"We open the doors to a great edition of Alimentaria, expectations are very high"

This Monday, a new edition of the Alimentaria & Hostelco Show begins at Fira de Barcelona's Gran Via venue. After having to postpone the 2020 edition due to the pandemic, Barcelona once again hosts the largest food sector fair in Southern Europe, with the participation of almost 3,000 companies, an area of 85,000 square meters, and a strong international presence. 100,000 visitors are expected and an economic impact for the city of Barcelona of about 180 million euros.

It will be the last organizing committee chaired by veteran businessman José Luis Bonet, as explained in this interview with The New Barcelona Post by the general director of Alimentaria Exhibitions, Toni Valls, the person who best knows this important fair and the true architect of its continuous innovation and renewal process.

--- After all we have experienced during the health crisis and the successive calendar changes, we finally have Alimentaria here.

--- It has been very difficult to get to this date. Two years ago, we had everything ready and had to postpone the show when there was only a month and a half left until opening, it was very hard, because we had been working hard for two years. The emotional impact was very high, given that we had to change the dates two more times, in a very exhausting and demotivating process. The management of emotions and people has been complicated, we also went through an ERTE and, in addition, we have had to build the fair for the first time teleworking.

--- And yet, a very good show is presented, right?

--- Yes, after this very hard period we are happy and very excited. This Monday we will open the doors to a great edition, expectations are very high. The fact of having been out of the market for four years makes people very eager to meet again at one of the great international food fairs that exist. This desire of customers and suppliers to meet again bodes well for a very good edition. In addition, the coincidence in dates with the Barcelona Wine Week (BWW) does not harm us, on the contrary, it especially helps to attract even more visitors from the restaurant sector. Both events have aroused great interest and this shows that fairs are an absolutely unbeatable instrument, due to the in-person nature they entail.

--- Haven't the pandemic and the unstoppable digitalization process of the economy made you change this vision about the usefulness of trade fairs?

---I categorically reaffirm that trade fairs are an unbeatable instrument. And even more so when we talk about fairs like Alimentaria, where the product is the great protagonist and necessarily requires tasting and discovering its flavor. In this case, the in-person aspect takes on an even greater dimension.

--- The food sector is highly topical, due to the tensions in the supply chain, transport strikes, and the rising cost of raw materials and energy. How can the war in Ukraine affect the show?

--- It does not have a direct effect on the fair, but it does on the food industry and the value chain, because Ukraine is the granary of Europe and we are already seeing how the prices of very important sectors that need to import sunflower oil or large quantities of cereals have been affected. There is an impact, because the war alters the world order, but, for that very reason, I believe that Alimentaria comes at the best time, since it is an unbeatable framework to find new suppliers, secure the supply chain, or renegotiate and review current prices.

--- But Russia will not be present at the fair, right?

---The space that Russia usually occupied at Alimentaria was very small, it is a totally residual issue; about nine companies sold there, occupying less than one hundred square meters. From Ukraine, three or four were expected to come, and only one company has remained. In parallel, we have withdrawn the invitation we had extended to several Russian buyers to participate in the international hosted buyers program, a key part of this fair.

--- Is there any other significant country that will not participate in Alimentaria this year?

--- We have lost China due to the restrictions that the pandemic still entails and the problems for traveling. It is the great absentee of this edition, since it usually occupied more than 1,500 square meters. We are sure that we will recover this country in future editions because our relations with the different provinces of China are very good. We have compensated for this absence with the participation of new countries such as Brazil, Slovakia, Australia, Canada, United Arab Emirates and Puerto Rico. Greece and Turkey have also doubled their space.

--- What international participation do you foresee?

--- Regarding the offer, about 400 international companies from 52 countries are represented in the exhibition. But, despite the fact that international mobility is still difficult, we have already accredited the participation of visitors and buyers from 114 countries. Compared to 2018, the attendance of buyers from the United States and Canada has increased significantly, although we have concentrated our commercial efforts in Europe, since we have lived in uncertainty until the last moment and have preferred to play it safe.

---But, in total visitors, how many will be foreigners?

--- If we reach the figure of 100,000 unique visitors, we estimate that between 22% and 25% will be international; achieving this range would be very good.

---Should Alimentaria be the great fair for the promotion of Spanish products in the world or a great lever for foreign brands?

---Clearly, the two souls must coexist. The level of internationality of Alimentaria will grow the higher the international offer we have. We still need to attract much more foreign offer to internationalize more and more.

--- The European competing fairs Anuga (Germany) and Sial (France) have a big advantage over us, don't they?

--- Now it is more difficult to compare due to the pandemic, but in historical figures they are larger, yes, and both Anuga and Sial have much more international weight, with ratios reaching 60% or 65%. Our objective, as well as our obsession, is to reach the internationality parameters that these two fairs have. In footage they are also larger: the first is Anuga, followed by Sial and then us. We talk a lot with them, we are three fairs that respect each other very much and I know that they will visit us these days.

