BARCELONA, Spain, March 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The leading international business platform for food, beverages, food service and hospitality equipment will return to Fira de Barcelona's Gran Via exhibition center (Spain) from 18 to 21 March 2024, with a 15% increase in the number of foreign exhibitors compared to the previous edition. Of the 3,200 exhibiting companies, 900 will be international.

Alimentaria&Hostelco 2024, which will bring together a high-quality, cross-cutting range of products and services, will beat its record for internationalization. In this edition, business opportunities for the Horeca channel in the international sphere, especially in Europe, will be further boosted.

After Spain, the country that will occupy the most space at the event will be Italy, followed by Turkey, China and Hong Kong, Poland, Portugal, France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Argentina. In most cases, they are growing in terms of both size and number of companies compared to 2022. The presence of Asian companies stands out, led by China and Hong Kong, with notable representation from Taiwan, Thailand and South Korea.

Some 100,000 trade visitors are expected, 25% of them international. To maximize business opportunities, its buyer invitation program will bring together more than 2,200 importers, distributors, directors and purchasing managers at the highest level. Of these, more than half are international, coming from 80 nations, headed by the United States, Mexico, China, Canada, the United Kingdom and South Korea, followed by the main destination countries for Spanish imports in Europe and Latin America.

The exhibition platform will occupy seven pavilions, spread over 100,000 net m2. Alimentaria's exhibition program will be divided into 13 sectors: Intercarn (meat and meat products); Interlact (dairy products); Expoconser (preserves); Restaurama (food service); Snacks, Biscuits & Confectionery; Fine Foods (gourmet products); Organic Foods; Coffee, Bakery & Pastry; Alimentaria Trends - which includes the Plant Based, Vegan Foods, Free From (allergen-free foods), Functional Foods and Halal segments, International Pavilions (which brings together a large part of the foreign institutional participation), Lands of Spain (where all the territories of Spain are represented), Grocery Foods (with the presence of the most important brands) and FoodTech (dedicated to equipment for the food and beverage industry). In addition, Premium will bring together nine haute cuisine firms in Alimentaria's most exclusive space.

The Hostelco show will exhibit equipment, products, services and activities so that professionals from the restaurant, hotel and catering and community sectors can find new products, creative ideas and proposals for innovative business formats.

February 2024

Alimentaria Press

Susana Santamaria: ssantamaria@alimentaria.com

Hostelco Press

Gloria Dilluvio: gdilluvio@firabarcelona.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/130a9be4-bb80-451c-87c3-96bebcce811b