The latest trendsetting product to be picked out at the IAW Spring Fair is a hand scanner produced by the company Vagros-Stemmler from Delmenhorst in northern Germany. The company won the prestigious IAW Trendseller Product Award at the 11th International Trade Fair for Promotional Products (IAW), which took place recently in Cologne. For the panel of experts from market research, advertising and retailing who judged the competition the product stood out due to its highly practical properties. Scarcely bigger than a pen and easy to hold, it is the perfect mobile device for transferring scanned data via the USB port to every computer. As pointed out by the panel chairman Ulrich Eggert, Cologne-based marketing research and retailing expert, “the price-performance relationship is also impressive – the device is made to high quality standards yet costs less than 100 Euros”.
Another prize-winner was a new solar powered flashlight from bahama warenvertrieb, a company based in Berlin. The flashlight features three LED lamps, which generate a powerful light, and a solar panel allowing it to operate entirely without conventional batteries. The flashlight doubles as a key ring and is therefore always to hand when needed. The company Klusex (Preuss Vertrieb) based in Poland also won a Trendseller Product Award for its space-saving stackable set of boxes made of solid wood, while the company Indavo from the German town of Weinstadt was responsible for another clever solution that caught the judges’ eye: a floor mop, which is freestanding and will not fall over when not in use, thanks to a Sprintus click system (patent pending).
All prize-winning products will be exhibited until 18 March at the Trend Forum area of the International Trade Fair for Promotional Products (IAW) at the Cologne Exhibition Centre. The award, which quickly came to be regarded as the Oscar of the retail trade, has now been presented on six occasions and is held in high esteem. The next presentation of the Trendseller Product Awards will be at the IAW Autumn Fair, Europe’s most important trade fair for promotional products, from 28 to 30 September in Cologne. Companies confident that next season’s big-sellers rank among their product range should apply for application forms at www.iaw-messe.de.
The IAW – International Trade Fair for Promotional Products is the biggest event for orders and sales of promotional and trend-led products in Germany. This major showcase for promotional products from every sector and product category takes place twice a year, thus serving as a focus for key buyers from consumer markets, discounters, supermarket chains, buyers’ organizations, mail order companies and independent traders, as well as furniture and DIY stores. The trade fair is organized by Nordwestdeutsche Messegesellschaft Bremen-Hannover mbH, Oldenburg.
