Food and beverage exporters
Anuga brings more than 8,000 exhibitors to Köln, and Koelnmesse's Mumbai edition puts the same brand in front of buyers in India.[3],[4]
- Stand meeting confirmations
- Catalogue and price-list replies
- Sample dispatch notices
India
Köln is 3 h 30 min behind India
WhatsApp Business API for Indian exporters at Köln's trade fairs
Köln's fairgrounds counted about 2.5 million visitors from 214 countries in 2025. For an Indian exporter that means a few intense days on a stand, then weeks of follow-up, and Germany's rules decide which of those messages you may send.
Köln
A 10:00–18:00 IST working day is 06:30–14:30 in Köln (on 21 October 2026; daylight saving moves it).
For Indian food, snack, furniture and games exporters who exhibit or sell in Köln: a checklist for the WhatsApp side of fair season, what Koelnmesse and the city publish, how Germany's consent rule treats a business card, how the fair calendar crosses both German clocks, and the cost in rupees.
See it work
Fair-season checklist for an Indian stand in Köln
Work through it before the stand is built. The required items are the ones German law and Meta's policy decide; the rest decide whether the follow-up is worth sending.
The QR code is the most useful item on the list. A buyer who writes to you first is asking for an answer, so your replies for the next 24 hours are service messages and need no prior consent, while a promotion you start yourself does. Put the code on the stand, the catalogue and the badge-scanner screen.
After the fair, the shared team inbox lets sales staff in India split the threads by product line, and approved templates sent through the developer API handle quotations and samples for the buyers who agreed to hear from you.
Ready for the Köln fair?
6/6
ticked
- Required
- 3 / 3
- Optional
- 3 / 3
Ready for Köln
Every item ticked.
Ready for Köln. 6 of 6 ticked.
Market brief
Köln and its fairs, from the record
What the city, Koelnmesse, Anuga and the Consulate General of India in Frankfurt publish.
- 01
Köln had 1,100,076 residents on 31 December 2025, according to the city's statistics office.[1]
- 02
Koelnmesse has 290,000 m² of exhibition space and in 2025 counted around 2.5 million visitors from 214 countries, 43,600 exhibiting companies from 120 nations and 38 events abroad.[2]
- 03
Anuga returns to Köln from 9 to 13 October 2027 and lists more than 8,000 exhibitors from 110 countries and over 145,000 visitors from 190 countries.[3]
- 04
Koelnmesse's Indian company runs Anuga Select India, next held from 26 to 28 November 2027 at the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai, with Anuga FoodTec India alongside.[4]
- 05
imm cologne runs from 19 to 22 January 2027 and ISM from 31 January to 3 February 2027; gamescom 2026 had more than 1,600 exhibitors from 67 countries.[2]
- 06
North Rhine-Westphalia, and so Köln, falls under the Consulate General of India in Frankfurt, whose page also records Chancellor Friedrich Merz's visit to India on 12 and 13 January 2026.[5]
Indian exporters with Köln on the calendar
Each big fair brings a different Indian trade to the Rhine.
Snack and confectionery makers
ISM opens on 31 January 2027, in the middle of the German winter and four and a half hours behind IST.[2]
- Pre-fair appointment booking
- Tasting-sample follow-ups
- Shelf-life and certificate requests
Furniture and home-décor exporters
imm cologne, from 19 to 22 January 2027, is the furniture industry's date in Köln.[2]
- Showroom and stand visits
- Finish and fabric swatch requests
- Container booking updates
Game studios and digital agencies
gamescom drew more than 1,600 exhibitors from 67 countries in 2026, and dmexco more than 40,000 attendees.[2]
- Publisher meeting scheduling
- Build and demo links
- Contract follow-ups
Prices in ₹ and EUR
What a message to a Köln number costs
German +49 numbers are billed at Meta's Germany line of the rate card: ₹12.01 for marketing, ₹4.84 for a utility update, ₹4.84 for authentication and ₹4.84 per service reply, in rupees before GST.