--- Do you foresee Alimentaria growing much in footage in upcoming editions to approach its dimensions?

--- It all depends on the strategy one wants to pursue. You can generate greater value with the same space or increase the footage by lowering the price per square meter. I am more in favor of betting on value; I prefer not to grow so much in volume and invest more in having financial muscle to boost internationalization.

---Now that you mention prices, what will be the fair's turnover figure this year?

---Alimentaria Exhibitions expects to generate around 20 million euros between Alimentaria and Hostelco. This is slightly less than the 2018 edition. The participation of direct companies has decreased, but this decrease is not very significant, with a loyalty rate of 85%, which is very high, considering that we have changed dates three times and that we now have no representation from the wine sector. In Alimentaria, in 2018 we had about 1,200 direct companies and this year we have about a thousand, although if we add the represented brands or those that share a collective stand, we reach a participation of 3,000 companies. It must be taken into account that there is a lot of grouped participation, by countries or autonomous communities.

--- For the second time, Alimentaria is held jointly with Hostelco. Has this alliance come to stay?

--- Yes, I think so, because it is a clearly winning project driven by demand. Offering a joint offer from Restaurama and Hostelco exhibitors gives you a much greater attraction capacity for professionals from a sector that is very atomized, with almost 320,000 hospitality establishments in Spain. This joint offer has a lot of strength and allows mobilizing this entire fragmented channel. It is a future strategy, yes or yes, clearly, because it also provides us with a differential model compared to competitors like Anuga and Sial, who do not have this part of combining foodservice solutions with the hospitality equipment sector well developed.

---To the point of proposing a merger of the two fairs?

--- No. Alimentaria, through Restaurama, is an asset, and Hostelco is too. The strategy requires preserving the two differentiated brands, because they give us strength and recognition, but when you visit the show these days you will see that the two fairs are already semi-integrated. In this edition, visitors will no longer realize that they are moving from one fair to another. Before, Alimentaria ended and Hostelco began; now we have intertwined the offerings of both shows.

--- Have you hung the "full" sign or could more companies have come?

--- We will occupy 85,000 net square meters distributed among seven of the eight pavilions of the Gran Via venue. The offer in this edition of Alimentaria & Hostelco, with 3,000 represented companies, is very powerful. We have reached levels of almost full occupancy, considering that before we filled all eight pavilions, but now we do not have the wine sector, which has become independent through the spin-off Barcelona Wine Week, in a correct decision and by express wish of the wine world. We do not occupy all corners, more companies could still come, but there are pavilions such as the multi-product and the autonomous communities pavilions that are totally full.

--- The multi-product pavilion has always been the star of the show. Has there been any significant absence?

--- This year we have lost Calidad Pascual, which occupied one of the emblematic spaces of Alimentaria's golden mile. In this location this year visitors will find the Coosur stand, along with other major brands such as Nestlé, Danone, Casa Tarradellas, Idilia Foods, Vicky Foods or Adam Foods.

--- Do you have data on hotel occupancy?

--- The latest I have at the time of this conversation is that hotels in the Gran Via de L'Hospitalet and Plaza Europa area are at 100%, while occupancy in the city of Barcelona ranges between 75 and 80%.

--- If no other extraordinary event occurs, Alimentaria will return in 2024, right?

--- Yes, the next Alimentaria will be in 2024 and will return with a renewed committee. This week's fair is the last one to be chaired by José Luis Bonet and it is also the last for other significant committee members who have marked an era and to whom a good part of the credit should be attributed, such as Ignacio Ferrero, Javier Robles, or José Carlos Lacasa. The Alimentaria committee that is now ending has left a very strong mark and has shielded the fair in every sense. Their work has been exemplary and unique in the fair world, which is why, once the fair concludes, we will proceed to renew these prominent figures of the food world who have been key to the success of this fair, with the challenge of preserving their legacy and ensuring the handover.

--- How will this renewal process be carried out?

--- By statutes, the Alimentaria organizing committee is dissolved after each edition. This partial renewal was already planned for the 2020 edition, but the pandemic caused us to extend the mandate until 2022. Now we will begin meetings to reach a consensus and ensure governance and protect all the work done during these years. As director and executive responsible for the fair, I have been concerned and occupied with ensuring that this committee has the strength and maximum prestige within the food industry as a whole. In recent years, we have already been introducing changes; we are facing a partial renewal, in no case total. Institutional strength and the associative and employer fabric must be combined with the business presence of relevant companies.

--- When will we know the name of the new president of Alimentaria? Is there already an official candidate?

--- There are proposals on the table for possible substitutes, but there is still no name or formal proposal. It is one of the issues that will occupy us until the summer. We should know who the new president will be and have the list of the new committee finalized before the holidays to have it operational in October, which is when we will launch the next Alimentaria.