A country that is getting back on its feet after a long period of recession, with drive and creativity, but with its eye on energy saving and the ease with which machines are used. This is the Greece that emerges from interviews with the companies that will be exhibiting at HostMilano from 13 to 17 October.

At the centre is a bar scene which is now particularly well established in Athens and Thessaloniki.

So what trends are being seen? One indication comes from Kiosidis Christodoulos, head of research and development at Johny Kiosidis Private Company, a company that produces commercial bar equipment.

While the spotlight is on zero waste and clean drinks, made from just a few, clearly-labelled ingredients, “on the innovation front bars are looking for automatic simplified equipment for the redistillation procedure,” while brunch and vegan drinks are among the most fashionable trends right now in the Greek hospitality sector.

As for technology, robotics and IoT: “Human beings will always be important in coffee-bar experience interaction. Robots may help in takeaways and other auxiliary tasks.”

George Lazaridis, owner and director of Vimitex, which makes professional kitchen appliances, believes that in the catering sector “we will see a change in the selection criteria of kitchen equipment. Attractiveness will make room for (or even hand over the reins to) robust, energy-efficient machines, and dependence on over-complicated machines will be avoided. The focus will be on modern appliances which focus on low consumption, energy saving but also ease of cleaning. We are studying low consumption fry top gas griddles.” On the sustainability front, there is a strong push towards accelerating the use of renewable energies.

Alex Kadoglou, head of exports for Niki-Inox, which manufactures professional refrigerators, says that energy saving has started to become a decisive factor since the sharp rise in energy costs “but for the majority of clients, price and reliability are the most important, because a very big segment of the Greek market is operated by small businesses. It is also very seasonal due to the summer vacation period. Refrigerators run for a few months only, and so the buying price becomes more important.”