Snapshot rates · as of 20 Oct 2026, 00:02 UTC
Lite
₹999 / month≈ €9.38 EUR
₹833 / month, billed yearly≈ €7.83 EUR
Growth
₹2,999 / month≈ €28.17 EUR
₹2,499 / month, billed yearly≈ €23.48 EUR
Enterprise
Custom volume pricing, custom SLA and dedicated infrastructure.
Per message to Köln · Germany
| Category | ₹ INR | EUR |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing | ₹12.0088 | €0.113 |
| Utility | ₹4.8386 | €0.0455 |
| Authentication | ₹4.8386 | €0.0455 |
| Service | ₹4.8386 | €0.0455 |
Per-message rates for all 47 markets, in ₹ and EUR
| Market | Marketing | Utility | Authentication | Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | €0.0511₹5.4352 | €0.0215₹2.2874 | €0.0215₹2.2874 | €0.0215₹2.2874 |
| Bangladesh | €0.0605₹6.4397 | €0.0031₹0.3254 | €0.0031₹0.3254 | €0.0031₹0.3254 |
| Brazil | €0.0516₹5.4970 | €0.0056₹0.5981 | €0.0056₹0.5981 | €0.0056₹0.5981 |
| Chile | €0.0734₹7.8162 | €0.0165₹1.7585 | €0.0165₹1.7585 | €0.0165₹1.7585 |
| Colombia | €0.0103₹1.0993 | €0.0007₹0.0706 | €0.0007₹0.0706 | €0.0007₹0.0706 |
| Egypt | €0.0532₹5.6629 | €0.0030₹0.3167 | €0.0030₹0.3167 | €0.0030₹0.3167 |
| France | €0.0710₹7.5588 | €0.0248₹2.6393 | €0.0248₹2.6393 | €0.0248₹2.6393 |
| Germany | €0.113₹12.0088 | €0.0455₹4.8386 | €0.0455₹4.8386 | €0.0455₹4.8386 |
| Hong Kong | €0.0605₹6.4397 | €0.0215₹2.2867 | €0.0215₹2.2867 | €0.0215₹2.2867 |
| Hungary | €0.0710₹7.5596 | €0.0288₹3.0700 | €0.0288₹3.0700 | €0.0288₹3.0700 |
| India | €0.0089₹0.9435 | €0.0018₹0.1941 | €0.0013₹0.1402 | €0.0014₹0.1450 |
| Indonesia | €0.0339₹3.6133 | €0.0206₹2.1979 | €0.0206₹2.1979 | €0.0206₹2.1979 |
| Iraq | €0.0282₹2.9992 | €0.0065₹0.6943 | €0.0065₹0.6943 | €0.0065₹0.6943 |
| Israel | €0.0292₹3.1045 | €0.0044₹0.4662 | €0.0044₹0.4662 | €0.0044₹0.4662 |
| Italy | €0.0656₹6.9847 | €0.0248₹2.6369 | €0.0248₹2.6369 | €0.0248₹2.6369 |
| Kazakhstan | €0.0499₹5.3098 | €0.0149₹1.5824 | €0.0149₹1.5824 | €0.0149₹1.5824 |
| Kuwait | €0.0654₹6.9671 | €0.0363₹3.8671 | €0.0363₹3.8671 | €0.0363₹3.8671 |
| Malaysia | €0.0711₹7.5644 | €0.0116₹1.2314 | €0.0116₹1.2314 | €0.0116₹1.2314 |
| Mexico | €0.0328₹3.4877 | €0.0070₹0.7471 | €0.0070₹0.7471 | €0.0070₹0.7471 |
| Morocco | €0.0342₹3.6425 | €0.0190₹2.0218 | €0.0190₹2.0218 | €0.0190₹2.0218 |
| Netherlands | €0.132₹14.0494 | €0.0413₹4.3987 | €0.0413₹4.3987 | €0.0413₹4.3987 |
| Nepal | €0.0605₹6.4397 | €0.0028₹0.2990 | €0.0028₹0.2990 | €0.0028₹0.2990 |
| Nigeria | €0.0427₹4.5421 | €0.0055₹0.5898 | €0.0055₹0.5898 | €0.0055₹0.5898 |
