Alimentaria expects 100,000 visitors and will have an economic impact of 200 million

On Monday, March 18, the most powerful edition of the Alimentaria Fair will kick off at the Gran Via exhibition center, which, once again, is held jointly with Hostelco. The fair, one of the most important on the Catalan capital's exhibition calendar, expects to break historical records in terms of participation of international companies and professionals and will occupy seven of the eight palaces of Gran Via. Its economic impact is expected to reach 200 million euros, according to calculations made by the organization, which anticipates the attendance of 100,000 professional visitors. 25% will be foreigners, from more than 120 countries.

"Alimentaria returns with renewed ambition and with the strength of being presented jointly with Hostelco, which allows us to offer visitors a transversal and unique value proposition," highlights Toni Valls, general director of Alimentaria Exhibitions, the Fira de Barcelona company organizing the event. According to Valls, the combination of "food, tourism and gastronomy" gives the fair "a competitive advantage" that is reinforced by the other pillars that are part of Alimentaria's DNA: verticality or organization into sub-shows, innovation, internationalization and a strong commitment to parallel activities aimed at transmitting knowledge and debating the trends and main challenges of the sector.

"We are one of the three largest fairs in the sector in Europe and one of the five largest in the world," emphasizes Antoni Llorens, who debuts with this edition in the presidency of Alimentaria, after 22 years of leadership by José Luis Bonet. The new president will be responsible for preparing the celebration events for the 50th anniversary of the fair's birth, scheduled for the 2026 edition. Another topic on the organizing committee's table is to evaluate the possibility of definitively merging Alimentaria and Hostelco, two shows that historically had operated separately, but have now been held jointly for several editions. At first, they only coincided dates and maintained their autonomy, but this year both shows are already fully integrated, so that both Hostelco and Restaurama exhibitors, Alimentaria's sub-show dedicated to professionals in the restaurant sector, share the same space.

According to Toni Valls, this year Alimentaria & Hostelco have commercialized 6% more square meters, so the exhibition area reaches 100,000 net square meters. In total, these days 3,200 exhibiting companies are already setting up their stands, of which 900 ---almost a third--- come from outside Spain. The participation of international companies has more than doubled compared to the 2022 edition, still affected by the last throes of the pandemic.

The fair aims to be the great international showcase for the powerful Spanish food industry, which last year exported goods worth 69,000 million euros, a "spectacular figure," according to the director of Food Industry at ICEX, María Naranjo. "Spain is the seventh most exporting food power in the world and the fourth in the European Union, behind Italy, the Netherlands, and France," points out the executive, who recalls that this sector has accumulated 35 years of positive export balance. Of all the autonomous communities, Naranjo adds, "Catalonia is the supreme leader in agri-food exports," followed by Andalusia and the Valencian Community.

"Alimentaria is already a clear reference for major international buyers, but it still has the potential to be much more so," adds the ICEX executive. This year, one million euros have been invested in the Hosted Buyers program, which consists of inviting purchasing managers from importing companies, distributors, and supermarket chains from around the world to participate in the fair. In total, this program will bring together 2,200 high-level buyers, half of whom are international, from 98 countries, with the United States, Mexico, China, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Colombia, Canada, and South Korea at the forefront. More than 13,000 business meetings have already been scheduled between them and interested exhibiting companies. Walmart, Sodexo, Metro, Abascal, City Super, Bidfood, Heb, and Fresh Market are some of the chains participating in the invitation program.

In addition to being a great lever for the internationalization of Spanish companies, Alimentaria is also the platform chosen for the landing or commercial impulse of hundreds of international brands interested in entering or expanding in Spain. Thus, Italian companies are the ones that have reserved the most exhibition space after Spanish ones. Other countries with a strong presence at the fair are Turkey, China, Hong Kong, Poland, Portugal, France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and Argentina. This is the first edition after the pandemic in which Chinese companies participate.

The meat sector once again acts as the locomotive of Alimentaria, as Intercan occupies 14% of the exhibition area, with 360 companies that will occupy the entire palace number three. The show is structured around thirteen sectors. Along with Intercan, Grocery Foods (large multi-product brands), Lands of Spain (with representation from all autonomous communities), and the international pavilion, where companies are grouped by country, stand out. Interlact (dairy), Expoconser (canned goods), Restaurama (food service), Snacks, Biscuits & Confectionary (snacks and sweets), and Foodtech (machinery) are other classic sectors represented. In addition, this year the exhibition area Coffee, Bakery & Pastry has been added, to bring together the offer dedicated to coffee shops, bakeries, and pastry shops. Alimentaria also has specialized areas for organic products (Organic Foods), gourmet foods (Fine Foods), and emerging market niches such as vegetable protein (Alimentaria Trends). Finally, in Alimentaria Premium, the fair's most exclusive space, this year there will be nine select firms oriented towards high gastronomy.

The Alimentaria Hub will once again be the focus of knowledge and the epicenter of R&D&i, with presentations by 200 experts and 3,000 congress attendees. Innoval, the exhibition with the latest brand launches and most innovative products, will once again be one of the most visited spaces at the show. The hub is completed with a space dedicated to new business models that incorporates a representation of 30 promising startups.

Finally, the other big novelty of 2024 is that The Horeca Hub has been created to group all the parallel activities organized by Hostelco and Restaurama. More than 150 chefs and gastronomy experts and restoration professionals will offer showcookings and participate in presentations to analyze the challenges and trends of the sector. Within the framework of the four-day Alimentaria & Hostelco event, multiple competitions will also be held and numerous awards will be presented.