The upcoming edition of Alimentaria, which will take place from 18 to 21 March 2024 at Fira Barcelona’s Gran Via venue, will promote the growth of its leading trade show, Intercarn, as well as that of Restaurama and Hostelco, a platform for the Horeca channel, with more to offer and more partnerships, in addition to new areas and activities. In doing so, it will confirm its place as the most wide-ranging and comprehensive event for the food and hospitality industries and their whole value chain.
The event, organised by Alimentaria Exhibitions, a Fira Barcelona company, will attest to the vital importance of the meat and services industry for the Horeca chain, with the main companies and associations in these industries, both domestic and international, well represented.
Alimentaria&Hostelco will increase their international reach by expanding their specialised buyer attraction programmes for the meat, hospitality, food service and catering industries in strategic countries such as Italy, France, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States and Mexico. Both trade shows will also take their products and activities for the Horeca industry to the next level, with a continued commitment to innovation and the vertical nature of the industries they represent.
The event will be structured around nine industry-based trade shows: the ‘veterans’, Intercarn, Restaurama, Interlact, Expoconser and Snacks, Biscuits & Confectionery; and the newly created Coffee, Bakery & Pastry, Organic Foods, Fine Foods and Food Tech shows. They’ll be joined by the cross-cutting Grocery Foods, International Pavilions and Lands of Spain (covering the regions and autonomous communities) areas, as well as Alimentaria Trends, a trade show that includes spaces for growing markets such as Vegan Foods, Free From (allergen-free foods), Halal Foods and Functional Foods.
“Once again, Alimentaria is renewing its approach to adapt to the industry’s needs and stay a step ahead of the trends, opportunities and challenges it’s facing,” says Antoni Llorens, the new president of Alimentaria. “We’re gearing up to offer the industry the tools it needs to compete in a changing market and open up new opportunities so that it can continue being a true driving force for transformation.”
Restaurama&Hostelco, greater value for hospitality
Meanwhile, the alliance of the Restaurama and Hostelco trade shows, led respectively by Pere Taberner, Vice-President for Western Europe and Africa at the Welbilt group, and Jordi Gallés, Executive President of Europastry, will bring together the largest global offering in Europe for the hospitality industry, with over 550 companies in attendance as exhibitors. Industry professionals will find everything they need to supply food, drinks and equipment to bars, cafés, restaurants, food areas in small- and large-scale retail, vending machines, convenience stores, bakeries, cake shops and catering services.
In 2024, the Restaurama&Hostelco platform will launch its new Coffee, Bakery & Pastry area, which seeks to become the largest meeting point for cafés, bars, bakeries, pastry shops and ice cream parlours on an international scale, bringing together the entire offering of products and equipment.
Furthermore, Restaurama&Hostelco, which is supported by the Confederación Empresarial de Hostelería de España (Hospitality Business Confederation of Spain, or CEHE), the Confederación Española de Hoteles y Alojamientos Turísticos (Hotel and Tourist Accommodation Confederation of Spain, or CEHAT) and the Instituto Tecnológico Hotelero (Hotel Technology Institute, or ITH), will feature a large area where it will hold over a hundred different activities, such as presentations by renowned chefs, pastry cooks and baristas, talks and conversations led by experts, and product demonstrations and contests.
A strong meat industry on display
Intercarn, dedicated to meat and meat-derived products, will once again be the largest trade show at Alimentaria, both in exhibition surface area (it’s expected to cover nearly 14,000 m2) and by number of companies participating directly (over 300). In 2024, the leading trade show for the Spanish meat industry will highlight revaluation, internationalisation and sustainability in the industry, showcasing its hallmark best practices and addressing its main challenges going forward.
The Spanish meat industry as a whole will once again be at Intercarn, with its top companies in attendance. These companies, in fact, are part of the trade show’s organising committee and represent approximately 50% of turnover in the industry. Leading companies present at the trade show will include Noel Alimentaria, Jamones Aljomar, Cárnicas Tello, Costa Brava Mediterranean Food, Grupo Coren, Grupo Costa, El Pozo, Grupo Vall Companys, Grupo Norteños, Grupo Jorge, BonÀrea and Companyia General Carnia.
Furthermore, to promote its visibility and constant cooperation with the industry, Intercarn will reinforce its strategic agreements with the main industry associations, such as AECOC, the association for manufacturers and distributors; ANAFRIC, the meat business association; the Federación Empresarial de Carnes e Industrias Cárnicas (Meat and Meat Industries Business Federation, or FECIC) and the Interprofesional Porcino de Carne Blanca (White Pork Inter-Professional Association, or Interporc).
New Organising Committee
Together with the new president of Alimentaria, Antoni Llorens, there have been recent incorporations to Alimentaria’s Organising Committee, the trade show’s governing body, which is made up of the top executives in the food and drink and distribution industries and the main food industry associations in Spain. The new members of the Committee are Josep Arcas Sarasola, General Manager of GB Foods España; Jordi Llach, CEO of Nestlé España; Georgina Ventura, CEO of Adam Foods and José María Rodríguez Monteys, Managing Director of Euromadi Ibérica, as well as Ignacio Silvia, the new president of FIAB and President and Managing Director of Deoleo.
The most recent Alimentaria fair, held alongside Hostelco in April 2022, was attended by almost 3,000 exhibiting companies, 29% of them international, and over 100,000 visitors, 23% of them from 150 different countries.
Susana Santamaria
ssantamaria@alimentaria.com