Whether it’s focused on the retail or commercial side, the International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE) is the largest trade show event for the grain-based food industry in the Western hemisphere, and it’s all geared toward bringing the global baking industry together to find solutions to the challenges everyone is facing. In Las Vegas, Sept. 13-17, 2025, the baking industry will overtake the Las Vegas Convention Center to attend education sessions, see the latest in equipment and ingredient technology, and network with peers.

“There are tons of industries that have trade shows, but few industries have as rich of a culture as baking, and even fewer events have over a century of experience serving their audiences,” said Dennis Gunnell, president of Formost Fuji and past IBIE chair. “We have a culture about us that is family, and as a nonprofit IBIE truly supports the industry. Buyers and suppliers get together to help each other, make our industry better and grow our businesses in the process. And there is no better place to do that than IBIE.”

As the baking industry struggles against workforce challenges and rising costs, the IBIE planning committee is aiming to present a show that can be a meeting place where bakers collaborate with suppliers to discover solutions. 

“Attendees love the Baking Expo and bring so many members of their teams because it’s an opportunity to come together with their industry peers, discuss challenges and find solutions,” said Michael Cornelis, vice president, international sales and development for American Pan, a Bundy Baking Solution, and past IBIE chair. “And because it’s only every three years, if you miss one, you’ve really missed six years of innovation, so you can’t afford to miss even one show.” 

Registration for the IBIE 2025 is currently open at www.bakingexpo.com. Early bird pricing is available until March 5, 2025. 

IBIE is known for serving not just one side of the baking industry over the other: Bakers representing companies of all sizes from all over the world are welcome and will find value, from the smallest retail shop to the largest baking company in the world. 

For IBIE 2025, IBIEducate sessions are now included in the registration price, which previously had been sold separately. Following the call for speakers, the planning committee has more than 450 proposed sessions to choose from for 2025’s education program, encompassing IBIEducate sessions, hands-on workshops, and show floor demos and talks. Hands-on workshops will still require an additional fee.

“IBIE’s education offerings are designed to meet the needs of both the retail and wholesale sides of the industry and every job function within it,” said Allen Wright, vice president of Hansaloy and vice chair of IBIE. “Our world-renowned education program meet the wants and needs of both.” 

The Retail Bakers Center will be in the North Hall again as a meeting place for everything retail baking including talks, competitions and celebrity demos. In 2025, retail bakers can benefit from the addition of Coffee Corner to the Retail Bakers Center. 

“We’re adding a Coffee Corner because, obviously, that’s a huge category for retail establishments and bakery cafes,” Cornelis explained. “We don’t want to be a coffee show, but we are listening to the retail bakers to give them the coffee system demos and samples.”

On the commercial side, attendees will be able to take advantage of the new Wholesale Bakers Center. This area will provide onsite learning through in-depth discussions with industry experts. Topics will include workforce development, operational efficiencies, sustainability and more. 

With iba, the international trade show in Germany, also happening earlier in the year, the IBIE committee is focused on its role as the baking trade show for the Americas. The international committee has been hard at work engaging international groups by attending other shows around the world and engaging with delegations and governments to attract global bakers to IBIE. 

“As the largest industry event in the Western Hemisphere, our sweet spot is the Americas,” Gunnell explained. “While IBIE participants come from every continent, and 100-plus countries, the Americas is our home base. And especially with Jorge [Zarate, senior vice president of global operations and engineering at Mexico City-based Grupo Bimbo] as this year’s chair, we continue to foster our international relationships and meet those customers’ needs.” 

To better serve international attendees, IBIE is providing more education sessions in Spanish in 2025 and continuing to offer the International Trade Center and the International Delegation Program. 

“We’re proud to present more education programming in Spanish — it enhances the learning experience if attendees are hearing it in their native language,” Cornelis explained. “And the International Trade Center provides translation services, and complementary meeting space for buyers and suppliers to facilitate cross-border commerce.”

Beyond baking, IBIE is placing added emphasis on the snack and pet food industries with two new pavilions. These categories cross over with exhibitors’ capabilities as well as attendees’ interests as adjacent categories. With the 2017 merger of the Biscuit & Cracker Manufacturers Association with the American Bakers Association (ABA), which co-owns IBIE with BEMA and the Retail Bakers of America, baked snacks are an obvious place for IBIE to focus and expand. 

“We, the committee, debated on which markets to feature in the new pavilions, and we feel these not only align with exhibitor and attendee interests but represent growth opportunities as well,” Wright said.

This article is an excerpt from the November 2024 issue of Baking & Snack. To read the entire feature on IBIE 2025 Preview, click here.