IBIE 2025: 7 reasons Vegas will be the hottest oven in baking

Key takeaways:

• The Innovation Showcase will feature 75 first-time product launches.
• Snacks, pet food and global markets are the fastest-growing categories.
• Latin American voices take center stage through Mexipan’s Chef Talks.
• IBIEducate offers 250+ sessions now included with every attendee badge.
• Competitions highlight skill investment and shifting consumer tastes.
• Celebrity bakers like Buddy Valastro and Duff Goldman headline demos.
• Networking thrives after hours at The Rockin’ Pint and Pie Festival.

Every three years, the global baking industry takes a pause to look itself in the mirror. The International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE) is where that happens. The 2025 edition, running October 5-9 in Las Vegas, will bring together more than 20,000 professionals and nearly 900 exhibitors.

The timing matters. Input costs remain volatile. Labor is a running headache. Retailers are squeezing suppliers for clean-label credentials without giving up indulgence. And new categories – snacks, pet food, better-for-you formats – are moving faster than traditional bread and pastry.

So the question isn’t just “what’s on the show floor?” but “why should I take a week out of my business to attend?” Here are seven reasons IBIE still earns its place on the calendar.

1. Where the future of baking gets unveiled

The Innovation Showcase is where suppliers put down their markers. Around 75 first-time launches will appear here: from AI-driven ovens promising to cut training time, to mixers designed to reduce energy bills, to sanitation systems that can shave minutes off changeovers.

For bakers and snack manufacturers juggling labor shortages and utility costs, these aren’t incremental tweaks. They’re potential line-savers. If you’re considering capital investment in the next year, this section is the shortcut to see what’s credible and what’s still vaporware.

The BEST in Baking awards will again put a spotlight on suppliers leading in areas that customers now ask about in every pitch deck: sustainability, packaging, automation. IBIE chair Jorge Zarate calls the awards “a powerful platform to showcase incredible innovations and recognize outstanding work across the baking industry.”

The real value lies less in the accolade and more in the benchmark it sets. If a competitor’s supplier is hitting a higher efficiency standard, you need to know.

2. Snack attacks, pet treats & global eats

The addition of three new pavilions tells you where suppliers see growth.

Snack Food Pavilion: a nod to how much space extruded, puffed and baked snacks now take up in the grocery aisle. If your bakery line is sitting idle, could it pivot to snacks?

Pet Food Pavilion: premium treats and biscuits are expanding faster than many human categories, often using the same ovens and packaging lines. The crossover is real.

International Pavilion: suppliers from Europe, Latin America and Asia showcasing flavor systems, clean label approaches and production methods that are already winning elsewhere.

For attendees, these areas are less about curiosity and more about competitive intelligence. Do you diversify into adjacent categories? Do you need to rethink flavor development? Seeing who’s here – and who isn’t – provides clues.

3. Latin flair meets global stage

IBIE has always branded itself as international, but 2025 is taking steps to make it more than a slogan. Sessions will be translated in real time into 64 languages through Wordly’s AI app and more seminars will be available in Spanish.

The headline addition is the US debut of Mexipan’s Chef Talks. The series, long a feature in Latin America, will bring leading bakers and pastry chefs to discuss product innovation and sustainability.

“IBIE’s strategic alliance with Mexipan reflects our shared commitment to the development of our industry’s global workforce,” says Mark Hotze, chair of IBIEducate. “Chef Talks brings a fresh lens to the challenges and innovations shaping baking in Latin America and we’re excited to give these stories a platform in Las Vegas.”

For attendees, this means direct exposure to market approaches that may soon filter into US retail and foodservice. If your competitors are already looking south for inspiration, you should be in the room.

4. Education you can actually use

IBIEducate has always run in parallel to the expo. The difference this year: every badge includes full access. That removes the paywall between the floor and the classrooms.

With more than 250 sessions, the program is designed to cover both technical and business pain points. Expect workshops on clean-label reformulation, seminars on workforce retention, and strategy sessions on automation.

