310,000 visitors came to Grüne Woche 2025, where Messe Berlin welcomed numerous high-ranking guests from politics, business and society, including six federal ministers and the new EU Commissioner.
For ten days, everything at Grüne Woche 2025 revolved around agriculture, food and horticulture. The leading international trade fair put pressing issues such as global food security, sustainable agriculture, innovative technologies and the latest food trends on the agenda of political, economic, scientific and media leaders. Six federal ministers came to the Berlin exhibition center. In view of the upcoming federal elections, numerous politicians took the opportunity to engage in direct dialogue. The new EU Commissioner Christophe Hansen presented his plans for the future of strong European agriculture. A total of 310,000 visitors gathered information at this year's Grüne Woche. The trade fair thus recorded an increase in visitors of 13 percent compared to 2024. 800 food stands, a variety of hands-on activities and an entertaining and musical stage program made Grüne Woche a colorful experience for all the senses in its 99th year.
'Grüne Woche 2025 was a complete success,' says Dr Mario Tobias, CEO of Messe Berlin GmbH. 'With 310,000 visitors, the response was overwhelming - a great start to our anniversary year. After all, Grüne Woche will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2026. That's why the following months will be more important than ever: after the trade fair is before the trade fair.'
Stimulus for the economy and the sector
Grüne Woche attracted visitors from Berlin and beyond to the exhibition center. Over 1,000 coaches brought guests from all over Germany to Berlin. The visitors were keen shoppers. Per capita spending rose to over 160 euros. More than 1,800 media representatives from 26 countries reported on the trade fair. Berlin's economy also benefited from the additional income generated by trade fair visitors - especially the hotel, catering and retail sectors. Grüne Woche 2025 was also a center of attraction for numerous influencers, who reported live on their experiences and shared the diversity of the trade fair with their communities.
A platform for dialogue and joint solutions
Grüne Woche 2025 once again provided an important platform for dialogue on current industry topics such as biofuels, sustainable agriculture and strengthening food sovereignty. Another important topic was foot-and-mouth disease, which was discussed intensively in numerous talks between farmers and experts from politics, science and veterinary medicine. Solutions and prevention strategies were developed together.
Cem Özdemir, Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture, emphasized the relevance of Grüne Woche as an exchange platform for the industry: 'This year's Grüne Woche was once again an impressive showcase for the diversity of our agriculture, food and horticulture sectors - and a place for dialogue. Especially in times of major challenges such as foot-and-mouth disease, it is clear that if politicians, authorities and practitioners pull together, we can find solutions together. We make progress when we don't just complain about problems but look for solutions together. Our democracy thrives on open, constructive dialogue that moves our country forward. Our farmers will continue to expect reliability and predictability from politicians in the future. We have cultivated the field well. Now we need to continue this work.'
The Federal Government once again had a strong presence at this year's Grüne Woche. The Federal Ministry of Agriculture, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Federal Ministry for the Environment were represented with their own special shows. A total of six federal ministers attended Grüne Woche 2025: Cem Özdemir, Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture, Education and Research, Annalena Baerbock, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Steffi Lemke, Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection, Lisa Paus, Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, Klara Geywitz, Federal Minister for Housing, Urban Development and Construction, and Volker Wissing, Federal Minister for Digital Affairs, Transport and Justice. Christophe Hansen was present for the first time in his new role as EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Food. Numerous state premiers and the leaders of the parties represented in the Bundestag were present. In view of the upcoming Bundestag elections, numerous politicians took the opportunity to make their presence felt, including Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz and leading candidate Christian Lindner.
International stage: Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA)
Grüne Woche 2025 was characterized by a high degree of internationality. The best example of this was the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA), which took place for the 17th time in parallel to Grüne Woche in Berlin. Under the motto 'Shaping a sustainable bioeconomy', around 2,000 experts discussed key issues for the future of the global agriculture and food industry at the international conference. The highlight was the Berlin Agriculture Ministers' Conference with representatives from 63 countries. In their joint final declaration, the agriculture ministers reaffirmed their commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity, among other things.
Industry stage for the agriculture and food sector
The top representatives of the food and agriculture industry have drawn a positive conclusion about Grüne Woche.
