“Upbeat spirit” at Opti 2023

Opti Box Award winners 2023

The organisers of German trade fair Opti have hailed the “upbeat spitit” of the 2023 edition, which took place in Munich last weekend.

Some 15,500 visitors from 67 countries attended the three-day show – an increase of 19.2 per cent on 2022. There were 307 exhibitors from 28 countries in the newly-configured halls, which made the show more compact than in previous years.

“Opti is back and on course for success,” declared Klaus Plaschka, managing director of Opti organiser, GHM (Gesellschaft für Handwerksmessen). “I would like to explicitly thank everyone who believed in Opti with us and made the success possible. Seeing the industry united again in such a great atmosphere was my highlight.”

Discussions in the new sustainability and myopia hubs gave visitors the opportunity to learn about trends, research methods and technologies as well as to discuss individual questions and challenges within a group. Exhibitor tours addressed other key topics such as smart imaging in ophthalmic screening.

Another highlight was the presentation of the second Opti Box Award. The winner was Lars Brillen – Swiss Made, a start-up that 3D prints frames sustainably. The social media sessions were also popular, with Sarah Schleicher, German optician and eyewear blogger (19,000 Instagram followers) and French optician Anne-Sophie Lapetite (100,000 Instagram fans) from AnSoStyle answering questions.

Commenting on the show afterwards, Werner Paletschek, managing director of OWP Brillen, said: “Opti 2023 showed that opticians and optometrists want this trade show in Munich at exactly that time of the year. The order volume for us was very good and thus the trade fair has proven to be an optimal start to the year. The decisive factor for us in this positive assessment is the crowd of opticians, making the journey to Munich in large numbers.”

Opti will next take place in Munich from 12-14 January 2024. Read more about the show at www.opti.de