That’s why HostMilano never stops. As it moves on from a successful 2023 edition, it has already set in motion Road to Host, a roadmap to the 2025 edition that displays around the world the event’s ability to anticipate trends, with a special focus on North and South America, the Middle East and Gulf countries, Asia and Europe. First stop: Toronto, where Host 2025 is meeting the Canadian market.

From applications of artificial intelligence to robotics, from machine learning to increasingly articulated IoT user interfaces – which allow to task machines with routine processes, freeing up the creativity of food service professionals – to creative and innovative formats and layouts that meet the consumers’ new habits, and all this will be at Host 2025: HostMilano once again proves itself as a reference point for next-generation research, translated into practical and sustainable applications thanks to technology and eco-design.

Nowhere is this more obvious than with Smart Label - Host Innovation Award, dedicated to innovation in the hospitality sector, and promoted by HostMilano and Fiera Milano in partnership with POLI.design and sponsored by ADI – Italian Association for Industrial Design. At Host 2025, Smart Label returns for its seventh edition, increasingly recognized as an international reference that attests to a company’s ability to innovate, thanks to its focus on three categories that reflect the latest research in the industry: the ‘classic’ Smart Label will reward products with a particularly distinctive innovative content; the Innovation Smart Label is the recognition for innovation that marks a breakthrough in established trends; the Green Smart Label will be awarded to products with distinctive features in terms of energy saving, environmental compatibility and eco-sustainability.

With its first stop in Toronto, HostMilano aims to involve a wide range of Canadian stakeholders in a market of great interest: there are nearly 98,000 out-of-home venues in Canada, while food and beverage spending amounts to 34 billion Canadian dollars, or more than 21 billion euros. In addition, Canada is an interesting market because of its traditional ability to anticipate consumer trends. According to a recent study by Angus Reid, 85 percent of Canadians eat out at least once a month, while 40 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds do so once a week. The study also notes that today’s consumers are increasingly looking for value, convenience and experience, and as many as 25 percent won’t compromise on cost to ensure the quality of a restaurant meal.

Stay tuned to learn about the next stages of Road to Host, which will continue to preside over and promote innovation and new trends ahead of HostMilano’s next edition, at fieramilano in Milan-Rho, from October 17 through 21, 2025.