24/7, extending the value of exhibition participation beyond the physical event dates.
4. Additional Services: Marketing services, visa support, transportation & customs clearance, travel support including flight and accommodation arrangements with special rates.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

fairtrade Messe organizes and manages professional international trade fairs across the agrofood (Agriculture | Food & Beverage Processing | Ingredients | Food & Hospitality) and plastprintpack (Plastics | Printing | Packaging) sectors in Africa and the Middle East. The company produces ~20 country-specific exhibitions (e.g., agrofood West Africa, Iran agrofood, plast & printpack alger), and operates the exportal — a year-round digital B2B platform that connects exhibitors and visitors before, during and after events. Supplementary services include booth construction, online stand booking, transportation and customs clearance, travel support, marketing services, and visa support.

Product overview

fairtrade Messe is a leading organizer of professional agrofood and plastprintpack trade fairs for Africa and the Middle East, founded in 1991 and headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany. The company operates two core trade show brands: agrofood (covering Agriculture | Food & Beverage Processing | Ingredients | Food & Hospitality) and plastprintpack (covering Plastics | Printing | Packaging). The product portfolio includes 20+ individual trade shows across multiple countries including West Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Iraq, Iran, and Algeria, plus supplementary services such as booth construction, online booking via their e-commerce shop, transportation/customs clearance, travel support, and marketing services. The exportal serves as a year-round digital platform connecting exhibitors and visitors beyond physical events, enabling 24/7 business matching, messaging, and scheduling.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• agrofood trade show brand Professional international trade fair brand covering Agriculture | Food & Beverage Processing | Ingredients | Food & Hospitality. Operating country-specific events in Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Iraq and Iran since 1991.
• plastprintpack trade show brand Professional international trade fair brand covering Plastics | Printing | Packaging. Hosts country-specific editions in Algeria, Iraq, Ethiopia, Ghana and West Africa, including plast & printpack alger in cooperation with Messe Düsseldorf.
• exportal B2B platform Year-round online B2B platform presenting solutions and innovations of the agrofood and plastprintpack industry. Exhibitors and products can be filtered by topics, countries and interests for finding business matches and getting in contact 24/7 via messenger and individual visitor profiles.
• Booth construction services Modular stand construction, upgrades, additional furniture and technical equipment for exhibition stands. Also offers recommendations for contractual stand builders.
• Online booking (fairtrade online shop) Salesforce-powered self-serve online booking system for exhibition stands and additional services (booth construction, marketing services, transport, travel, visa).
• Transportation & customs clearance Support with transport and customs clearance for exhibition products, coordinated with professional forwarding agents familiar with the exhibition country.
• Travel support Assistance with travel arrangements including special rates for flights and accommodation for exhibitors and visitors.
• Additional services (marketing, visa support) Marketing services, visa support, and other customization options to support exhibition participation.

