Fruitful crossovers between Food Service Equipment and the world of Bakery, Pizza, Pasta have always been driving forces for Italian production and beyond. This affinity between supply chains becomes business at HostMilano, whose 2023 edition is at fieramilano in Rho from Friday 13 to Tuesday 17 October – where the two sectors are presented together in a single macro-area.

International trade is a good demonstration of this: according to Export Planning, in 2022 Italy exported catering equipment to the Gulf States worth over 206 million euros and bakery and pastry machinery worth 23 million euros. Among the most well-established markets, last year trade with Germany came close to 867 million euros for food equipment (of which 638 million in Italian exports) and over 38 million euros for bakery and pastry (with Italian exports totalling over 24 million euros).

And between now and 2026, trade will grow by more than 5-6%, with double-digit peaks in the Gulf States. And thanks among other things to the strongly international nature of Host, the exhibitors prove to be very much aware of the close link between internationalisation and the drive towards sustainable innovation.

Technology, consultancy, and sustainability

“For us, innovation means not only creating new Made in Italy machinery, but also providing professional assistance and advice,” explains Federica Pari, of Fimar’s Marketing and Communication division, “We are ISO9001 certified and, in terms of sustainability, we are partners of Recycla, with whom we won the Ecol Design Award 2022. We are also helping to grow an Eco-Forest.”

Sustainability is also a priority for Imperia & Monferrina: “Sustainability, design and innovation are reflected not only in the product, but also in the market and in processes,” adds Dario Ancona. “We take an all-round approach to these aspects at 360 degrees, also because we export to over 100 countries: we have been using renewable energy for seven years and since 2022 we have had a photovoltaic system, which supplies us with 45% of our energy. We are also studying low energy consumption machinery."

The CEO of Sigma, Stefano Salvadori, finally, singles out technology, and more specifically automation: “The demand for automation is growing, also because of staffing difficulties. This is why we are aiming to introduce automated solutions increasingly connected with IoT systems, as well as making energy savings in response to price increases. As for current trends, we still see pizza growing, in particular Rome’s ‘pinsa’ version at an international level.”

At Host 2023, innovation will feature prominently throughout the exhibition sequence. Come and discover it by purchasing your ticket online now.