The brilliant recovery of the US’s hospitality bodes well for the future. But what are the trends in catering? “They were already growing before the pandemic, but since 2020 the takeaway and delivery segment is booming and we are working hard to provide the best solutions on the market,” explains Isabelle Bouwen, Hatco's European Sales Manager. The American company will be present at Host21 with strategic equipment for the sector, including heated shelves for pick stations for delivery, heated storage cabinets, merchandising possibilities for canned and packaged foods. All designed for safe food delivery, reducing moments of contact and waiting lines in their operations.

Technology and healthiness guide the requests of the new customer according to Alberto Ferracin, Winco's international sales director. “New technologies are creating products such as bio-conditioned foods, which are broken down and then reconstituted on the basis of artificial intelligence. There is a deeper understanding of the F&B components at the molecular level. Quantum computing allows companies to simplify and accelerate the process. And as new and fresh supplies are generated, it becomes a competitive advantage. On the other end of the spectrum, where the use of technology is frowned upon, we see a strong growth in vegan food trends, even demanded by more nutritionally aware non-vegans. The takeaway will stay. After the initial struggle to perfect ordering processes, maintain food quality standards, and find the right packaging, many restaurants have been successful and this will be an additional revenue stream. In the future I also see simplified contactless payments thanks to cards without PIN or ApplePay”.

The company will unveil a new durable and sustainable collection of food delivery system tools that help caterers improve customer service and maintain and increase revenue streams.

In terms of trade relations between Italy and the USA in 2020, Italian exports of equipment for Horeca to the US market held up, losing only 2.2% in value. The best performance was in professional catering (+22.8% in dollar values), while the sector most penalized was that of coffee - coffee machines and vending machines (-19.9%). Bakery machines are down 14%, excellent performance of Italian sales of packaged ice cream, up on the US market in 2020 by over 46%. Favorable performances are expected in 2021 for the Coffee-Coffee Machines-Vending (+ 1.4% compared to 2020) and Bakery & Pastry (+12.2%) sectors, but increases are also expected for Furniture & Table (+9.2 %) and professional catering (+ 4.7%).

In the 2021-2024 scenario, Italian exports from the HostMilano world to the US market will increase in dollar values ​​by 8.8% this year and by an average annual +2.2% in the period 2022-2024. Over the total period, they will rise from $ 1.4 billion in 2020 to nearly $ 1.7 billion expected in 2024.