German trade fairs for Indian exhibitors

Which German fairs fit Indian export industries

Indian companies come to German fairs to meet European buyers, find distributors and show that they can supply to European standards. The right show depends on your product group and on who your buyers are. The table lists German fairs for the industries in which Indian exporters are typically active.

CPHI Worldwide changes its host city between European venues, so check where the next edition takes place. Several other shows on the list do not run every year. Our trade fair calendar shows the next dates.

A compact team with a full meeting calendar

Many Indian companies travel with a compact team: the owner or managing director, one or two people from export sales, perhaps a technical expert. The same people run the stand, attend every meeting and still report home in the evening. Photos and videos therefore have to fit around the meeting calendar, not the other way round.

• Share the meeting calendar. We plan interviews and the team photo in the gaps and never interrupt a buyer meeting.
• Photograph the meetings that matter. A signed agreement, a visit from a key distributor or a technical discussion at a product display are the pictures head office wants. Tell us which meetings may be photographed and ask the visitor first.
• Keep interviews short. Two or three questions with clear answers are enough for a 30-second highlight video. A longer statement can go into a 90-second film.
• Pavilion or own stand. Many Indian exhibitors are part of a pavilion organised by an export promotion council or association. If your participation is supported, check whether photos of the stand are needed as proof and what they must show.

Trade Fair Basic, with two hours on the stand, often suits a compact team: stand, products, team and conversations in one block. For several days or a larger stand, Professional or Full Day gives more room. Our guide to a photographer for several show days explains how that adds up.

Working in English, and when other languages help

English is the working language of most Indian exporters, which keeps working with Pixer simple: briefing, coordination on the stand, interviews and approval all run in English, without an interpreter. English subtitles are standard, and German subtitles help when your target is buyers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Three things make English-language interviews better:

• Technical terms in writing. Send product names, active ingredients, standards and certifications with the approved spelling before the show. Subtitles are only as accurate as this list.
• Clean sound. Halls are loud. A clip-on microphone and a quieter corner of the stand make every speaker easy to follow, for viewers and for the subtitles.
• Subtitles on every video. Many people watch without sound. Burned-in English subtitles make an interview work in a LinkedIn feed and on WhatsApp.

If you need a version in Hindi or another Indian language, tell us when you book, and have a native speaker from your team review the text before publication.

The time difference: plan your content for India

India is three and a half hours ahead of Germany in summer and four and a half hours ahead in winter. That decides when your material can be used at home:

In winter, add one hour to the Indian times. Agree before the show who at head office approves posts, and whether a first set of photos should go out around midday German time, so that your team in India can still publish on the same working day. The edited highlight video follows within 24 hours after the show ends.

Formats that work: LinkedIn posts with photos of the stand and meetings, short English videos for YouTube and your website, and clips that sales teams and distributors can forward by WhatsApp. Photos of product displays and certificates on your stand (booth) are useful for dealer presentations and export catalogues. Our guide to material for distributors goes further.

Invoicing and payment from India

India is outside the EU, so an invoice to your Indian company is issued without German VAT. Our prices are fixed: Trade Fair Basic €990, Professional €1,490 and Full Day €1,990.

Payments abroad often need paperwork on the Indian side. Clarify early with your finance team and your bank:

• which documents the bank needs for a payment to a foreign service provider, and whether the invoice must show specific details;
• whether any tax questions on your side have to be settled before the transfer;
• which legal entity is billed: the Indian parent company, a European subsidiary or the organiser of your pavilion.

If a European subsidiary books, the VAT treatment follows its country: a German company pays German VAT, a company in another EU country is invoiced under the reverse charge with its VAT ID. Usage rights are unlimited, so head office, sales teams and distributors can use the material without further fees.

Checklist for Indian exhibitors

1. When the stand is confirmed: book the photographer and start the visa process. Our guide to visas and travel for German fairs lists the steps.
2. Four weeks before: send the stand number, hall plan, team list, meeting calendar and a glossary of product terms.
3. One week before: agree who approves posts at head office and at what time material is needed.
4. Show day: stand overview before opening, products, team photo, conversations and short interviews in the gaps.
5. Same day: first selection to head office.
6. Within 24 hours after the show ends: full selection, highlight video and vertical clips.

The short version

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