Highlights include:

• The Business of Baking for Beginners, an RBA bootcamp aimed at start-ups.
• QuickBITES, 20-minute talks on fast-moving trends.
• Dedicated Wholesale and Retail Bakers Centers, breaking down issues specific to each segment.

For attendees, the shift matters: you no longer have to choose between education and floor time. You can dip into a session, then walk straight back to suppliers who can put theory into practice.

5. Bake-offs that mean business

Competitions at IBIE aren’t sideshows – they’re high-stakes demonstrations.

The Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie – Americas Selection will decide which regional teams qualify for the Paris finals. Expect technical excellence on display, but also a reminder of how much investment countries are putting into craft skills.

The World Bread Awards USA moves to IBIE, giving American bakers a bigger stage and broader exposure.

The Pillsbury Bakers’ Plus Creative Cake Decorating Competition draws crowds for good reason: it’s a live test of artistry and technical skill.

The Panettone World Cup – Americas Selection highlights how much a once-niche product has gone mainstream.

“This competition is more than a contest – it’s a celebration of artistry, precision, and technical skill,” says Marissa Velie, executive director of RBA.

For attendees, competitions aren’t just entertainment. They’re a barometer of where skill development, investment and consumer interest are heading.

6. Star bakers on stage

IBIE isn’t only about machinery and contracts – it also turns the spotlight on the craft. This year’s line-up of celebrity bakers and chefs ensures that artistry, retail trends, and consumer inspiration have a place alongside industrial innovation.

Buddy (Cake Boss) Valastro will be back in LV, leading demos and fan sessions that bridge entertainment and business. His return underscores IBIE’s reach beyond the trade press – he’s a household name whose techniques and flair resonate with both professionals and consumers.

He won’t be alone. Duff Goldman, Food Network star and owner of Charm City Cakes, brings his reputation for bold, creative designs. Paulina Abascal, the Mexican pastry chef and TV personality, adds a Latin American perspective, demonstrating recipes and techniques that align with IBIE’s push to highlight global influences.

Scottish TikTok sensation Coinneach MacLeod (The Hebridean Baker) will showcase traditional recipes reimagined for a social media audience, pointing to how bakers can capture consumer imagination outside the shop window. And pastry chef Lauren V Haas will demonstrate high-end chocolate and confectionery work, appealing to professionals who straddle the line between bakery, patisserie, and fine dining.

For attendees, these appearances aren’t about star-spotting. They’re a chance to watch how professionals with massive followings translate technical skill into market relevance. Whether it’s decorating cakes that command attention on Instagram, or pastries rooted in cultural tradition, the message is the same: craftsmanship and personality still drive value in bakery.

6. After-hours: Where deals get sealed

The official program ends at 5pm, but IBIE’s real networking often starts after hours.

The Rockin’ Pint returns on opening night, sponsored by AB Mauri. New-wave band Wang Chung headlines, followed by Duff Goldman and his cover band Foie Grock. Tickets sold out in 2022 and are likely to again.

On the show floor, the new Great American Pie Festival – complete with live entertainment and unlimited pie tastings – offers a lighter atmosphere for networking. For supermarket and foodservice buyers, it’s also a practical way to taste and test products without a hard sell.

For attendees, these events are about access. Deals aren’t always struck in the booth. They’re shaped in conversations over music, food and pie.

Reading the signs for baking’s future

IBIE acts as a checkpoint. The new pavilions underline where suppliers expect growth – snacks, pet food and international markets. The education program reflects ongoing challenges in labor, automation and reformulation. The competitions show that traditional skills still carry weight, even as investment pours into robotics and AI.

The real reason to attend isn’t to collect brochures. It’s to test where the industry is leaning, benchmark yourself against peers and find out what conversations your customers will be having six months from now.

Las Vegas may provide the backdrop, but the decisions made there will shape the baking sector until IBIE 2028. The week is less about being seen, and more about making sure you’re not left behind.

See you there!