The countdown has begun for the celebration of the Alimentaria & Hostelco Show, one of the main events on Barcelona's trade fair calendar. It is the largest proprietary event in Fira de Barcelona's portfolio and also one of its main business drivers, as it generates around 10% of the annual turnover volume of the institution chaired by Pau Relat. Only the MWC surpasses it, whose weight in Fira's annual revenues reaches 20%.
The importance of Alimentaria, however, should not only be measured internally, but externally. It is one of the three largest fairs held in Europe in the food sector, so the show acts as a great international showcase for Spanish food companies and also as a landing platform for brands from all over the world that want to enter Europe. In addition, Alimentaria contributes to strengthening the Barcelona brand and generates a strong impact on the city's economy thanks to being one of the fairs that attracts the largest number of visitors.
Expectations for the edition to be held from March 18 to 21 are very high, as the goal is to exceed 100,000 professional visitors ---25% international---, a figure that had not been recovered since the pandemic. In 2018, Alimentaria and Hostelco ---which are organized every two years--- brought together nearly 150,000 people, but it should be noted that this figure included visitors from the former Intervin show, which is no longer held, explains Toni Valls, general director of Alimentaria Exhibitions. This show was replaced by the Barcelona Wine Week (BWW), an independent fair that in its last edition, this very month, gathered 21,000 visitors.
Since 2018, Alimentaria and Hostelco, another of Fira de Barcelona's own shows, have been held jointly with the aim of offering a better offer to professionals in the catering sector. Initially, it was merely a coincidence of dates, but each event maintained its independence. Little by little, the relationship between the two has become closer and, this year, one can already speak of full integration, so that visitors will not perceive that they are visiting two fairs; there will be total continuity between the exhibitors of Alimentaria and those of Hostelco.
In total, the fair will fully occupy seven of the eight exhibition halls at the Gran Via venue, with a net area of 100,000 square meters. 3,200 companies from 65 countries have already contracted stands, with a special focus on the Horeca channel, which will add about 600 exhibitors. For comparison, the ISE show, another major fair held this year, brought together 1,400 exhibitors. A strong presence of companies from Italy, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom is expected, as well as a strong recovery of the Asian market after the pandemic.
Alimentaria 2024 will be the first edition presided over by Antoni Llorens who, in December 2022, replaced José Luis Bonet, who presided over Alimentaria for 22 years. Llorens is president of the collective catering company Serunion and in the last two decades has led the Restaurama sub-show, one of those that has experienced the greatest growth within the fair, becoming the third most important. Parallel to Llorens' appointment, Alimentaria renewed a large part of its organizing committee, since, in addition to Bonet, other historical executives from the sector also left, such as Ignacio Ferrero, Javier Robles, and José Carlos Lacasa.
More than 350 activities and experiences
As usual, one of the highlights of Alimentaria & Hostelco is the extensive program of parallel activities aimed at visitor training, with more than 350 planned events in which the main challenges and issues of the sector will be addressed.Congresses, round tables, and demonstrations will bring together more than 700 experts to analyze trends and innovations in the food and restaurant industry, as well as to discuss new international opportunities and business niches.At the innovation center The Alimentaria Hub, for example, a conference focused on the application of artificial intelligence in the development of new products will be held. There will also be sessions featuring chef Ferran Adrià and nutritionist Carlos Ríos. Another classic of Alimentaria is Innoval, where the 300 most innovative new products of the show will be exhibited. The International Congress of the Mediterranean Diet is another forum that will not miss the event.
This year, content aimed at professionals in the hospitality sector has been especially reinforced. Thus, The Horeca Hub and the Coffee, Bakery & Pastry Taste & Talks space are created to showcase the latest equipment, discuss main trends, and delve into areas such as digitalization, the growth of delivery, and methods to improve talent attraction and retention.
Live showcookings will once again be the main attraction of this part of the fair, with the participation of great chefs such as Joan Roca, Quique Dacosta, Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch, Elena Arzak, Diego Schattenhoffer, Ramon Freixa, Alvaro Salazar, Xavier Pellicer, or Rafa Zafra. Several awards will also be presented at Alimentaria & Hostelco, such as best chef and waiter of the year, and multiple competitions will be organized, such as the World Neapolitan Pizza Championship.