11 to 14 April saw the fitness industry impressively demonstrate just how innovative it is in fulfilling its responsibility for a healthy society at FIBO in Cologne. Over 1,000 exhibitors and partners generated boundless enthusiasm among 129,668 visitors from 114 countries.

“With the ranges on display in the 10 exhibition halls and our supporting programme, FIBO 2024 mirrors the changing health landscape. We have made the topic of health accessible to everyone with the EHFF as a kick-off event, the FIBO Campus and well over 400 other sessions staged during the four days of the trade show.

We have seen that visitors are willing to invest in their health and this is also reflected in the business of the exhibitors, who report successful deals,” says Silke Frank, Event Director of FIBO, summarising the positive mood in the exhibition halls.

The power of fitness
The fitness and health industries continue to grow fast. This is evidenced by the key data of a study carried out by the German Fitness Industry 2024, DSSV e. V., in cooperation with Deloitte and DHfPG. The number of members rose to 11.3 million and the industry’s total turnover was also up to EUR 5.44 billion. Developments that are also evident in the rest of Europe.

With 67.7 million members in European fitness and health centres and a total turnover of EUR 31.85 billion, strong growth is also visible beyond Germany.

“Based on the growth shown in our research, the forecast for 2024 and discussions with operators, we are confident that we will achieve EuropeActive’s target of 100 million members in fitness and health centres by 2030,” says industry expert Herman Rutgers optimistically.

“Health, fitness and a long life worth living are increasingly taking centre stage for more and more people and are an important market for the future. Whether in technological or social terms: FIBO will continue to make the potential in almost all areas visible and actively drive the development of the fitness and health industries,” says Michael Köhler, managing director of trade show organiser RX Deutschland.

FIBO 2024 provides outlook on future trends in the industry
There is a growing demand for health-oriented fitness. This is demonstrated by such exhibitors as Milon, Five, EasyMotionSkin and Life Fitness as well as their enlarged stands.

“Strength training ranks very high on the agenda. It is becoming increasingly relevant in the health sector and is also being recognised more and more outside the industry. We can see a clear demand for it,” says Jürgen Aschauer, business development director at Johnson Health Tech GmbH, assessing the relevance of muscle training for society.

Beyond, Artificial Intelligence is also clearly the trend of the future. Whether it’s training equipment with AI software such as offered by DRAX, tools for creating work-out plans by EGYM or automated assessments provided by Technogym, the fitness and health industries are showing how consumers can benefit from these new tools.

“For many years, we have sold analogue products and talked about digitalisation, but were unable to actually implement it. Now technology is in vogue,” says Chris Clawson, general manager at EGYM.

AI enables providers to make even more specific and diverse offers. This personalisation is reflected in individualised work-out plans, smart devices and perfectly tailored nutritional recommendations. Low-threshold offers ensure that the general population, even outside of competitive sports, has the opportunity to optimise their health in a personalised way.

This opens up another market: corporate health management (CHM). “We have talked to companies employing several 10,000 employees and are currently looking for interesting new solutions in corporate health management in order to be able to deal innovatively with their employees,” says Philio Julian Boras, co-founder and CEO of Aurora Life Science GmbH.

Overall, a longevity trend can be observed: “Everyone wants to live longer, wants to live healthily. They want a healthy diet and exercise. So, the top trend for us is longevity,” summarises Jens Schramm, CEO Germany, Robosculptor.

FIBO creates unique community feel
FIBO is not only the heart of the fitness industry, it also creates a close-knit community. A community that is present on social media 365 days a year but can only be experienced live at FIBO over four days.

“In such sports as football, for example, it is clear that this is a teamplay. FIBO brings this sense of community to the fitness area. Here, all exercise together, compete against each other in challenges and create an incredibly great team spirit,” says Felix Berndt ("doc.felix"), doctor and nutrition expert and ESN athlete, describing the unique atmosphere at FIBO.

Alongside More and Oace, ESN filled an entire hall this year and proved an attraction for visitors with its challenges, tasting stations and fashion offers. Exhibitors such as ALDI, dm and Foodspring, Smilodox and Teveo also attracted attention at FIBO.

Other highlights included the premieres of the FIBO Football Festival and the eSports Stage. They brought together two target groups who share an enthusiasm for sport and enjoy taking on new challenges.

By organising the second FIBO Ladies Lunch and presenting the "RX Female Award", FIBO organiser RX also focused on successful women in the fitness industry. Around 80 women took advantage of the event to network and celebrate their successes together. Inspiration was provided by the panel talk featuring Tijen Onaran, Denise Schindler and Céleste Kleinjans.

The sky is the limit
At the opening press conference, German ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer made it clear that great visions for the future of humanity also depend on this industry and physical fitness: without modern training, space projects such as the current stay on the ISS, but also projects such as NASA's Artemis programme with planned flights to the moon, for which Maurer is also preparing, are not possible.

The flight to the moon is not scheduled to take place before 2030 – but the next FIBO will already take place in Cologne from 10 to 13 April 2025. And then that time will have come again for four days of networking, challenges and boundless enthusiasm.