Last month’s International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE) offered U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) staff from Sub-Saharan Africa, South America and Southeast Asia a peek into the future of the industry — from advantages artificial intelligence (AI) could present bakers to more practical developments in baking ingredients, including potential benefits sourdough fermentation has for consumers’ gut health.
Scientific advancements in wheat biotechnology also took its turn in the spotlight.
As USW Bakery and Noodle Technologist Ivan Goh puts it, the IBIE is like a “world tour of everything baking.”
IBIE, considered one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive baking events, was held Sept. 13–17 in Las Vegas. It attracted more than 1,000 exhibitors from across the globe. Focus was placed on the latest advancements in technology, ingredients, equipment and packaging. The show also hosted its largest education program ever, with more than 250 sessions and demonstrations.
Helping USW Help Customers
“Technical staff in all U.S. Wheat offices handle numerous customer inquiries related to wheat-based products on a regular basis, so this kind of experience was especially valuable for us,” said Goh. He attended the 2025 IBIE with USW Regional Vice President Joe Sowers, along with South and Southeast Asian Baking Technologists Sam Yap and Adrian Redondo. “Many manufacturers showcased their latest machines and even assembled complete production lines at the show, which provided great insight into how various products are made.”
USW’s Cape Town office brought a team of millers and bakers from Sub-Saharan Africa.
“The goal was to provide technical staff from regional milling and baking companies in our region a chance to engage directly with U.S. bakery equipment manufacturers,” said USW Cape Town Program and Marketing Specialist Domenique Opperman. She led the team with USW Regional Director for Sub-Saharan Africa Chad Wiegand. “These are companies that purchase U.S. wheat, and we felt they would really get a lot out of learning about the latest innovations.”
USW’s Santiago office sponsored a team of bakers at this year’s IBIE, too. USW Regional Director Miguel Galdos and Technical Specialist Andres Saturno explored new innovations in baking with the team. They also engaged with milling and baking companies from South America participating in the event.
“We had the opportunity to meet with several important bakeries in our market to answer questions and discuss what we were seeing,” said Galdos. “For example, the Chilean Bakers Association was on hand, so we spent time with their members to interact with them of the things being presented.”
Brad Erker, executive director of Colorado Wheat Research Foundation, conducted an educational session on scientific advancements in wheat biotechnology during this year’s IBIE. Erker discussed the potential for enhanced crop performance and sustainability improvements through biotech innovation.
