Innovation and technology. Whichever way you look at it, the world of Ho.Re.Ca (like so many other sectors) needs to keep these two factors in mind if it wants to get back on its feet and rise to the challenges of the new post-Covid world and all the stimulating ideas and resources it will bring. But just how do you use technology to satisfy the needs that have emerged in recent months? What new marketing and consumer strategies do you adopt to cater to the tastes and preferences of ever more demanding consumers? And what will be the “smartest” solutions to ensure success in the 4.0 age?

Answers to these questions will as ever be provided by the companies selected to take part in the latest edition of Smart Label, Host Innovation Award for innovation in the professional hospitality sector promoted by Host–Fiera Milano, in partnership with POLI.design and supported by ADI, Italy’s Industrial Design Association.

And, as always, the degree of innovation offered by the products taking part will be judged by a panel of experts who will come together and pool their extensive knowledge in academic and manufacturing fields. As in the last edition, Iginio Massari, the master pastry chef known for his world-class skills in confectionery and pastry making, will be joined by five nationally and internationally acclaimed representatives from the worlds of academia and design: university lecturers, professionals and experts in design, hospitality and energy saving from Italy and abroad.

The jury members will be: Matteo Ingaramo, CEO of POLI.design; Fayun Zhu, a lecturer at the China Academy of Art, deputy general manager of the Design Intelligence Award committee office and founder of the Han Pin design agency; Francesco Zurlo, vice-principal of the Design School at Politecnico di Milano and chairman of the board of directors and legal representative POLI.design; Shujoy Chakraborty, from Russia, assistant professor in product design at the University of Madeira (UMa), Department of Art and Design; and Venanzio Arquilla, associate professor at the Design School, Politecnico di Milano.

Now in its fifth edition, the Smart Label, Host Innovation Award is open to all companies that have registered for HostMilano 2021. In the last few years alone it has made 150 awards and given 20 special mentions to major players in Ho.Re.Ca in Italy and abroad, successfully fending off competition from hundreds of rivals – large and small – selected in three different categories: Innovation SMART Label, for products with a high innovative content, Green SMART Label, for products that stand out for innovation compared to the industry trend in reference to energy saving, and the SMART Label recognition awarded to products capable of determining significant evolutions in the relevant sectors of the company concerned. At the last edition, five Special Mentions were made by judge Iginio Massari in addition to the three main prizes.