Alimentaria drew 109,600 pros
Alimentaria+Hostelco just closed its edition with 109,600 professional visitors and 14,500 business meetings — marking the fair’s 50th anniversary and reinforcing Barcelona’s pull for food and hospitality innovation. (Revista Mercado) (mercado.com.ar).
Alimentaria+Hostelco ran from March 23–26, 2026 at Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via exhibition centre. (alimentaria.com) Organisers reported the show hosted more than 3,300 exhibiting companies, with nearly 1,000 firms coming from over 70 countries and accounting for roughly a third of the exhibitor roster. (hostelco.com) Around a quarter of attending professionals came from outside Spain, with international visitors representing some 120 countries. (efe.com) The event occupied about 100,000 square metres across seven pavilions at the Gran Via site. (eventoplus.com) The programme included the inaugural International Alimentaria Cooking Championship (endorsed by WorldChefs), the Horeca Awards, the Chef of the Year and Waiter of the Year finals, and student-barista competitions. (alimentaria.com) Major buyers and international companies confirmed on the floor included names such as KeHE, Bidfood, Sonae, PriceSmart and Walmart, among others. (alimentaria.com) Organisers said international participation grew substantially versus the previous edition (a figure promoted as a 41% rise in international offering), and they set the next edition for March 20–23, 2028 at the same venue. (en.prnasia.com)