'Grüne Woche continues to be the agricultural policy highlight at the beginning of the year. Numerous discussions and meetings centered on the major challenges facing agriculture, as well as their solutions. Of course, the upcoming general election also played a role. Visitors to the trade fair were once again able to enjoy an impressive range of culinary highlights and innovations in food production,' summarized Joachim Rukwied, President of the German Farmers' Association.
The food retail sector was strongly represented at this year's Grüne Woche with companies such as the Schwarz Group, Rewe and Edeka. Christoph Minhoff, Managing Director of the Federation of German Food and Drink Industries (BVE), was also positive about the event: 'Grüne Woche remains the high office for nutrition and enjoyment. Consumers want variety and the freedom to make their own decisions about what they eat. This is demonstrated by the great interest in the topics at our stand.'
Grüne Woche as a test market: start-ups and regional concepts of the future
In 2025, Grüne Woche was a platform for creative minds and forward-looking concepts. The consumer fair is becoming increasingly important for start-ups in particular: as a test market for innovative products and solutions. This is also demonstrated by the growing number of dedicated start-up formats as part of the state presences of Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg and Berlin. Other examples were the Innovators' Evening and the BVE's Startup Area as well as the presentation of the Innovation Award by Forum Moderne Landwirtschaft, which organized the presentation for the farmers' association.
Ideas for a sustainable future scored particularly highly at the Startup Days organized by Grüne Woche together with the Andreas Hermes Academy. The winner was ValueGrain from Hamburg with an innovative idea for utilizing unused raw materials from the brewing process. With this technology, spent grains are processed into a liquid flour that replaces conventional flour in food and can be used in a variety of ways, for example in bread, pasta or meat alternatives.
Grüne Woche and the trade magazine Lebensmittel Praxis honored sustainable regional concepts from the food trade with the Regional Star Award. 'Nüsse von Hier FS GmbH' won in the Innovation category with regional walnuts and almonds. In the Retail Cooperation category, the prize went to 'Edeka Südwest Stiftung & Co. KG' for its cooperation with the nursery of the Pestalozzi Children's and Youth Village in Baden-Württemberg. First place in the Processing category went to 'Organic Veggie Food GmbH' from Chiemgau. First place in the Marketing category was awarded to 'Café Schauwerk' from Brandenburg.
Satisfied exhibitors and guests
According to the preliminary results of the representative visitor survey, more than 90 percent of the public are (very) satisfied with their visit to the fair and would recommend Grüne Woche to relatives, friends and acquaintances. Just as many praised the wide range of products on offer. In addition to food and luxury foods, the 'Garden', 'Leisure & Tourism' and 'Household and Kitchen Supplies' exhibition areas also attract large numbers of visitors. Other crowd-pullers are the special shows: Both the flower hall and the street food area as well as the animal hall, which was remodeled due to the foot-and-mouth epidemic, attracted large crowds and satisfied faces.
The feedback from exhibitors is also positive: According to the preliminary results of the exhibitor survey, 9 out of 10 respondents are planning to participate again in 2026. In addition, the Grüne Woche is considered to be highly beneficial and around 90 percent confirm that the most important exhibition objectives 'presentation of the company/image enhancement' and 'information for end consumers' have been achieved. In addition, more than 4 out of 5 exhibitors surveyed consider Grüne Woche to be (very) suitable for testing the acceptance of new products among end consumers.
Trendsetter for green eating and living
Grüne Woche 2025 sent out a strong signal in favor of sustainability. The grünerleben exhibition area presented innovative approaches to resource-conserving and conscious living as well as the reuse and recycling of materials. Interactive upcycling workshops took center stage in the Re-Use Superstore. They invited visitors to actively engage with environmental protection and sustainable consumption.
Sustainability also played a central role in the culinary trends. The creative zero-waste ideas - such as pesto made from fermented tea scraps or seasoning sauces made from leftover bread - showed how valuable supposed food scraps can be. Alternative protein sources such as insects, plant-based products and algae offered a fascinating insight into the diet of the future. The new FREE FROM area, where a wide selection of allergen-free and sugar-free products invited visitors to discover and try out, picked up on the clean eating trend.
Outlook: Grüne Woche celebrates 100 years
The 90th Grüne Woche will take place from 16 to 25 January 2026. It will be celebrating its 100th anniversary. The organizer is Messe Berlin GmbH, supported by the conceptual sponsors German Farmers' Association (DBV) and the Federation of German Food and Drink Industries (BVE).
For more information:
Grüne Woche
https://www.gruenewoche.de/