Hostelco and Restaurama merge to create the benchmark event in the Horeca sector
Hostelco, the International Restaurant, Hotel, Catering and Community Equipment and Machinery Show, and Restaurama, the show aimed at the Horeca and Foodservice channel, are merging their offerings to consolidate their position as the European benchmark event for the sector. Thus, next March, within the framework of Alimentaria, they will integrate a range of equipment, food and beverages with the presence of 600 exhibitors.
Both fairs will thus return to Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via exhibition centre from 18 to 21 March 2024, with the aim of boosting business in the sector, opening up new international markets and showcasing the latest developments in the industry. And it will do so with a renewed proposal that brings together in the same space the range of equipment and food products for the catering, hotel and catering, central purchasing, distribution and retail sectors.
The platform will also share experiences and offer multiple activities for professionals with the aim of fostering knowledge and innovation, while at the same time highlighting the value of gastronomy and promoting sustainability as a key tool for growth.
The alliance between Hostelco and Restaurama creates a unique space that offers multiple possibilities.
According to the president of Hostelco, Pere Taberner, “the alliance between Hostelco and Restaurama creates a unique space that offers multiple possibilities, adds synergies and creates new opportunities for a sector that increasingly requires joint, innovative and customised solutions for products and services for the horeca channel”. “That is why we are preparing for 2024 the most ambitious joint proposal in recent years, totally focused on the business of the companies and the needs of the sector’s professionals”, he adds.
In this sense, Taberner also highlighted the value of the presidency that he shares with Jordi Gallés, executive president of Europastry, of an organising committee that has managed to bring together some of the most prominent players from all sectors of demand and supply, such as Bongard, Caterdata, Frigicoll, Ibersol, Icg, Intecno, Jacobs Douwe Egberts, McDonalds Spain, Quantum, Pordamsa, Rancilio, Unilever Spain, Uve Solutions and Welbilt, together with the most representative industry associations, including Aecoc, Cehat, Fedis Horeca, Foodservice Institute, Hostelería de España and ITH.
New areas and grouped offer
The main new features of the next edition of Hostelco and Restaurama will be the Coffee, Bakery and Pastry area and The Horeca Hub. The first will occupy practically the whole of Hall 7 and will bring together the entire range of products and equipment on offer in the coffee, bar, bakery, patisserie and ice cream sectors. The space will also have a dynamic area with activities, including workshops, demonstrations, tastings, talks and competitions to encourage contacts between professionals.
The Horeca Hub will be the nerve centre with a variety of proposals that will address the main challenges facing the sector: innovation, digitalisation, customer experience, artificial intelligence, sustainability, attracting and retaining talent and differentiation. There will be live cooking exhibitions, tastings, talks, conferences and seminars for professionals; there will also be a showcase of innovative solutions, as well as the chef and waiter of the year competitions, among others. In addition, the collective catering area will gain prominence with the new Catering in Collectivities Meeting Point area, which will bring together companies from the sector around an area for talks and demonstrations.
For the first time, the Hostelco and Restaurama offer will occupy Halls 4 and 6 together and will be integrated. Thus, equipment, machinery and accessories for the hospitality industry, menus, interior design and decoration and technology will be on display together with the range of food products aimed at catering and out-of-home food, the food service divisions of large multinationals in the sector, as well as the leading brands in the market.
Other activities will also be programmed, such as the Hostelco Awards, which will distinguish the best initiatives in the sector, and the Food and Hospitality Startups, with a selection of start-ups.
At its last edition, held in May 2022, Alimentaria & Hostelco was attended by more than 3,000 exhibiting companies, 29% of which were international from 57 countries, and 100,000 visitors.
