Buyers zoom in on frozen food hall, where creative exhibits are wall to wall: surf's up with Potato Waves; toaster is popping hot with Toasty Meat Snacks; Pizza is served in a cone; Chik'n Stick Oriental Finger Food point the way; and Hurray for BollyFood.

How prolific was the frozen food presence at the October 2007 running of Anuga in Cologne, Germany? The numbers tell the story, as 465 suppliers from 51 countries exhibited their product lines in Hall 4. That was a remarkable 29% increase over the 360 exhibitors from 45 countries making the scene in the frozen food hall during the 2005 rendition of the world's largest food show.

Space occupied in the dedicated "frozen zone" encompassing two floors amounted to 27,500 square meters. That was equivalent to about nine percent of the total exhibition space of 304,000 square meters throughout the Koelnmesse premises' 12 connected buildings, which included the Rheinparkhalle at the western entrance to the sprawling fairgrounds. More than 6,600 suppliers from 95 nations were represented, with the largest contingent hailing from host country Germany (1,098 companies), followed by Italy (1,050), China (481) and Spain (477).

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Floor space usage increased by five percent over 2005. As for trade visitors, the count was put at 163,000 from 175 countries--up three percent in comparison with 158,817 from 156 nations two years before. More than half of the visitors came from outside of Germany.

Wolfgang Kranz, executive vice president of show organizer Koelnmesse, expressed satisfaction with results of the 29th Anuga fair. "Along with top decision-makers and buyers from all of the German and most of the international retail chains, we were also able to welcome to Cologne the relevant specialists and decision-makers from the foodservice and catering trade. The discussions that took place were therefore very intense and effective," he said.

Many producers of frozen products, it should be noted, chose to display their wares at stands beyond Hall 4 during the five-day fair, which was promoted as "10 specialized trade shows under one roof." Among companies opting to exhibit in other halls or within national pavilions was MEX-AL Sombrero GmbH, which offered a wide range burritos, tacos, chilitos, tamales and other ethnic convenience treats at the Mexico Pavilion in Hall 3. Another was value-added chicken specialist Vossko-Tiefkuhlkost, which held forth in the poultry section of Hall 7.

New frozen foods and ice cream products fared well in the "Taste '07 Special Show" at the Anuga, taking 11 of 61 prizes after judges deemed them to the "top innovations" among more than 1,100 entries that were considered. Only one other sector scored better, as 14 awards went to products within the fine food category.

Among winners in the hotly-contested frozen food product competition was Lamb Weston/Meijer's (LW/M) Potato Waves, which had show-goers doing "Hang Ten" maneuvers while "surfing" to and from the Kruiningen, Holland-based company's (Phone: +31 113 394584) stand at Anuga to enjoy samples. The skin-on spud sections are made with a patented cutting technique to maximize their form for dipping and taking on sauces or fillings.

"We have had a very favorable reaction to the product from buyers and consumers as well as from the Taste '07 jury, all of whom were impressed with the taste and the fact that Potato Waves can be enjoyed as a starter, as an aperitif or side order," said Guy Huybrechts, managing director of LW/M.

Another Taste '07 winner, though in the Meat category rather than under the Frozen Food banner, was Tillman's Toasty. Distributed frozen and touted as "the real meat deal for your toaster," the product features pre-cooked ham enrobed in breadcrumbs accented with seasoning.

Foodservice operators or end-users simply pop the frozen Toasty into a conventional toaster, pointed out Sven Tonjes of Weissenfels, Germany-based Tillman's Fleisch und Convenience GmbH. The result after a few minutes, he added, is "a crispy snack, juicy like a schnitzel. It's satisfying in taste and quality, and can be prepared in a conventional oven or microwaved."

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Seventy-gram Toasties are made available in individual foil pouches and distributed in four-packs. In addition to being served as a snack, another idea is to make a sandwich of them. Here's a recipe suggestion for the latter: "Spread toast with salad cream, garnish with lettuce leaves, crispy Toasties, tomato or cucumber slices. Cover with another slice of toast, cut diagonally and serve."

Picolisimo brand microwaveable pasta dishes for kids got the attention of grown-up judges, who noted: "There is nothing in there but the finest quality ingredients, as neither colorings, preservatives nor artificial colorings are used."

