- Alimentaria, leading food, beverage and foodservice trade fair, returns to the Gran Via of the Fira de Barcelona from March 18 to 21, 2024, with an expected increase of 6% in international offer.
- Four months before the start of the trade fair, Germany is in seventh place in terms of booked exhibition space.
- Almost 3,000 companies from over 50 countries are expected at Alimentaria.
Four months before the start of Alimentaria 2024, bookings of exhibition space by international companies exceeded organizers’ expectations, with an increase of 6% compared to last year’s event. The organizers also highlight the high return rate of exhibitors: 53% of the companies that took part in 2022 will be present again.
A total of around 3,000 companies are expected to take part, 30% of which are international companies. Germany currently ranks seventh in terms of exhibition space already booked. Among the previous exhibitors from Germany, it is worth highlighting the participation of several meat companies at the German Meat stand, as well as fifteen other companies from other sectors spread across the various halls of the trade fair.
When it comes to international participation, Italy remains the leader, both in terms of exhibition space and number of companies, followed by China and Turkey. In the coming year, the presence of Asian companies will increase, particularly from China and Taiwan. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, they were not represented in 2022.
J. Antonio Valls, Managing Director of Alimentaria Exhibitions, underlines Alimentaria’s commitment to internationalization: “For 2024, we have set ourselves the goal of exceeding the internationalization achieved so far. With regard to Germany, we are pleased about the great interest in exhibition space and expect that Germany will once again be one of the top five countries in terms of visitor numbers.” Spain maintains close trade relations with Germany. In 2021, Germany exported food worth around 2.7 billion euros to Spain. The largest exports in terms of value were meat and meat products, baked goods, cheese and milk and milk products. (Market study by the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food 2022).
The Alimentaria is divided into nine areas. In addition to the “veterans” Intercarn, Restaurama, Interlact, Expoconser and Snacks, Biscuits & Confectionary, there are now the newly introduced sectors Coffee, Bakery & Pastry, Organic Foods, Fine Foods and Food Tech. Additionally, the cross-cutting sectors include Grocery Foods (products for mass consumption), International Pavilions and Lands of Spain (regions and autonomous communities of Spain), as well as the Alimentaria Trends trade fair, which covers the growing segments Vegan Foods, Free From (allergen-free foods), Halal Foods and Functional Foods covers.
Commitment to sustainability and innovation
One of the major challenges the sector will have to face in the coming years is promoting innovation and sustainability. Therefore, Alimentaria will continue to support initiatives such as Towards Zero Waste to implement environmental and social sustainability measures at the fair, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In addition, one of the Innoval Awards, given to the most innovative products in the industry, will be dedicated to the most sustainable product.
On the subject of innovation , Alimentaria offers an extensive program of activities in the Alimentaria Hub. This area will once again act as a hub for industry trends in R&D&I, brand equity, nutrition, health, wellness, internationalization, globalization, sales, retail, marketing, communications and 360º sustainability.
It is worth highlighting the great work of Intercarn, which four months before the fair has already exceeded last year’s participation by almost 18%, as well as Expoconser and Snacks, Interlact, and Grocery Foods, which have also already exceeded the 2022 figures.
Focus on the Horeca sector
Among the innovations of the 2024 edition is the merger of Hostelco and Restaurama, which will increase the fair’s focus on gastronomy and hospitality.
The redesigned area will also include the coffee, bakery and pastry areas and will present its own program of activities and the Horeca Hub. Here, topics related to the sector’s key challenges will be covered in various presentations: innovation, digitalization, customer experience, AI, sustainability and attracting and retaining talent. The Horeca hub will also offer live cooking demonstrations, tastings, lectures, conferences and seminars for professionals. You can also take part in competitions such as “Chef and Waiter of the Year” or the Spanish final for the best Neapolitan pizza.
The catering sector will be given greater prominence this year: a new meeting point has been reserved for this sector, where companies can meet and hold presentations and other events.
In addition, Alimentaria has reformulated the composition of the Alimentaria Trends this year, so that organic food and delicatessen now have their own section. The FoodTech sector also gets its own area and expands its range of comprehensive technological solutions for the food and beverage industry.
