Alimentaria+Hostelco Introduces New Spaces that Redefine the Future of Horeca
Alimentaria + Hostelco will present one of its most comprehensive programmes for the Horeca channel, structured around The Horeca Hub, the new The Coffee Stage and The Bakery & Pastry Hub. These three dedicated spaces will focus on trend analysis, business content, live demonstrations, tastings, competitions and professional activities. From 23 to 26 March at Fira de Barcelona´s Gran Via venue, the fair will bring together experts, entrepreneurs, chefs, operators and suppliers from across the foodservice, catering and equipment sectors.
The 2026 edition places the Horeca sector firmly at the center of Alimentaria + Hostelco, with The Horeca Hub positioned as the event´s largest dedicated meeting venue for channel professionals. Covering 3,000 m2, the Hub will host close to 200 activities, ranging from strategic sessions and live demonstrations to tastings and product showcases focused on hospitality solutions.
More than 600 companies from the Horeca and foodservice sectors, 30% of them international, will exhibit, drawing an estimated 50,000 professionals from the channel, alongside around 1,000 strategic buyers.
In the words of J. Antonio Valls, General Manager of Alimentaria Exhibitions, a Fira de Barcelona company, organiser of the event, “Alimentaria+Hostelco is taking a decisive step to support the transformation of the HORECA channel, with new spaces specifically designed for the sector. We have strengthened our commitment to innovation and competitiveness in a strategic area like never before, offering a meeting point capable of anticipating trends and generating new growth opportunities”.
The Horeca Hub will also host a congress programme designed to respond to the real needs of the HORECA sector. The program will address emerging trends, consumer evolution, digital transformation, new business models, operational efficiency, and customer experience. Speakers such as Jorge Marichal (CEHAT), Miguel Ángel Sanz (Turespaña), Jennifer Pettinger (Global Restaurant Investment Forum), Rebeca Muñoz (Livit), Carlos Reig (La Confiteria), Juan Umbert (Makeat), Emilio Gallego (CEHE), Víctor Mayans (Artiem Hotel) and Paula Gertel and Cameron Fraser (founders of Gertel & Fraser), will provide practical keys to anticipate the changes that will impact the restaurant industry.
The event´s international vision will be reflected in the Imagine Foodservice Europe congress, which will bring together the main leaders of European branded restaurant sector. The programme, organised in collaboration with Marcas de Restauración, will address challenges and opportunities linked to the economic context, new consumption habits, digitalisation, automation, sustainability and the emerging dynamics of organised catering. Other prominent international speakers include Dirk Jacobs (FoodDrinkEurope), Henry McGovern (McWin), João Almeida (KFC) or Enrique Francia (FoodBox) and Marion Racine (Taco Bell), among many others.
Great Chefs
The Horeca Hub will also feature some of the greatest figures of the culinary scene, Including chefs Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch and Mateu Casañas (Disfrutar***); Paolo Casagrande (Lasarte***), Paco Pérez (Miramar**), Hideki Matsuhisa (Koy Shunka*) and the Torres brothers (Cocina Hermanos Torres***), among others. These chefs will lead live showcookings within the program “The City of Prodigies – Origin and Destiny” bringing together the best independent haute cuisine restaurants and chefs in Barcelona, as well as Catalan chefs who have triumphed outside the city.
This edition will also host the celebration of the First International Cooking Championship of Alimentaria, sponsored by Alimentos de España. It will be the first international professional team cooking competition organised in Spain under the global standards of the World Association of Chefs Societies, which brings together more than 12 million chefs in 110 countries.
The HORECA Awards 2026 will also be presented during the event. Now, in their eighth edition, the awards are consolidated as a great recognition of the horeca, foodservice and retail ecosystem in Spain, as well as other awards such as Chef of the Year or Waiter of the Year.
Bakery, pastry and coffee
Another new feature of this edition is The Bakery & Pastry Hub, a space dedicated to talent and innovation in bakery, pastry, chocolate and ice cream. This space will feature the participation of leading professionals who will share techniques, recipes, innovative ingredients and cutting-edge technological solutions. Participants include Joan Roca (Roca Brothers); the Argentine influencer Ramón Garriga, known as ‘Gluten Morgen’; Miquel Guarro, activist and defender of artisan pastry; Nikita Harwich, the most important chocolate historian; pastry chef Irene Amat; influencer and Best Pastry Chef in the World 2024, Antonio Bachour; and Lluc Crusellas (World Chocolate Master 2022), among others.
This edition will also host the Best Bread Award, held for the first time, judged by a panel of bakers, historians, food critics and baking experts, who will recognise the most outstanding proposals for their technique, flavour, texture and overall quality.
Coffee will also play a prominent role in the new The Coffee Stage, with a dedicated congress that will address the great growth potential of this category in the HORECA channel, with specialists from the sector who will analyse the profitability of coffee as a strategic product, its role in customer experience and loyalty, and evolving consumer behaviour. The program will include professional cuppings & tastings, barista championships and immersive activities such as the Coffee Rave. Confirmed speakers include Andre Barretto (My Coffee Guide), Eire Schepper (Eira Coffee) or Montserrat Prieto (AECafé).
Connecting the industry and hospitality of the future
Alimentaria+Hostelco, organised by Alimentaria Exhibitions, a Fira de Barcelona company, expects to have the participation of around 3,300 exhibiting companies, which will occupy 100,000m2 net and 7 pavilions, practically the entire Gran Vía venue of Fira de Barcelona. The event, which celebrates its 50th anniversary, expects to receive more than 110,000 professional visitors, 25% of them international, reaffirming its leadership as the main platform for business, internationalization and networking.