[1] “Anuga” takes place every second year in Cologne, and is sub-divided into ten separate fairs, each covering a different category.
The first "Anuga" took place in 1919 in Stuttgart as part of a national gathering organised by Germany's specialist food retailers, and was a relatively small scale affair, involving approximately 200 exhibitors, and without any participation from foreign businesses.
It was probably the largest Anuga during the inter-war period, already divided into eight sub-categories, covering Food and Drink, Cooking and Bakery equipment, Food Processing machinery, Packaging Material and equipment, Retail, Materials Handling, Chemical and Cosmetic preparations and Advertising.
The success of the 1924 event was partly the result of the professionalism with which it was conducted, but there was also a political dimension, with Cologne economically cut off from the rest of the country by foreign military occupation.
The success of the 1924 Anuga could be presented as a demonstration against the British occupation, and the fair was described in the programme as a patriotic gesture (eine "gute deutsche Tat").