ISM director Sabine Schommer joins line-up for the World Confectionery Conference Q&A

Sabine Schommer, director of ISM Cologne

Sabine Schommer, director of ISM Cologne, has been confirmed as joining our World Confectionery Conference Q&A session on sustainability across the confectionery sector and its supply chains.

For the past decade, she has taken on the role at the helm of what remains the largest confectionery event of its kind in the world, and has overseen a period of key growth for the event.

Sabine will be joining our fifth edition of the World Confectionery Conference, which takes place on 11 September at the Marriott Hotel Grand Place, featuring keynotes from Ferrero, Luker Chocolate, Caobisco European industry trade association and major insights group Mintel, along with businesses from across the sector.

There will also be further research and insights from Euromonitor International, with education being a prime element of this year’s event, which is dedicated to sustainability and innovation across the industry. This will be underlined by our World Confectionery Awards, which return to celebrate successes from individuals and businesses operating within our combined sweets and snacks markets. You can register for this year’s show directly at the following link.

For her part, prior to her key involvement with ISM, Sabine Schommer had previously directed the event’s sister show, ProSweets, focused on equipment, systems and ingredients for the confectionery and snacks sectors.

As she explained previously in an exclusive interview with Confectionery Production, she believed that the value of holding events such as ISM, and indeed our own conference was particularly high.

She noted: “I think events such as ours are something that you cannot do without – this was a learning from the pandemic in that we found digital platforms as a solution, but before this, we had underestimated the importance of the casual meeting, those accidental meetings in the aisle which you’d miss out on,” explained the director, who had begun the early part of her career focused on international sales, and organising fashion events in Dusseldorf, Germany, before graduating into the food and drink sector.

Having been among guests at our 2024 event in Brussels, she is welcoming the chance to return to our latest event in the Belgian capital this autumn, which will also include our popular Q&A session on sustainability and the future of the confectionery industry, as well as concluding with our traditional networking reception drinks to further reflect on the day and exchange ideas among industry colleagues.

Editor Neill Barston commented: “Plans for our 2025 World Confectionery Conference are continuing to progress notably, and we welcome registrations from industry professionals from across the full value chain of our industries. It is a pleasure to welcome back Sabine Schommer, of Cologne’s ISM event, who has a wealth of experience not only on the finished product side of the industry, but of being directly involved in the machinery, equipment and systems side of the industry as well.

“So her input into the Q&A will no doubt be extremely valuable, so don’t miss out on being part of our key event this September, which represents Confectionery Production’s prime moment in our busy annual calendar to engage directly with the industry, so whether you’re a small business just starting out, or large corporation, we are looking forward to meeting you this autumn for our event in its fifth year.”