A single event showcasing the future of the hotel/restaurant/café (HoReCa) world ‘live’. The ideal location for top Italian and international players in the professional hospitality industry to mark the re-launch of the entire sector can only be HostMilano, at Fiera Milano, from 22- 26 October 2021. Experience everything from professional catering to bakery, coffee machines and vending to ice cream and confectionery – as well as tableware and table technology.
“Even in a recovery phase like the current one,” says Simona Greco, Fiera Milano’s exhibition director, “the exhibition will establish itself as a global equipment hub and a boost to innovation, thanks to the investments Fiera Milano has planned in these areas.”
The event, at the Rho Fieramilano halls, will take place ‘in person’ and in full safety, thanks to the adoption of the most up-to-date versions of the ‘Safe Together’ protocols.
The most important Italian and international hospitality
“Even in a recovery phase the exhibition will establish itself as a global equipment hub and a boost to innovation” companies will not only be able to take a close look at new products, but will also be able to meet live after so many months, discussing what the future scenarios will be in such a rapidly evolving sector as the ‘home away from home’ market.
This is the view of more than 1,100 exhibiting companies from 40 countries (including markets such as Germany, France, Spain, US, Portugal, Netherlands, Greece and the UK), with an internationality rate of almost 40% of the total number of exhibitors and a subdivision into geographical areas that sees professional catering (38%), bar, coffee machines, vending (33%) and table technology furniture (18%) accounting for 89% of the event.
At time of writing, approximately 600 buyers are coming from the most promising global markets thanks to the continuous support of ICE/ITA Agency, to which must be added those who will be present thanks to the numerous partnerships that HostMilano has established with some of the most important international associations, including FCSI.
The partnership with FCSI Italia will see the setting up of a “sustainable and safe stand” – the only one at the fair to be equipped with an innovative system for sanitizing the perimeter and internal areas (Hall 7, Stand E49 E57/F50 F58) – where Professional members and FCSI Allied members, together with universities, institutions and experts, will give life to five days of meetings and workshops on technical, scientific, management and economic issues. All this with a single objective: to present the challenges and opportunities for tackling the current period in the sector.
The events organized by FCSI Italia will also be simultaneously interpreted and translated in both Italian and English and broadcast live, streamed on a dedicated channel, giving the opportunity to participate remotely or via a dedicated web-TV, or even review them afterwards thanks to the on-demand service (for the detailed program of events, please consult the FCSI Italia website: fcsi-italia.org.
Among the novelties of HostMilano 2021 is the simultaneous running of TUTTOFOOD, the leading event in the agro-food ecosystem. Buyers attending the fair will be able to take advantage of the existing synergies between two highly complementary sectors such as agrifood and hospitality. But that’s not all; to broaden the business opportunities on the same dates there will also be MEAT-TECH, the event dedicated to technologies for meat processing and ready meals.
Networking opportunities will be further enhanced by the presence of a virtual appendix to the event, such as that offered by the ‘mymatching’ platform, with open agendas and pre-scheduled appointments with selected exhibitors.
National and international competitions
On the events front, as part of a busy schedule including national and international competitions, show- cooking and in-depth seminars, the spotlight will once again be on the great showcase of the SMART Label – Host Innovation Award. The competition, open to all innovative companies, organized by Fiera Milano and HostMilano in collaboration with POLI. Design Consortium of Politecnico di Milano, and under the patronage of ADI – the Italian Industrial Design Association. In addition to making HostMilano the ideal stage for innovation in the HoReCa universe – among the trends that emerged from the ‘submissions’ are issues such as energy saving, the use of green materials and solutions, and attention to user-friendly and customizable technological solutions – about 80 Italian and international companies competed in three separate categories: Innovation SMART Label, dedicated to products with a high content of innovation; Green SMART Label, the award for products that stand out for innovation with respect to trends in the sector in terms of energy saving; and SMART Label, the award dedicated to products capable of bringing about significant developments in the various HoReCa reference sectors.
HostMilano 2021 will host not only the second edition of the Panettone World Championship (the championship organized by the Academy of Masters of Mother Yeast and Italian Panettone, which celebrates the most famous Italian leavened product in the world), but also “Luxury Pastry in the World”.
The latter concept was devised by the Master of Italian and international pastry, Iginio Massari, and will bring together some of the world’s most important confectioners. They will be asked to discuss the future of their art, between new technologies and new consumer needs.
Also, an agreement has been reached with the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), the association representing thousands of coffee professionals, from producers to baristas all over the world, to hold the top event in the coffee industry during the five days of the event: the SCA 2021 World Barista Championship, World Brewers Cup and World Cup Tasters Championship. The agreement with SCA extends to further editions of the championships at HostMilano in 2023 and 2025.
The panorama of not-to-be-missed events concludes with Digital Talks: a series of in-depth seminars designed in collaboration with POLI.design, aimed at architects and experts in the sector looking for opportunities for professional updating and renewal.
Simone Zavettieri is exhibitions press officer in the Group Me-dia Strategy Dept. at Fiera Milano SpA