Quantifiable outcome

• 36,000+ exhibitors served since 1991
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• So FuarcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2018Partnership for AgroPack & plastprintpack Iraq events in Erbil. So Fuar provides local exhibition management and market expertise for Iraq.
• DLG (German Agricultural Society)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Strategic partnership for fairtrade's agrofood shows in Africa, bringing DLG's agricultural expertise to enhance event quality and content.
• Messe München (drinktec)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2017Marketing cooperation between Messe München's drinktec and fairtrade's food + bev tec events, enhancing cross-promotion between European and Middle Eastern food & beverage technology markets.
• Messe DüsseldorfflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Joint cooperation for plast & printpack alger events since 2016. Messe Düsseldorf entered as equal partner alongside fairtrade for the leading Algerian plast & printpack trade fair series.
• ITE (London)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2015Cooperation on AfricaBuild Lagos 2016, connecting African markets with international construction and building industry exhibitors.
• AHK Nigeria (German-Nigerian Business Association)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2013Cooperation started 2013 for agrofood & plastprintpack Nigeria, providing networking with German-Nigerian business community.
• AHK AccraminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2013Cooperation on WACEE 2013 and subsequent events in Ghana, facilitating German-Ghanaian business connections.
• Duale Hochschule Baden-Württemberg (DHBW)minorOthers · 1 January 2012Cooperation with University of Cooperative Education since 2012 to train students in Bachelor of Arts - Business Administration - Exhibition, Convention & Event Management (3-year program with practical training).
• Safex (Algiers)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2007Cooperation since 2007 on SIAC (Salon International de l'Agriculture) and other events in Algiers. Safex provides venue access and local support for Algerian exhibitions.
• Forum7 (Casablanca)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 1999Partnership since 1999 for electro expo, EneR Event, Salon Santé, and other Moroccan events. Forum7 provides local representation and event management in Morocco.
• Euroindex (Kiev)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 1995Cooperation since 1995 for elcomUkraine and other Eastern European events. Euroindex provides local market access and exhibition management for Ukrainian and Russian markets.
• Palar Samaneh (Tehran)flagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 1992Long-standing cooperation since 1992 (celebrating over 25 years). Local partner responsible for Iran agrofood, Iran food + bev tec, Iran food + hospitality, Iran agro, Iran food ingredients, and Iran telecom innovations events in Tehran.
• ngn - new generation network GmbH (Berlin)coreTechnology or IntegrationTechnical service provider for the Industry Portal (exportal) online list of exhibitors. Provides platform infrastructure and support for year-round B2B networking.
• Salesforce (salesforce.com EMEA Limited, London)coreTechnology or IntegrationTechnical service provider for the fairtrade online shop platform. Enables exhibitor registration and service booking functionality.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• RX Global (Reed Exhibitions):

Broad incumbents

• Informa Markets: Largest global exhibitions organiser with broad industry coverage including agrifood (e.g. Gulfood, Saudi Agriculture) and packaging verticals. Overlaps significantly with fairtrade's food and packaging trade fair categories but at vastly larger scale and broader portfolio.
• Messe Frankfurt GmbH: One of the world's largest trade fair organisers with global network including Middle East (e.g. Beautyworld, Automechanika) and food-related exhibitions. Broad incumbent competing for the same international exhibitor base in overlapping regions.
• Koelnmesse GmbH: Major German trade fair organiser running ISM (sweets), Anuga FoodTec adjacent events, and packaging exhibitions. Comparable German-headquartered B2B exhibition model with food and packaging vertical overlap.

Direct peers

• dmg events: Major international exhibition organiser with deep footprint in Middle East (e.g. ADIPEC, Big 5) and Africa, operating large-scale B2B trade fairs in similar emerging-market geographies that fairtrade targets.
• Hyve Group plc: UK-listed international trade fair organiser (formerly ITE Group) focused heavily on emerging markets including Africa, Middle East, and Asia. Closest direct comparable to fairtrade's emerging-market trade fair model, with overlapping verticals in agrofood and packaging.
• Messe Düsseldorf GmbH: Flagship strategic partner and co-organiser of fairtrade's plast & printpack alger series. Globally significant German trade fair organiser with strong packaging (interpack, drupa) and food portfolios, directly comparable in operating model and German-headquartered B2B exhibition focus.
• Messe München (Messe München GmbH): German trade fair organiser running drinktec, ISPO, and food/beverage technology exhibitions, and a marketing partner of fairtrade. Comparable in German-headquartered B2B exhibition model and overlapping food/beverage processing vertical.
• DLG (Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft / German Agricultural Society): Strategic partner of fairtrade for African agro events and organiser of leading international agricultural trade fairs (Agritechnica, EuroTier). Directly comparable in agrofood vertical and German organisational footprint.

Regional players

• IFP Group (International Fairs & Promotions): Iraq-based exhibition organiser running agrofood, construction, and oil/gas trade fairs. Direct regional comparable competing in the same Erbil and Iraq exhibition market that fairtrade's Agro Pack & Food Iraq and plast Iraq target.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/fairtradeMesse
• Facebookfacebook.com/fairtrademesse
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fairtrade-messe
• Instagraminstagram.com/agrofood_plastprintpack

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about fairtrade Messe