With the aim of achieving greater participation and internationality
Alimentaria will be held in May 2021 by common agreement with the industry
The next edition of Alimentaria, the most important food, drinks and food service trade show in Spain and one of the most important in Europe, will take place from 17th to 20th May 2021. Fira de Barcelona has agreed with the industry on the new dates for the event, in response to requests from the industry’s leading companies and associations, with the aim of holding it next year with the greatest possible participation and internationality.
The trade show’s Organising Committee, made up of the industry’s main associations and companies, has today decided on this change in the calendar, taking into account the characteristics and needs of the industry in the current context arising from the pandemic, as well as the magnitude and international nature of an event which, in its last edition, together with HOSTELCO, brought together 4,500 companies and 150,000 professional visitors, 25% of them international.
The president of Alimentaria, Josep Lluís Bonet, highlighted that “the decision supports the majority of the industry’s productive and associative network, committing to holding the event in a more favourable environment and without so many limitations on international mobility. Our common objective is, as always, to be a great tool for the industry, its projection and to achieve the best possible edition and participation”.
The General Manager of Fira de Barcelona, Constantí Serrallonga, said that “we have chosen the new dates after assessing the situation in depth and listening to the sector, whom we thank for their support, in order to guarantee the best development of such a relevant event at national and international level, and thus contribute to the reactivation of a key industry for the country’s economy”.
Thus, such important players in the food and beverage industry as the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA); the Spanish Food & Drinks Industry Federation (FIAB); ICEX Spain Export and Investment; the Spanish Confectionery Association (Produlce); the Association of Manufacturers and Distributors (AECOC); the Meat Business Association (Anafric); and the Business Federation of Meats and Meat Industries (Fecic), among many others, have expressed their satisfaction with Alimentaria’s change in dates, as it offers greater guarantees and preserves its commercial appeal.
In this sense, for J. Antonio Valls, General Manager of Alimentaria Exhibitions, “a new scenario is opening up which makes it possible to foresee a great edition for May 2021 with the complicity of the industry, with a high degree of internationalisation and a reactivation of international demand which is so necessary both for the industry and for the trade show itself”. In this way, the celebration of Alimentaria in May guarantees the full internationality of the show, one of its great assets
Alimentaria, economic and social powwerhouse
Likewise, Alimentaria is a true economic and social driver. One of the magnitudes that reflect the importance of this event is the estimated 900 million euros of impact on the Catalan economy, including both exhibitors’ and visitors’ expenses and the potential business generated by holding it, according to a recent study by the University of Barcelona (UB).
Alimentaria 2021, which will be held at Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via venue, will project innovation and gastronomy as its benchmark values. The event will continue to include the meat (Intercarn), dairy (Interlact), canning (Expoconser), confectionery and snacks (Snacks, Biscuits & Confectionary), Mediterranean diet, fresh products, olive oils and vegetables (Mediterranean Foods) and food service (Restaurama) shows. Alongside them, Grocery Foods will bring together the leading mass-market companies and the latest trends will be shown at Alimentaria Trends, which will include delicatessen, organic and functional foods, among others. Lands of Spain, with the best native Spanish production; and the International Pavilion will complete the offer.
Fira de Barcelona will also monitor the evolution of the pandemic so that, if necessary on the dates of the event, it can apply the anti-Covid protocol that it has drawn up in collaboration with the specialist risk management consultancy Aon and the epidemiological advice of the Hospital Clínic in Barcelona in order to offer maximum safety guarantees for workers, organisers, exhibitors, visitors and suppliers.
New food forum in September
However, on September 28th and 29th, a forum is planned to be held, at the Fira de Barcelona Conference Center, on the future of the agri-food industry, restaurants, hotels and tourism, key sectors of the economy, all of them represented in the Alimentaria, Hostelco and Fòrum Gastronòmic fairs, with the participation of service and distribution companies in these areas.
Barcelona, June 29th 2020
Susana Santamaria / Salvador Bilurbina
93.452.11.04
ssantamaria@alimentaria.com