
The Ultimate Bucketlist for opti 2025
The countdown’s on, only a week to go until opti, the international trade show for optics and design in Munich, opens its gates.
What’s hot, what‘s to discover? Here comes is the ultimate bucket list as an indispensable cheat sheet for your visit to opti 2025.
To get properly started, a little advice from the opti team
It’s probably best to save the list on one‘s mobile phone to have it handy at opti and use it to explore the four exhibition halls and their 330 exhibitors at the Munich fairgrounds. In addition to the exhibitors’ innovations, there is also an impressive supporting programme to discover!
With this bucket list, visitors will be even better prepared when arriving at the Munich fairgrounds on Friday, 31 January 2025 (opti runs until Sunday, 2 February 2024).

Tip 1: Networking, networking, networking
Above all, opti is a networking trade fair for the industry. So: meet people, make new contacts, find experts, bring your employees and motivate them!
Contact your most important suppliers in advance (check for appointments via opti CONNECT), but also allow time for spontaneous conversations, for example in the YES Lounge (Hall C1), at the opti BOX BAR (Hall C2), at the opti RUNWAY BAR (Hall C3) … or next door at one of the four hubs of the brand new opti HUB ARENA! Extra tip:
Be sure to get one of the highly coveted appointments for an opti SOCIAL MEDIA CONSULTING HOUR – it’s worth booking in good time via the website!

Tip 2: Hunting down what’s red hot new
Basically, of course, everything‘s new at opti – yet it is always worth to start one’s very own truffle hunt for novelties amongst industry partners and start-ups like opti BOXES (Hall C2) for frames or at opti VISIONARY (Hall C3) for the non-frame sector.
Make and implement good resolutions for opti 2025: for instance, find at least three new suppliers, while as well allowing enough time to listen to expert talks at the opti MYOPIA HUB, to get informed about current sustainability topics at the opti SUSTAINABILITY HUB and learn from talks and panel discussions on future-oriented topics and trends at the new opti FUTURE VISION HUB. Obviously, the same applies to all halls: let yourself be inspired as you wander from C1 to C4 and back.

Tip 3: TOMORROW VISION
Contact lenses are the future of vision
opti, together with nine well-known contact lens manufacturers, is jointly backing a new concept that will show opticians the multiple opportunities offered by contact lenses.
In the TOMORROW VISION area, covering almost 170 square metres in Hall C4, Alcon, Bausch + Lomb, CooperVision, HECHT, Hetych, Menicon, MPG&E, SwissLens and Wöhlk are putting the spotlight firmly on contact lenses. All further information can be found here.
New: The concept of opti HUB ARENA with four hubs
Reflecting on subjects and addressing target groups that matter to the industry. So do make sure to make more than just quickly stop-over at the opti HUB ARENA (stand C3.575).

Tip 4: opti MYOPIA HUB
supported by HOYA & EssilorLuxottica
The opti MYOPIA HUB is the central platform for knowledge transfer, inspiration and exchange around evidence-based myopia management.
Entrepreneurs in ophthalmic optics should also involve their employees, because the opti MYOPIA HUB presents practical solutions, scientifically sound approaches and successes already achieved in practice – always aiming to provide directly applicable impulses for their own professional lives.

Tip 5: opti FUTURE VISION HUB
more than just a glimpse into the future!
The opti FUTURE VISION HUB is a platform brings together visionaries – which we are sure you won’t want to miss: new ideas are negotiated here, there are plenty of opportunities for networking and this is where the future of the optical industry begins.

Tip 6: opti NEXT GENERATION HUB
The lounge for the optical – surprise – next generation.
The point of contact for apprentices, students and the next generation of opticians in general.
What happens at the opti NEXT GENERATION HUB? For example, communication coaching, speed dating sessions for apprentices and students to exchange ideas, and speed dating for young people looking for companies and the next generation – the latter via online registration. And of course, don’t miss out on the competition sponsored by Rodenstock.

Tip 6: opti NEXT GENERATION HUB
The lounge for the optical – surprise – next generation.
The point of contact for apprentices, students and the next generation of opticians in general.
What happens at the opti NEXT GENERATION HUB? For example, communication coaching, speed dating sessions for apprentices and students to exchange ideas, and speed dating for young people looking for companies and the next generation – the latter via online registration. And of course, don’t miss out on the competition sponsored by Rodenstock.
opti CAMPUS,incredibly conveniently placed next to opti NEXT GENERATION HUB, features nine optical academies and universities offering information and insights about themselves.

Tip 7: opti SUSTAINABILITY HUB
supported by FOCUS
Sustainability is becoming ever more important in both our private and professional lives. So it will be addressed and discussed at opti 2025. Simply pick from the programme the points relevant for you and your company at the opti SUSTAINABILITY HUB and benefit from the knowledge shared.
Design and current eyewear trends. In addition to the already fully booked eyewear tours with trend expert Selin Olmsted from New York, two wards show where the design journey is headed when it comes to frames.

Tip 10: opti ROLLING TRUTH
What the heck is this? A real couch situated in the north-west entrance area, on which the opti social media team interviews visitors and exhibitors about important and, tongue-in-cheek, not-so-important topics related to opti and ophthalmic issues – always with the aim of telling the hard, unvarnished truth.
Special feature: the couch will also be rolling through all four opti halls. So keep your eyes open and come on board or onto the couch spontaneously.

