Melles & Stein Messe-Service

What Melles & Stein Messe-Service does

Melles & Stein Messe-Service GmbH is a German B2B trade fair service agency founded on January 1, 1998, by Silke Melles and Nicole Stein, headquartered in the historic Erkrath railway station near Düsseldorf. The company delivers three integrated service lines — People (staffing of hostesses, hosts, promoters and service personnel), Catering (finger food, lunch, drinks and buffets), and Stand Parties (cocktail bars, DJs, live bands) — for trade fair exhibitors across all major German exhibition venues (Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Cologne, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart). It operates with approximately 30 permanent employees and a flexible temporary workforce, servicing roughly 100 trade fair events per year for clients ranging from 100 m² booths to 10,000 m² pavilions with teams of 1 to over 100 hostesses. Pricing for staffing is standardized at €18/hour with 100% advance payment and tiered cancellation penalties; catering and stand parties are quote-based per event. The company bills directly to exhibitors via phone and email outreach under a sales-led, event-driven go-to-market, with a horizontal customer base spanning food, manufacturing, technology and associations.

The company's core technology is service-based rather than platform-based. Its principal proprietary asset is a CO2 reporting tool for trade fair catering, co-developed with sustainability consultant Thomas Vogt (inova) and the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research Heidelberg (ifeu), which calculates greenhouse gas emissions across food, beverages, equipment and staff travel and issues certificates that clients can integrate into their own sustainability disclosures. A modular sustainable catering framework (Baukasten-Prinzip) allows clients to adopt sustainability components incrementally. The company also operates an applicant management portal (backed by AG VIP) for recruiting local hostesses and hosts near each venue.

Melles & Stein positions sustainability as its central differentiator in an industry not traditionally associated with environmental responsibility. It was the first company in the German trade fair service sector to publish a sustainability report under the German Sustainability Code (DNK) in 2023 (profile ID 14698), and achieved an "ausgezeichnet arbeiten" employer certification in 2024. Revenue streams are threefold — Trade Fair Staffing under the German Personnel Leasing Act (AÜG) invoiced on confirmed attendance hours, Catering quoted per event, and Stand Parties scoped end-to-end — sold as bundled packages combining people, catering and stand events. The company is founder-owned with no institutional investors identified, and does not disclose revenue publicly.

Name

Melles & Stein Messe-Service

Legal name

Melles & Stein Messe-Service GmbH

Website

https://melles-stein.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Melles & Stein Messe-Service is a German B2B trade fair service agency, founded 1998, providing event staffing, sustainable catering, and stand party services for exhibitors across all major German trade fair venues, with a proprietary CO2 reporting tool as its sustainability differentiator.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Erkrath

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Trade Fair Staffing Services: Provision of hostesses, hosts, service staff, bartenders, baristas, promoters, and presenters for trade fair operations. Staff are provided based on the German Personnel Leasing Act (AÜG). Invoicing is based on confirmed attendance hours at agreed hourly rates.
2. Trade Fair Catering: Catering services for trade fair stands including finger food, lunch, sandwiches, sweets, and drinks. Catering is priced per event/contract with menus customized per client. The company sources from regional, small and medium-sized family businesses and prioritizes organic and sustainable products.
3. Stand Parties: Organizing and delivering trade fair stand parties including cocktail bars, buffets, flying service, DJs, and live bands. The service covers the full event lifecycle from guest arrival to atmospheric finale.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Melles & Stein is a Germany-based trade fair service agency that delivers three integrated offerings: (1) People — trained hostesses, hosts, promoters, bartenders, baristas, and service staff for trade fair operations; (2) Catering — finger food, lunch, sandwiches, sweets, and drinks sourced from regional, organic, and small family businesses; and (3) Stand Parties — cocktail/bier bars, buffets, flying service, DJs, and live bands. Services are delivered nationwide at all major German trade fair locations, with a strong sustainability positioning including a proprietary CO2 reporting tool for catering emissions.

Product overview

Melles & Stein Messe-Service is a trade fair service company founded in 1998, offering three core service lines: People (staffing/hostess services), Catering (food and beverage), and Stand Parties (event celebrations). The company operates nationwide at all major German trade fair locations. Their service portfolio is built around these three integrated offerings, supplemented by sustainability-focused add-on modules including CO2 reporting for catering, DNK-compliant sustainability reporting, and modular sustainable trade fair solutions. They also operate a trade fair jobs portal for recruiting hostesses. The company emphasizes sustainability as a core differentiator, with complete product range conversion to sustainable consumables and organic/fairtrade options.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• People (Staffing Services) Provision of trained hostesses, hosts, promoters, bartenders, baristas, and service staff for all areas of trade fair operations including service, bar, reception, info desks, promotion, and logistics. Staff are provided under the German Personnel Leasing Act (AÜG), invoiced at €18/hour based on confirmed attendance hours. Designed for trade fair exhibitors needing reliable, professional event staff at German trade fair venues.
• Catering Services Full catering service for trade fairs including finger food, lunch, sandwiches, sweets, and drinks, with focus on sustainable, regional, and seasonal products sourced from small and medium-sized family businesses, organic and fairtrade where possible. Pricing is custom-quoted per event with a 100% advance payment required. Designed for trade fair exhibitors seeking high-quality, sustainable catering at German trade fair venues.
• Stand Parties Event celebration services for trade fair stand parties including beer or cocktail bars, buffets, flying service, and entertainment (DJ or live band). Covers the full event lifecycle from guest arrival to atmospheric finale. Designed for trade fair exhibitors hosting hospitality events at their stands.
• CO2 Reporting for Trade Fair Catering Detailed CO2 footprint reports for trade fair catering covering food, beverages, snacks, equipment, and staff including travel to and from the venue. Produces a certificate that can be incorporated into customers' own sustainability reports. Offered to trade fair exhibitors who need to quantify and disclose catering-related emissions.

