“After the difficult years of the pandemic, the Ho.Re.Ca sector in Italy is starting to grow exponentially again and that is leading to an increased demand for equipment,” says Erwin Pas, sales manager with Astoria. “Italy’s espresso coffee culture can be exported all over the world, but foreign markets also focus on milk-based beverages, so they require multi-boiler machines to differentiate the temperature of the groups for the various coffee blends. There is therefore a need for technologies that simplify the work of the barista and ensure that the milk- and coffee-based beverages served are of the highest quality.”

The three main trends influencing the sector are the need for a fast, easy-to-understand interface, the best milk-frothing technology (the auto-steamer) and finally the opportunity to monitor and programme the machine remotely (telemetry).

Astoria’s flagship product is the new machine that took part in the World Barista Championship in Melbourne: it offers stable water temperature (a big factor in coffee quality), a touchscreen display from which the machine’s functions can be programmed and optional extras such as telemetry and a cool-touch wand that uses the dry steam method.

Sustainability must come first, believes Véronique van Zyl, head of Marketing & Communications Parchment, Beverage & Casing at Ahlstrom, the Finnish company that also produces coffee capsules and pods. “The main trend is to replace plastic and unsustainable packaging with recyclable and/or compostable solutions made from raw materials that come from renewable sources. We sell our products worldwide and we see the same trends in EMEA, America and ASIA but at different speeds. The European market is the one most attentive to sustainability issues.”

The three trends that are redefining the coffee capsule industry are sustainability, high protection of the packaged product, and the possibility to have these features without changing the packaging lines.

The best-selling products are compostable filter paper and capsule lidding: “solutions that help the customers to improve their market positioning towards increasingly sustainability-conscious customers.,” says van Zyl, finally.

SIC, the well-established international coffee fair is one of the main macro areas at HostMilano. It interacts constantly with the Gelato and Pastry areas, presents all the main players in the machinery sector and showcases all aspects of the production chain. The next edition of HostMilano will be held at fieramilano Rho from 13 to 17 October 2023.