Bonus tip: opti PARTY
Friday, 31 January, starting 7 p.m.
There’s no reason you can’t party, have fun and relax all at the same time. That’s what the opti PARTY is for. It runs until 10 p.m. and features not so demure DJ sounds that will have you dancing the evening away. Make sure you arrive on time, as the opti PARTY is highly popular! And the following evening, i.e. Saturday, don’t miss any of the numerous creative stand parties. – they too are simply magic!
Last but definitely not least: after opti is before opti, so make sure to block your calendar for opti 2026, 16 – 18 January 2026
Related links

About Opti
opti is the international trade show for optics & design which takes place annually as the industry kick-off in January in Munich. It offers trade visitors the complete spectrum of ophthalmic products, from spectacle frames and lenses, contact lenses, refraction, diagnosis and low vision to shopfitting and technical equipment. opti is the order platform and the location for product premières by international market leaders and start-ups alike. The event was first held in 1998, and since 2008 has been organised by GHM Gesellschaft für Handwerksmessen mbH.

Every year at opti, experts and creatives in the optics industry display their newest products. As an international trade show for optics and design, opti represents the whole visual-optical spectrum, from frames to lenses, contact lenses, low vision, shop fittings, IT, marketing and sales, i7nstruments, tools, spectacle elements, accessories as well as technical equipment and professional education.
What can you expect at opti 2024? The product areas range from lenses and frames to diagnostics. As the first order fair of the year, all trends and innovations from the field of ophthalmic optics will be presented as well as product premieres from international market leaders and start-ups alike.
Read more about this show on TEF Magazine or register for free at their website.
More news on Opti
opti 2025 // A powerful start into the optical year
opti 2025 in Munich once again delivered a powerful statement for the global ophthalmic optics industry over three dynamic days. Under the banner #weareopti, the trade show reaffirmed its role as a premier platform for innovation, dialogue, and future-focused technologies. With an impressive showcase of emerging trends and groundbreaking solutions, opti demonstrated the industry’s unwavering enthusiasm and solidified its reputation as a must-attend event for professionals worldwide.
opti 2025 // Top10 Must-See Brands
Plan your visit to Opti and explore how these 10 innovators are reshaping the world of eyewear. Discover the highlights of these must-see brands and why their booths should top your trip!
opti 2025 // A Festival of Innovations
opti is set to unveil the eyewear trends for 2026 in the design and frames areas of Halls C1, C2, and C3. Hall C3 will debut the newly designed opti HUB ARENA, a central hub for information, knowledge, and networking. Visitors to Hall C4 can look forward to the premiere of TOMORROW VISION, a collaborative area featuring nine leading contact lens manufacturers and their groundbreaking solutions for opticians and optometrists.
TOMORROW VISION // Contact lenses are the future of optics
‘Contact lenses are the future of optics’. Under this official motto, Alcon, Bausch + Lomb, CooperVision, Hecht, Hetych, Menicon, MPG&E, SwissLens and Wöhlk are jointly celebrating the product contact lens. opti visitors will discover an exciting programme at the almost 200 square metre TOMORROW VISION joint area.
Opti 2025 // Concept takes shape
The concept ideas for Opti 2025 have been finalized. Following months of intensive research and three roundtable discussions with exhibitors, visitors, and association representatives, the vision for the leading optical trade show in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland has now been clearly defined.
opti // The brand new Sustainability Youngster Award
Due to the great success at the last opti and the importance of the matter, opti 2025 is organising two sustainability awards: the second edition of the opti SUSTAINABILITY AWARD and – new – the opti SUSTAINABILITY YOUNGSTER AWARD.
opti 2025 // New campaign, New faces
Following the great success of the opti Faces for opti 2024, the WE ARE opti 2024/2025 campaign is entering its second round: curtain up on the new brand ambassadors! Three women, three men, six personalities from the optical industry lend their faces to opti 2025.
OPTI // Registration now open for exhibitors
opti 2024 was a great success. For exhibitors in particular, the attractiveness of this leading trade show for optics & design as an outstanding industry and networking platform has been further consolidated. The opti trade fair team under Cathleen Kabashi has...
TEFtalkOPTI // Skans Eyewear
At the Opti show in Munich, we had a little talk with Johanna Skans, a corporate sustainability activist, entrepreneur and optometrist. She is the founder of Skans eyewear, a Copenhagen-based brand focused on sustainable, high quality, local products. Watch the video...
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This year’s opti inspired opticians as an industry highlight at the start of the year. 21,500 visitors appreciated the common hub of all protagonists from the ophthalmic world. The exhibitors’ sales successes and the communication of new trends,...
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Tip 8: opti FRAME STAR
The Audience Award
For the first time, opti is presenting an audience award for the most popular frame – so be sure to vote right away for the opti FRAME STAR AWARDS.
Where? At stand C1.170, visitors simply use their mobile phone to vote for one of the 50 frames displayed. The frame with the most votes will be honoured on opti Sunday at 3 p.m. at the winner’s stand.

Tip 9: opti BOX AWARD
For the fifth time, so already quite a tradition, this coveted trophy will be awarded to a frame start-up exhibiting at opti BOXEN. Where will it be awarded? At the new opti FUTURE VISION HUB (stand C3.575). So it’s best to block the calendar now: opti Saturday, 1 February, at 3 p.m.
