The global consumer-goods sector will come together again in Frankfurt am Main from 12 to 16 February 2016. As a trend barometer and order and design platform, Ambiente is a trade fair highlight of the year. It is split into three main sections: Dining, Living and Giving. The eastern part of Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre is reserved for the Dining section while the Giving and Living sections occupy the western part. Ambiente reflects the complete range of consumer goods for the table, kitchen, household, wining & dining, giving, the home and furnishing.
“Ambiente is the event of the year for the consumer-goods sector. In Frankfurt, exhibitors from more than 90 countries present their new products and set the trends for 2016 and beyond”, explains Nicolette Naumann, Vice President Ambiente/Tendence. Last February, 135,000 visitors from over 150 countries came to Frankfurt for Ambiente 2015.
After Denmark, France, Japan and the USA, Italy is Ambiente's fifth Partner Country. Part of the Partner Country programme is a comprehensive presentation of particularly well designed products. The coming Italian exhibition will be designed by Paola Navone. Born in Milan, she has not only made a name for herself on the Italian design scene with her work. On the contrary, she developed her own special and international style back in the eighties. For her, Ambiente represents a shared past because she has already curated and designed several special shows on behalf of Messe Frankfurt including the product presentation in the ‘extra’ series – ‘extra – soft touch’ (1997) and ‘extra – remix“ (2001). She was also responsible for the ‘waterbar H2O’ cafe (2005).
As a leading trade fair for the sector, Ambiente reflects the market in its full breadth and depth, and this includes new developments in the product field and channels of distribution. For example, consumers around the world are showing an increasing interest in sustainable products and, for the first time in 2016, Ambiente will offer buyers orientation in a highly complex global market place.
With categories such as ‘Eco-Friendly Materials’, ‘Fair & Social Production’, ‘Re-/Upcycling Design’, and ‘Handmade Manufacturing’, the Ethical Style Guide provides insights into different aspects of sustainability offered by numerous Ambiente exhibitors. The exhibition stands of companies that make their products using ethical and / or sustainable methods can be found quickly and easily using the Guide and are labelled accordingly.
Using transparent criteria, a jury of experts from the World Fair Trade Organization, the Centre for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries (CBI) and the German Design Council (Rat für Formgebung), as well as other specialists, will decide on which companies are to be included in the Ethical Style Guide. Ambiente exhibitors have until 28 October 2015 to apply for inclusion. The requirements for inclusion in the Ethical Style Guide and a questionnaire can be found here.
Ambiente is one of the most important platforms outside China for the sourcing business and, at the last edition of the fair, almost 1600 exhibitors presented a broad range of products in six exhibition halls. The Passage sourcing segments at Ambiente provide a great opportunity for visitors to search for specific contacts and to place orders directly with the manufacturers. The spectrum ranges from industrially-manufactured articles to hand-made goods in large quantities and solutions in the customising field.
The latest trends for the table, kitchen, living and giving segments will be presented at Ambiente 2016. To this end, the trend scouts of Stilbüro bora.herke.palmisano are currently researching them and will illustrate them in a large-scale exhibition. For young designers, the Talents and Next promotional programmes represent an important step up the career ladder and give up-and-coming designers from the fields of product and furniture design the chance to present their ideas and prototypes to an international audience of trade visitors. The Solutions special show puts the spotlight on clever ideas. Designer and curator Sebastian Bergne presents functional solutions by Ambiente exhibitors from the table, kitchen and household segments.
Moreover, Ambiente provides the setting for numerous awards ceremonies. Products distinguished by an intelligent combination of aesthetics and benefits are singled out for the Design Plus Award and can be seen in a special exhibition during the fair. The German Design Award is presented on the first day of the fair and visitors have the chance to see the award-winning products in an impressive exhibition. The Kitchen Innovation Award and the Plagiarius Negative Award for product piracy are also presented at Ambiente.
