Barcelona’s big trade show platform for the food and beverage, foodservice and hospitality equipment industry, Alimentaria & Hostelco, recorded major international participation and business again. The show ran 18-21 March at Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via venue.
This year the emphasis was on more sustainable and healthier products, as well as AI and robotics solutions for the Horeca channel.
More than 3,200 exhibiting companies from 68 countries took part in the event which, organisers said, had attracted 107,900 professional visitors, 25% of them international, from 120 countries. They also estimated an economic impact of €180m from the show which occupied nearly 100,000sqm of net exhibition space, almost all of the venue.
Alimentaria & Hostelco was attended by more than 900 international companies, led by Italian companies, and with a large returning contingent of Asian companies, especially from China, South Korea and Thailand.
Attendees included 2,200 buyers invited from strategic markets for the export of food and hospitality equipment, such as the European Union, the USA and Latin America. They took part in some 13,500 meetings with companies.
Alimentaria’s director, J. Antonio Valls, said: “This edition has been a resounding success in terms of internationalisation and shows the great convening power of Alimentaria & Hostelco, which has recovered its pre-pandemic figures.”
Food innovation, gastronomy and the rise of protein, as well as the latest trends in the hospitality sector, were the main features of the programme of more than 350 activities at the show which saw 700 prestigious experts and chefs taking part.
Alimentaria & Hostelco also showed its charitable side with the presence of a hundred volunteers from the Fundació Banc dels Aliments (Food Bank Foundation), who collected nearly 20 tonnes of food and drink donated by exhibitors.
The next edition of the trade fair will be held 23-26 March 2026 at the Gran Via venue.
