(Buddy Valastro, “The Cake Boss,” was a featured presenter at IBIE 2025 Photo courtesy of IBIE 2025)
Panettone World Cup—Americas Selection Debuts at 12
by Debbie Hall
The International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE) returned to the Las Vegas Convention Center Sept. 13-17 for the 15th year. The IBIE 2025 event reports 20,000 attendees, with 10,005 buyers and 1,005 exhibitors from 96 countries. This year’s exhibition featured over 1,000 companies from around the globe, showcasing the latest advancements in technology, ingredients, equipment, and packaging solutions. The sold-out show floor covered a record 451,100 square feet, making it the largest in IBIE’s 105-year history and reflecting a 9 percent increase compared to the previous event.
“This year’s event is critical for baking industry leaders to stay ahead of what’s next,” said IBIE Chair Jorge Zarate, global senior vice president of operations and engineering at Grupo Bimbo, Mexico City. “It took us three years to prepare this show.”
Panettone World Cup—Americas Selection debut showcased competition among the top pastry chefs from across the Western Hemisphere in a festive contest celebrating the art and heritage of panettone baking. Winners will advance to the global finals in Milan, Italy.
Traditional Category Winners:
Martinez Jaime, United States
Emmidio Isernia, Canada
Chocolate Category Winners:
Flores Torres Wilson, Ecuador
Vielma Ammary Coromoto, United States
Buddy Valastro, “The Cake Boss,” was a featured presenter at IBIE 2025, participating in educational sessions and live demonstrations at the Retail Bakers Center. He shared his expertise in cake decorating, offered business insights, and engaged with attendees at the convention. Valastro also expressed that IBIE is an indispensable part of his career, fostering innovation and networking within the baking industry while doing something that he loves.
“You have to dream big, do it with all of your heart, you have got to never give up and find that piece of it that you love so when you have the days that suck or the days that are going to be overwhelming, you immerse yourself into that and it reminds you why you do it,” said Valastro during his presentation.
The Pillsbury Creative Cake Decorating Competition featured six teams competing across four categories: Wedding Cake, Rolled Fondant, Sculpted Cake, and Buttercream. The 20th edition of the contest brought together some of the industry’s most talented cake decorators, going head-to-head in a celebration of creativity and craftsmanship.
Antonio Bachour held demos, showcasing his expertise in Viennoiserie, specifically focusing on the lamination of croissants from scratch, at the Polin Group, Probake, and Les Sinfonie booths. He described his actions and tips, including always placing dough in the freezer for at least 24 hours before creating a croissant. However, sourdough should be refrigerated instead of freezing.
The World Bread Awards USA Crafted by the Retail Bakers of America (RBA) and Bread Bakers Guild of America (BBGA) celebrated the finest prepared bread loaves. Winners across 12 baked goods categories were awarded for their incredible creativity and skill in the baking community.
This year’s Overall Winner was Guy Frenkel of Céor Bakery, who took home the cash grand prize along with the honor of being crowned the World Bread Awards USA grand champion for the second time in a row.
Exhibiting at IBIE 2025 is an opportunity to showcase a custom booth design, creating an eye-catching area that elevates the brand’s visibility and connects with industry leaders. With thousands of attendees, including decision-makers and influencers, an elevated booth offers opportunities to generate leads and build relationships.
Apple Rock specializes in face-to-face marketing, focusing on impactful brand activations, immersive experiences, and memorable live events. One of their clients, BreadPartners, was an exhibitor at IBIE 2025, showcasing their “Reddi-Soaked Grains” products.
Cindi Crawford, the relationships manager at Apple Rock says, “IBIE was such an incredible show. We had multiple clients exhibiting this year, and it was amazing to see their success and hear how thrilled they were with the whole experience. For us, it’s all about partnership and working behind the scenes to design a space that tells their story and connects with their audience. We’ve had the pleasure of working with Bread Partners for nearly a decade, and their newest exhibit was stunning, showcasing how their grains turn into breads. It was a lot of collaboration, but everything came together beautifully and it’s so rewarding to help bring their story to life. We are extremely happier for all their success.”
(the photos below were provided by Apple Rock)
IBIE by the Numbers
- 1,005 exhibitors, including 484 new exhibitors
- 451,100 square feet of sold-out exhibit space, creating a new record (over 9 percent vs. 2022)
- Over 250 education sessions and demos included for all registrants
- Overall registration is down just 4 percent, despite global economic and travel headwinds
- Baker attendance decreased by 8 percent compared to 2022; however, the number of baking companies represented rose by 5 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels.
- Attendees were highly qualified, with 91 percent identifying themselves as purchasing decision-makers or influencers in the process.
- 96 countries represented, including 27 official delegations.
- 28 percent of buyers were international, with 74 percent of those from the Americas, led by Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Guatemala, Colombia, and Peru.