| Oman | €0.0282₹2.9992 | €0.0204₹2.1709 | €0.0204₹2.1709 | €0.0204₹2.1709 |
| Pakistan | €0.0391₹4.1620 | €0.0124₹1.3200 | €0.0124₹1.3200 | €0.0124₹1.3200 |
| Peru | €0.0581₹6.1843 | €0.0248₹2.6392 | €0.0248₹2.6392 | €0.0248₹2.6392 |
| Poland | €0.0302₹3.2105 | €0.0101₹1.0702 | €0.0101₹1.0702 | €0.0101₹1.0702 |
| Qatar | €0.0282₹2.9992 | €0.0099₹1.0547 | €0.0099₹1.0547 | €0.0099₹1.0547 |
| Romania | €0.0710₹7.5596 | €0.0239₹2.5436 | €0.0239₹2.5436 | €0.0239₹2.5436 |
| Russia | €0.0662₹7.0520 | €0.0330₹3.5173 | €0.0330₹3.5173 | €0.0330₹3.5173 |
| Saudi Arabia | €0.0475₹5.0537 | €0.0088₹0.9401 | €0.0088₹0.9401 | €0.0088₹0.9401 |
| Singapore | €0.0605₹6.4397 | €0.0132₹1.4072 | €0.0132₹1.4072 | €0.0132₹1.4072 |
| South Africa | €0.0314₹3.3385 | €0.0079₹0.8369 | €0.0079₹0.8369 | €0.0079₹0.8369 |
| Spain | €0.0584₹6.2161 | €0.0165₹1.7578 | €0.0165₹1.7578 | €0.0165₹1.7578 |
| Sri Lanka | €0.0605₹6.4397 | €0.0017₹0.1759 | €0.0017₹0.1759 | €0.0017₹0.1759 |
| Turkey | €0.0090₹0.9587 | €0.0007₹0.0792 | €0.0007₹0.0792 | €0.0007₹0.0792 |
| Ukraine | €0.0710₹7.5596 | €0.0246₹2.6138 | €0.0246₹2.6138 | €0.0246₹2.6138 |
| United Arab Emirates | €0.0475₹5.0537 | €0.0130₹1.3811 | €0.0130₹1.3811 | €0.0130₹1.3811 |
| United Kingdom | €0.0524₹5.5795 | €0.0182₹1.9346 | €0.0182₹1.9346 | €0.0182₹1.9346 |
| North America | €0.0206₹2.1976 | €0.0028₹0.2989 | €0.0028₹0.2989 | €0.0028₹0.2989 |
| Rest of Africa | €0.0186₹1.9796 | €0.0033₹0.3516 | €0.0033₹0.3516 | €0.0033₹0.3516 |
| Rest of Asia Pacific | €0.0696₹7.4057 | €0.0093₹0.9938 | €0.0093₹0.9938 | €0.0093₹0.9938 |
| Rest of Central & Eastern Europe | €0.0710₹7.5596 | €0.0175₹1.8595 | €0.0175₹1.8595 | €0.0175₹1.8595 |
| Rest of Latin America | €0.0611₹6.5048 | €0.0093₹0.9934 | €0.0093₹0.9934 | €0.0093₹0.9934 |
| Rest of Middle East | €0.0324₹3.4490 | €0.0075₹0.7998 | €0.0075₹0.7998 | €0.0075₹0.7998 |
| Rest of Western Europe | €0.0489₹5.2054 | €0.0141₹1.5019 | €0.0141₹1.5019 | €0.0141₹1.5019 |
| Other | €0.0499₹5.3098 | €0.0064₹0.6769 | €0.0064₹0.6769 | €0.0064₹0.6769 |
Plan prices are monthly, in rupees, excluding GST; yearly billing is two months free. Messages are charged per delivered message on top of the plan, at the rate for the recipient’s country. Full details: InfiQ pricing. Fair visitors from other countries are billed at their own countries' rates, shown on the pricing page, and Indian buyers on +91 numbers at the India rate, ₹0.19 for a utility update. Euro figures in the converter are indicative; InfiQ invoices in rupees.
