interzum 2023: the industry comes together for its leading international trade fair

interzum in Cologne, Germany, ended very successfully on Friday, 12 May 2023. With approximately 62,000 trade visitors from some 150 countries, the leading international trade fair for suppliers to the furniture and interior design industry exceeded all expectations and inspired all present at the stands and numerous special event areas over the course of four days. The roughly 1,600 exhibitors had waited four years to finally be able to convene at the industry’s leading global event again. Accordingly, exhibitors and trade visitors alike were thrilled to have the chance to make full use of this global platform for communication and commerce once more. The exhibiting companies unveiled their innovative solutions and newest products at interzum and made their mark.

The importance of interzum for the industry was also underlined by the high number of international trade visitors. In total, approximately 62,000 visitors were in attendance. The countries with the largest number of visitors were Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland. The number of Turkish visitors was very encouraging, having increased by 16 percent compared to the previous edition of the trade fair. Likewise, the number of trade visitors from India increased. Considering the current situation with regard to the issuance of visas, the number of Chinese visitors was satisfactory, too. Exhibitors also praised the high level of expertise among visitors from all countries.

The trade fair’s central theme was sustainability. With its focus on the overarching concept of neo-ecology, interzum brought sustainability, climate protection, resource efficiency and forward-looking planning to the fore before the trade fair even began. It became clear just how much interzum struck a chord with the industry at the trade fair‘s stands, where nearly all the exhibiting companies recognised the increasing importance of environmental issues. Aspects such as resource efficiency, smart materials, renewable energies or recycling and upcycling were key to many of the innovations exhibited.

The varied programme of events also explored these themes – and with great success. The three interzum Trend Forums, the interzum Product Stage and the interzum Trend Stage, where renowned industry experts discussed the most important developments, trends and emerging topics in the worlds of furniture, materials and furnishings, generated a lot of interest among the international trade audience.

The products, services and special events were not the only things that honed in on environmental issues. Many of the exhibition stands were also designed with sustainability and resource efficiency in mind. What’s more, the trade fair itself accepts its responsibility and is making active efforts to protect the climate. In the run-up to the event, interzum launched an initiative to make the world’s biggest industry event for furniture production and interior construction more sustainable in the future. Drawing on the experiences gathered this year, the trade fair will explore how it can further integrate sustainability into future events.

The next events:

• interzum: 20–23 May 2025
• interzum guangzhou: 28–31 March 2024
• interzum bogota: 14–17 May 2024

interzum 2023 in numbers

Some 1,600 companies from 59 countries (2019: 1,806 companies from 61 countries) appeared at interzum 2023 on a gross exhibition space covering 186,000 m² (2019: 190,000 m²). This included 255 exhibitors from Germany (2019: 356 exhibitors) and 1,345 foreign exhibitors (2019: 1,450 exhibitors). Foreign exhibitors accounted for 84 per cent (2019: 80 per cent). Including estimates for the last day of the trade fair, 62,000 trade visitors from 150 countries (2019: 74,000 trade visitors from 152 countries) attended interzum, with foreign trade visitors accounting for approximately 76 per cent (2019: 75 per cent). *

interzum photos are available in our image database .