If the recovery has already begun in the out-of-home, it is essential to understand where the sector is heading and what the customer's new wishes are. For this reason, the biennial appointment with HostMilano has always been crucial. Not only to finally see first-hand the new products: as always, also in this 42nd edition, the protagonists will be the world key players in the sector ready to finally meet again in person, and in complete safety, using the Safe Together protocol (https: //www.fieramilano.it/sicurinsieme/). And among the 1100 exhibitors who confirmed their presence from 40 countries (among these, there are markets such as Germany, France, Spain, USA, Portugal, Holland, Greece and the United Kingdom), 44% of the total belongs to the macro-area dedicated to professional catering and white art, with an international rate of almost 40%.

But the dozens of very high-profile events will also be crucial which, today more than ever, intend to answer the question we all ask ourselves: which direction will catering take?

The eyes will therefore be focused on the winners of SMART Label - Host Innovation Award, the competition organized by Fiera Milano and HostMilano in collaboration with POLI.Design Consorzio del Politecnico di Milano with the patronage of ADI - Italian Association for Industrial Design, which sees more than half of the aspiring winners from Food service equipment.

Digitization is one of the hot topics that need to be addressed: and it is in fact the focus of Catering 4.0 by FIPE - Italian Federation of Public Businesses.

An insightful look at the sector will mark the presentations, workshops and round tables dedicated to the future of hospitality organized by the expert consultants of Foodservice Consultants Society International (FCSI).

The new eating out experience will be the pivot of Horeca Digital Academy by APCI Professional Association of the Italian Chefs, a training course that, between theory and practice, will involve all the protagonists of the world of professional hospitality, with the aim of training the restaurateur of today and tomorrow.

An important space where to get to know and meet new people and keep updated on the novelties of the sector will be the one offered by the Food - Technology Lounge, the reference for the Made in Italy technologies of Food and Ho.Re.Ca. made available by ANIMA Confindustria Meccanica Varia.

Finally, the Digital Talks will return for the 2021 edition of HostMilano, the in-depth seminars in collaboration with POLI.design aimed at architects and industry experts looking for opportunities for professional updating. At the center of the meetings, the most topical issues applied to the professional hospitality sector.

Being there this year, at Host21, is more important than ever: by connecting to the website https://host.fieramilano.it/en/visitare/biglietteria.html from 2 August to 20 September, you can take advantage of special discounts. The presale service will in any case be active until the last day of the event.