BEFA FORUM 2026

Personalisation and individualisation of funeral ceremonies

Funeral services across Europe are shifting away from standardised formats toward highly personal ceremonies. Families increasingly request farewells at favourite locations, customised urns, humanist ceremonies centred on the deceased's life story, and digital remembrance. At the BEFA FORUM 2026 in Düsseldorf, the Bundesverband Deutscher Bestatter highlighted that counselling demand has risen sharply and that individual farewell design is now a central theme of the trade fair. NECROEXPO 2026 in Kielce similarly identified the departure from uniform funeral models as the strongest trend of the year, with humanist ceremonies, digital memory management and personalised accessories gaining prominence

Sustainability and green burial options

Environmental responsibility is reshaping end-of-life choices across Europe. Eco-friendly cremation techniques, biodegradable urns, tree burial and natural burial grounds are gaining ground. At BEFA FORUM 2026, Dutch start-up Loop Biotech presented the 'Loop Living Cocoon', a coffin made from local mushroom species and upcycled hemp fibres, while other exhibitors showed urns that grow into trees. The global funeral services market report identifies eco-friendly burial practices and sustainable death care options as key growth drivers, with the market expanding from USD 74.95 billion in 2025 to USD 79.93 billion in 2026

Cremation dominance and the rise of alternative burial forms

More than 80 percent of the deceased in Germany are now cremated, and the share continues to rise. The BEFA FORUM 2026 dedicated a special exhibition to '150 Years of Cremation in Germany'. Across Europe, the average cremation rate is now between 55 and 60 percent and rising steadily, led by Slovenia at 86.7 percent, Denmark at 86.5 percent and Czechia at 85.6 percent. Even historically Catholic southern Europe is shifting: Italy has risen from under 3 percent cremations in 1995 to almost 39 percent today, while Spain stands at nearly 45 percent. Urn burial in Friedwälder, sea burials and home-keeping of urns reflect changing family expectations and tighter cemetery budgets

Rising funeral costs and growing pre-planning demand

Funeral costs in Germany frequently range between EUR 6,000 and well over EUR 10,000, with some cases exceeding EUR 20,000. In 2024, prices for funeral services and cemetery fees rose by around 4.6 percent, significantly above general inflation, while the state death grant was abolished in 2004. This cost pressure, combined with smaller family networks, is driving demand for funeral expense insurance and pre-planning products. The first independent rating of 59 such tariffs by Franke und Bornberg found no policy achieving the highest grade. Across Europe, the death care services market grew from USD 138.23 billion in 2025 to USD 148.6 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 7.5 percent

Growth of pet funerals as a distinct market segment

Animal funerals are becoming an established part of the funeral industry offering. BEFA FORUM 2026 organisers explicitly highlighted the segment, noting that the bond with pets is increasingly important for many people and so is saying goodbye to them. The topic is now firmly anchored in the trade fair's exhibition programme