· The appointment will be “in person” and in complete safety at fieramilano

· The desire to go out is growing, in Italy and abroad

· In the first quarter of 2021, Professional Catering is at +23% compared to the corresponding period of 2019

· In order to benefit from synergies between similar and complementary sectors, HostMilano will be held in conjunction with TUTTOFOOD

· Events include the Smart Label Innovation Award, Luxury Pastry by Iginio Massari and the SCA World Coffee Championships.

Milan, 26 July 2021. The recovery has already begun for going out. This is what the world trade data says, and it is confirmed by the latest surveys on consumer and company behaviour in the mechanical sector. Once again, therefore, for the entire world of professional hospitality, the appointment not to be missed - Professional Catering and Bread Pizza Pasta at the front - will be at HostMilano (at fieramilano, from 22 to 26 October 2021), an event that has implemented itself as a real hub of global equipment for the restart of the entire Ho.Re.Ca. sector. As always, for the 42nd time, the stars will be all the world’s key players from the sector; ready to finally meet in person in complete safety, using the Safe Together protocol which was tested last September. It includes numerous structural interventions which have been put in place at the exhibition centre (https://www.fieramilano.it/sicurinsieme/).

Going out: the recovery has already begun

The recovery has already begun for various professional hospitality sectors, such Professional Catering, bakeries, Bar, Coffee Machines and Vending, Ice Cream, Pastry and Confectionery and Table Service Technology, after last year’s difficulties. Underlining this is data from ExportPlanning, according to which world trade for the Professional Catering sector has already recorded a boom in the first quarter of 2021 (+22.8% for values in euros compared to the first quarter of 2020 and, even more importantly, +23% compared to the corresponding period of 2019). There was also strong growth in the Made in Italy sector, which in the same segment saw a strong rise (+20.8% for values in euros compared to the corresponding period in 2020 and +7.5% compared to the same period in 2019). But that’s not all: according to the latest survey released by Anima Confindustria (an association that includes companies in the professional catering equipment supply chain) in the first half of July, two out of three companies - within a heterogeneous sample representing almost all of Anima’s sectors - said they expect a complete recovery from the losses suffered in 2020 by the end of 2021.

As far as consumers are concerned, a recent report by the research company NPD Group underlines that for Italians the desire to go out has already shot up, with 41% of consumers already frequenting bars and restaurants as they did before the pandemic, and 53% will return to do so by the end of the year.

For the period 2021-2024, world trade (and Italian exports) will register a strong growth, especially in professional catering (+6.9% average annual growth in the period 2021-'24) and in the Bread Pizza Pasta sector.

Professional Catering, more than half of companies are foreign

It’s an ideal marketplace to encounter all the most important aspects of professional hospitality, Italian and international. Of the more than 1100 exhibitors who have confirmed their presence at the 2021 edition of HostMilano; coming from 40 countries (including markets such as Germany, France, Spain, USA, Portugal, Holland, Greece and the United Kingdom), 44% of the total belong to the macro-area dedicated to Professional Catering and to Baking, with an international percentage that, on average, is close to 40%, in the case of Professional Catering reaching 53%.

For everyone - among the names, just to name a few, are companies of the calibre of Ali Group, Sirman, True Refrigeration and Viessmann (Catering); Tagliavini, Italforni, Sigma, Atollspeed and FM Caleffacion (Bread Pizza Pasta) - it will be an opportunity not only to get a closer look at new products, but especially to meet “in real life” after so many months, comparing each other with the large representation of hosted buyers (currently about 600) expected in Milan thanks to the continuous support of ICE/ITA Agency and the many partnerships signed with some of the most important international associations.

HostMilano and TUTTOFOOD: two exhibitions in one

Buyers are convinced: “The restaurant world has already changed, and will change even more in the coming years. This is why it is essential to be present at an event like Host, where you can observe product and process innovations". And again: “Finding exhibitors from Host and TUTTOFOOD under one roof will allow us to understand new trends and how consumer behaviour has changed even better, by observing all the supply chains present.” Thanks to the simultaneous holding of TUTTOFOOD, the leading event in the agri-food ecosystem, buyers who will be present in person in the halls of Rho Fiera will be able to take advantage of the synergies between two highly complementary sectors such as agri-food and hospitality. And not just that, to widen the audience of potential buyers there will also be MEAT-TECH , the event dedicated to technologies for meat processing and ready meals, also on the same dates.

SMART Label, Iginio Massari and SCA World Coffee Championships in the foreground

Faithful to its tradition as a trendsetter for all the Ho.re.ca. supply chains, the next edition of Hostmilano will also offer, alongside with business opportunities, an agenda of over 800 events - national and international competitions, show-cooking, in-depth seminars - divided among its macro-areas.

The place of honour belongs to the great SMART Label - Host Innovation Award showcase, the competition open to all innovative companies; organised by Fiera Milano and HostMilano in collaboration with POLI.Design Consorzio del Politecnico di Milano (Milan Polytechnic Consortium) with the patronage of ADI - Associazione Italiana per il Disegno Industriale (Italian Association for Industrial Design). This year 79 candidatures have been submitted, with more than half of the aspiring winners coming from the Food service equipment sector. Also making a return is “Luxury Pastry in the World” by Iginio Massari, the concept created by the Master of Italian and international pastry that puts together some of the most important players in the global sweet industry.

The latest new entry among the "top" events of the show concerns the agreement reached with the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), the association representing thousands of coffee professionals, from producers to baristas all over the world, for the holding of the SCA 2021 World Barista Championship, World Brewers Cup and World Cup Tasters Championship, the trio of events that marks the return of coffee to HostMilano in grand style.

Within the macro area Professional Catering Bread Pizza Pasta, however, not to be missed will be the Panettone World Championship, organized by the Academy of Masters of Mother Yeast and Italian Panettone. At its side, there will be the initiatives put in place by the Association of Bakers of Milan and Provinces of Confcommercio Milano the stars behind the Bakery Academy. Show-cooking and tastings will also animate the stand hosted by the pasta-making partners of A.P.Pa.Fre. - Association of Fresh Pasta Producers of Small and Medium Enterprises, while Pizza e Pasta Italiana will present a new format: Slices- Pizza Culture for professionals; seminars, demonstrations and debates to taste and share, "Slices" of organizational culture and processing techniques dedicated to pizza professionals.

Catering 4.0 will instead be a special Observatory on the digitalization of the sector by FIPE - Federazione Italiana Pubblici Esercizi. To liven up the show, there will also be a series of presentations, workshops and round tables dedicated to the future of hospitality organized by Foodservice Consultants Society International (FCSI) which will be joined by the Horeca Digital Academy, a training course that, between theory and practice, will involve all the main players in the world of professional hospitality, with the shared goal of training the caterer of today and tomorrow. In the beating heart of the fair, an important space for learning, meeting and staying updated will be offered by the Food - Technology Lounge, the reference point for Made in Italy technologies of Food and Ho.Re.Ca., made available by ANIMA Confindustria Meccanica Varia with its associations Aqua Italia, Assofoodtec, Fiac, Uida, and by EFCEM Italia, together with the synergy of ICIM Group and Eurovent.

Finally, Digital Talks will be back for the 2021 edition of Host, a series of in-depth seminars conceived in collaboration with POLI.design, and aimed at architects and experts of the sector in search of opportunities for professional updating; at the centre of discussions will be the most topical themes applied to the professional hospitality sector.