Produced by Esquiroz, Spain-based Tutti Pasta S.A. and distributed in colorful, child-friendly packaging, the product line features five recipes ranging from Canelones de Came and Macarrones Sabor Pizza to Lasagna de Terrnera. Each low-calorie retail offering has less than five percent fat content and is low in salt.

Salomon Spices Up Menus

Ever on the cutting edge when it comes to introducing tasty finger food products and hand-held snacks to the European market, Salomon FoodWorld GmbH (Phone: +49 6062 506229) did not disappoint visitors to its stand. Furthermore, its Chik'n Stick Oriental was a hit among the judges, who awarded it with a Taste '07 prize for innovation.

The pre-cooked, skewered product features marinated breast meat accented with sweet peanut flavor, spices and aromatic sweet potatoes. It is presented on a twin-stick and distributed in units of six.

The Grosssostheim, Germany-based company, a member of the Vion Group, drew special attention to its growing assortment of Indian-style finger food offerings at the show. Exotic products from five culinary centers of the subcontinent were profiled, among them Chik'n Stick Tandoori and Delhi Chik'n Massala.

Also offered were: Madras Veggie (roasted onion combined with carrot and potato, wrapped in wheat pastry); Bombay Onion (shaped in the form of a boat, the treat is made of onion, chili, ginger and aromatic potato with Indian seasoning); and Calcutta Pineapple (juicy pineapple segments with a hint of chili make for a "sweet and hot" spring roll).

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Another name in the forefront of developing innovative frozen products based on authentic recipes from the subcontinent is Kitchens of India. The brand is produced by Bangalore-based ITC Limited. The US $4.75 billion diversified conglomerate has rolled out a retail line of frozen products ranging from complete meals and rice dishes, naan and aloo paratha breads, to snacks including Potato-filled Samosa and Aloo Tikki with Pindi Chana.

Among its 370-gram complete meals are Mutter Panner with Naan & Tadka Dal, which is made of green peas and cottage cheese curry with wheat flatbread and split lentil curry.

Also on the menu is a 285-gram offering of Rajma Massaia with Basmati Rice, featuring 100% natural, preservative-free red kidney bean curry.

Probiotic Fruity from Ysco

Especially cool on the fruit front were two items singled out for recognition by the Taste '07 judges.

The first was Fruity, a fruit-topped probiotic ice cream--said to be the first of its kind in the European market--topped off with a choice of either mango-raspberry or forest fruits. A mix of almonds, cashews and walnuts is added for good measure.

Produced by YSCO NV of Langemark, Belgium, the healthy-eating product contains lactobaccilus BB12, which aids the digestive process. [See detailed story on page 20 of this issue.]

The second winner was a range of frozen fruit confection offered by Ellerau, Germany-based Interfrost GmbH, featuring iced mango, pineapple, longan and banana covered in fine Belgian chocolate.

Among other prize winners were Microback deep-frozen biscuits from master Austrian baker Brandstatter, which require only two minutes of microwaving; and Oriental Souffles from Mekkafood Halal Products Trading of Nettetal-Kaldenkirchen, Germany. The Halal-certified vegetarian souffles feature crisp pastry filled with a blend of creamy, spiced soft cheese accented with olives and garlic.

Feast of Frozen Vegetables

As always, a "bumper crop" of frozen vegetable suppliers was on the scene at Anuga, among them Ozgorkey Gida of Izmir, Turkey. Its Feast brand covers a large field of frozen vegetable, fruit and potato products ranging from sliced and diced red, green and yellow peppers, to broccoli, sweet corn, spinach, potato finger cuts and skin-on wedges, to half-cut plums and apricots, sweet cherries, raspberries and strawberries.

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A wide assortment of coated products is also offered, including onion rings, formed cauliflower, and potato croquettes with vegetables.

Completing the line are pastry and pasta, red meat and poultry products. They range from croissants with chocolate, to mixed pizza with mushrooms, Turkish ravioli, grill-style meatballs, hamburgers and chicken nuggets.

Delightful Show for Delight Food

Fred Puts, managing director or Delight Food International, was quite pleased with contacts made by his company during the fair. The Nijmegen, Holland-based supplier of frozen specialty products shared a stand at the fair with Parsdorf, Germany-based Dinghartinger Appelsstrudel, whose line of Bavarian-style sweet goods it represents in a number of countries.

"There was a lot of interest in our new Delight line of lactose-free dairy ice creams and gateaux prepared with real milk, yogurt and butter," said Puts, a veteran of the sugar-free desserts business in Europe.