Quantifiable outcome

• CO2 emissions from trade fair catering can be calculated and certified for inclusion in customers' sustainability reports
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Thomas Vogt / inovacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023External sustainability consultant who collaborated with melles & stein to develop the proprietary CO2 reporting tool for trade fair catering. Also worked with the company to assess its own ecological footprint, covering travel, energy supply, vehicle fleet, and office materials.
• Institut für Energie- und Umweltforschung Heidelberg (ifeu)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Institute for Energy and Environmental Research Heidelberg collaborated with melles & stein and inova to develop the methodology for calculating CO2 emissions from trade fair catering. ifeu's scientific expertise provides credibility and methodological rigor to the company's CO2 reporting tool.
• Tafel Deutschland e.V. (Food Banks)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2022Partnership with Tafel (food banks) to donate leftover food from trade fair catering. melles & stein works with Tafel to ensure surplus food is collected from exhibition grounds, reducing food waste. Note: food banks are currently only permitted to take packaged food, not prepared food.
• Freundeskreis Kambodscha e.V.minorOthers · 1 January 1998Charitable organization founded by former Supervisory Board Chairman Helmuth Kircher. Provides access to clean drinking water through well construction and supports children's education in Cambodia.
• Haven CambodiaminorOthers · 1 January 1998Training restaurant for disadvantaged young adults in Cambodia. Provides vocational training as chefs or waiters, a safe haven during training, and prepares participants for professional futures through internships in partner hotels.
• Du-Ich-Wir Erkrath e.V.minorOthers · 1 January 1998Non-profit association and recognized sponsor of independent youth welfare in Erkrath, offering children and young people access to the best possible education.
• DKMS (German Bone Marrow Donor Registry)minorOthers · 1 January 1998All melles & stein employees are registered in the DKMS bone marrow donor registry. The company covers the costs of typing for all staff members.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Dussmann Group: German facility services and catering conglomerate operating across corporate catering, event hospitality, and cleaning services. Comparable on the catering line and adjacent on staffing through facility services contracts, though spread across many verticals beyond trade fairs.
• Sodexo Deutschland: Multinational facility management and food services provider with German operations covering corporate catering, event hospitality, and onsite services. Overlaps on catering delivery but operates as a much broader portfolio player rather than a trade fair specialist.
• ISS Facility Services: Global facility services provider with significant German operations spanning catering, cleaning, security, and event support. Adjacent competition for event catering and onsite service contracts at large venues including German Messe halls.
• Aramark Deutschland: German arm of the global contract food services group, providing event and corporate catering plus hospitality services. Comparable on the catering pillar of m&s's offering, with much larger scale and broader sector focus.
• ManpowerGroup Deutschland: Global staffing leader's German subsidiary providing temporary and event staffing services. Comparable to m&s's hostess/host and service personnel offerings under the German Personnel Leasing Act (AÜG), but without the integrated catering and stand-party capabilities.
• Compass Group Deutschland: Global contract foodservice leader's German arm, providing B2B catering including event catering at corporate functions, conferences, and exhibitions. Directly comparable on catering execution but with significantly broader scope and less focus on the Messe-specific staffing niche.
• Adecco Germany: Major German staffing and workforce solutions provider with event and hostess service lines. Comparable on the People/staffing pillar of m&s's model, though Adecco operates across all industries rather than specializing in trade fair services.
• WISAG: One of Germany's largest facility services groups, with catering, event services, and hospitality divisions that overlap directly with m&s's trade fair catering and staffing offerings. Larger scale and broader portfolio but lacks the trade-fair-specific specialization.

Regional players

• Maritim Hotelgesellschaft: German hotel and event hospitality group operating venues near major Messe locations (e.g., Maritim Düsseldorf, Frankfurt). Provides event catering and hostess services that compete for the same trade fair exhibitor budgets in the same German geography.

Direct peers

• Kofler & Kompanie: Germany-based upscale event catering company serving corporate events, exhibitions, and trade fairs. Closest direct peer to m&s's trade fair catering line, with similar client base (exhibitors at major German Messe locations) and comparable service model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/melles.stein
• Instagraminstagram.com/mellesundstein

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 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 Melles & Stein Messe-Service