Meet our Visitor with Friedhelm Dornseifer
19 Jul 2021
Meet our Visitor: 3 questions for Friedhelm Dornseifer, founder and managing partner of the Dornseifer Group of Companies.
Mr. Dornseifer, Anuga will take place in 2021 under the special challenges of the Corona pandemic. How important is the trade fair to you, especially under the current circumstances?
The Corona pandemic is affecting our lives. Both our social behavior and our business have felt it in equal measure. However, we will get a handle on the virus. Corona tests and vaccines have been developed at record speed. Hygiene concepts, especially in food retailing, have proven their effectiveness.
With the hygiene and safety concept "B-SAFE4business", Koelnmesse has also developed a very good package of measures for Anuga.
How important is Anuga for your business?
As the world's leading trade fair, Anuga is a driving force and an important hub for the global food industry. The trade show gives me a complete overview of the market. I can get to know products, trends and innovations, and it offers the ideal platform for initiating business. This is particularly important at the moment due to the changes caused by the pandemic.
How important are start-ups in your business?
It is in the nature of start-ups to recognize trends quickly and develop solutions for them. That's why I think it's right that Anuga 2019 gave young companies from all over the world an opportunity to participate with the "Start-up Area," and that will be the case again in 2021.
Brief vita Friedhelm Dornseifer
Friedhelm Dornseifer, born on August 3, 1946 in Siegen, is the founder and managing partner of the Dornseifer Group of Companies. The nucleus of the family business was two so-called "Stubenläden" (17 m² and 20 m² sales area) with which Friedhelm Dornseifer started his own business in 1965.
Today, the group employs 1,200 people, operates 18 supermarkets and four production plants for meat and sausage products, bread and baked goods and for the production of fresh ready meals.
Dornseifer's fresh food stores have won numerous coveted industry awards, including the "Golden Sugar Loaf", the "Supermarket of the Year" and the "Sales Cup".
Friedhelm Dornseifer is not only a self-employed food merchant with heart and soul. He also stands up for the interests of his industry at the association level. Since 1993, he has chaired the Association of Medium-Sized Food Retailers (MLF) and has been President of the Federal Association of the German Food Trade (BVLH) since 2010.
In addition, Friedhelm Dornseifer is committed to training and further education in the food trade as Chairman of the Bundesfachschule des Lebensmittelhandels zu Neuwied am Rhein e.V. association.
