TAIPEI — At the Taipei International Bakery Show (TIBS) last month, the spirit of collaboration within the Asian baking industry was on display.

Jalan Hsieh, deputy chairman of the Taipei Bakery Association (TBA) which organizes the trade show, and international affairs committee chair, noted that the association’s members work together to improve the industry despite a competitive baking environment in Taiwan. 

“The Taipei Bakery Association is like a band of brothers and sisters who want nothing but the best for one another,” he said. “Not only are our members passionate about what they do, but they are also altruistic individuals who are willing to go out of their way to contribute to the greater good — in this case, the betterment of the baking industry in Taiwan.” 

This spirit of collaboration extends outside of Taiwan to include the entire Asian region. Hsieh pointed out that TBA is a member of the International Federation of Chinese Bakery & Confectionery Associations (IFCBCA), an organization that represents the baking and confectionery industry at the regional level.

Being a member of this organization has opened the doors to more connection and relationships with similar associations that represent countries throughout Asia. 

“Knowing that organizations have their own baking shows, we have been proactive in engaging in show-to-show collaborations,” Hsieh said. “Baking is the common language we speak in the baking community. In speaking the language of baking, we just may eliminate political barriers and realize baking without borders.”

Thin Thin Kyaw, president of IFCBCA and chief executive officer of SP Bakery, Yangon, Myanmar, agreed that the baking industry has a way of bringing people together across cultures. 

“Even though we come from different corners of the globe, there’s this beautiful unity in baking,” she said. “We're taking our cultural traditions and mixing them with cutting-edge technology, creating something truly special. By sharing knowledge and trends between Asia and Western world, we're moving toward a brighter, more collaborative future for the baking industry. It's inspiring to see how Asia and Western world are both on this journey to push the boundaries and embrace positive changes on a global scale.”

Hsieh described TIBS as an important show for not only the Taiwan industry, but the larger Asian baking industry. With Taiwan’s geographic location, its consumers are heavily influenced by Japan, Korea and China. Kyaw said the value TIBS brings to the Asian baking industry is how it marries networking with a platform to discuss global trends.   

“Our members love that they can connect with local suppliers, get a handle on the regulations specific to Asia and fine-tune their offerings to suit diverse markets,” she said. “TIBS is like a melting pot of knowledge and best practices within the Asian bakery scene. It's all about fostering collaborations and sparking innovation that's tailor-made for our region.”

At this year’s TIBS, the challenges impacting the Taiwan and Asian baking markets could be felt in the programming as well as the solutions bakers sought on the show floor. 

“From my understanding, developed countries in Asia are all facing an increased cost of labor and rents, from which set the trends: efficiency, automation and digital transformation,” Hsieh said.

Kyaw also noticed the buzz of automation and digitalization to improve production efficiency, but the ingredient and flavor trends she saw at TIBS are what really caught her attention. This further illustrated her point about the collaborative nature of the baking industry in Asia as well as globally. 

“It was like a melting pot of cultures, catering to all sorts of tastes across the region,” she said. “All these trends are shaking up the Asian market. It’s all about pushing the boundaries, getting creative and meeting the changing tastes of consumers.” 

In addition to technology to improve efficiencies enhance new ingredients and meeting consumer trends, sustainability was another hot topic on the TIBS show floor. 

“Sustainability was big in TIBS,” said Forest Lim, president of the Singapore Bakery & Confectionery Trade Association and founder of Cake in Acton, Singapore. “A lot of ingredient and equipment suppliers are now using environmentally friendly or recycled materials to create baking utensils.” 

With so many technological advances and diverse flavors and ingredients, Kyaw expects Asian businesses are stepping up to the global stage. 

“Collaborations between Asian, European and American exhibitors are sparking this amazing exchange of ideas and expertise, creating new products and techniques that speak to the diverse tastes of Asian consumers,” she said. 

With both iba and the International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE) trade shows occuring in 2025, that global collaboration is expected to continue. 

“Looking ahead to events like iba and IBIE, I’m excited about the potential,” Kyaw said. “It’s not just about staying in tune with the dynamic Asian market. It’s also about spreading our wings to other global events and platforms. That way, we can get this well-rounded perspective that opens doors to new opportunities.” 

The iba show will be held May 18-22, 2025, in Dusseldorf, Germany, and IBIE 2025 will be held Sept. 13-17, 2025, in Las Vegas.