Work out your own monthly cost by message type.
Calculate your exact costOn InfiQ
What an exhibitor runs on InfiQ
Proof of consent before the fair, one inbox during it, templates after it.
- Consent records and opt-out enforcement
Each visitor's opt-in is recorded with its source and time, the proof UWG §7 expects, and STOP is enforced even against later imports.
- Shared team inbox
Stand staff in Köln and sales staff in India answer the same number, with transfers and notes on every buyer thread.
- Template manager and library
German and English follow-up templates, submitted and tracked through Meta's approval well before the fair opens.
Nearby
City pages near Köln
The nearest city guides on this site, in North Rhine-Westphalia, the rest of Germany and the neighbouring countries.
UWG §7, the narrow existing-customer exception and the German rate apply in Köln as across the country; the Germany guide covers them in full.
Guides for Köln teams
Questions Köln businesses ask
A food buyer scans our QR code at Anuga in Köln and writes to us. Can we reply with our catalogue PDF?+
Yes. The buyer wrote first, so for 24 hours your replies are free-form service messages, catalogue PDF included, at ₹4.84 each to a German number. A promotional template you send later, outside that window, is marketing and needs the buyer's express consent under UWG §7.
Visitors drop business cards at our imm cologne stand. Is that consent for WhatsApp follow-ups?+
Not for promotions. Germany's UWG §7 requires express consent before advertising by electronic message, and it applies to business buyers too. Ask for consent that names WhatsApp, keep the record, and send updates on orders or samples the buyer requested as utility templates. The [Germany guide](/whatsapp-business-api/countries/germany) covers the existing-customer exception.
imm cologne and ISM fall in Köln's winter, Anuga in its summer time. How does that change our India staffing?+
In January and February Köln is on CET, so a 09:00 to 18:00 day in Köln is 13:30 to 22:30 IST. Anuga, 9 to 13 October 2027, runs on CEST, so the same day is 12:30 to 21:30 IST. Plan two rosters and schedule follow-ups in Europe/Berlin time.
Our gamescom contacts come from dozens of countries. What does a follow-up to a non-German number cost?+
Meta bills by the recipient's country code. A utility follow-up to a German +49 number costs ₹4.84; numbers from other countries are billed at their own rates on InfiQ's pricing page; an Indian +91 number costs ₹0.19. Sort the list by country before you estimate the campaign.
We exhibit at Anuga Select India in Mumbai and at Anuga in Köln. Can one account serve both sets of buyers?+
Yes. One InfiQ account can message Indian and German buyers from the same number, each billed at their own country's rate. Keep separate templates by language, English and Hindi for Mumbai and German and English for Köln, and tag contacts by the fair where they opted in.
Our German distributor works near the Koelnmesse grounds in Deutz. Can it hold the WhatsApp account?+
InfiQ serves India-based businesses: it invoices in rupees with GST, keeps customer data in India and supports teams in English and Hindi on India time. Your Indian company can hold the account and add the distributor's staff as inbox users. If your business is based in Köln, talk to sales about whether InfiQ fits.
Sources
Facts on this page were checked against these sources on the dates shown. Page updated 2026-10-20.
- [1]Statistik: Bevölkerung am 31. Dezember 2025 · Stadt Köln · read 2026-10-20
- [2]Koelnmesse: facts, figures and trade fairs · Koelnmesse · read 2026-10-20
- [3]Anuga 2027 · Koelnmesse · read 2026-10-20
- [4]Anuga Select India · Koelnmesse Pvt. Ltd. · read 2026-10-20
- [5]Consular jurisdiction and bilateral notes · Consulate General of India, Frankfurt · read 2026-10-20
- [6]tzdb 'europe' file: Europe/Berlin and the EU rule · IANA Time Zone Database · read 2026-10-20
Have the Köln follow-ups ready before the halls open
Start a 7-day Lite trial, no card needed, and get your German and English templates approved once Meta business verification is complete. If your business is based in Köln, talk to sales about whether InfiQ fits.
