Are you ready for HostMilano 2019?

Design, trends and visual appeal are the focus of HostMilano 2019. Television and social media influencers have altered the way people perceive bread and pastry making. The bakery industries are evolving where bread (including pizza) and pastries are exploring new ingredients and new technology to become more gourmet.

Visitors to HostMilano, held at Fieramilano from October 18 to 22, 2019 are invited to discover the latest in food industry innovations. Seven months prior to opening, this premier event for HORECA industries already registered 50 countries. A total of 1,653 companies will be represented, of which 949 (57.41 per cent) are Italian and 704 (42.59 per cent) are international.

Exports and production are on the rise worldwide
According to the Ulisse Information System, industrial kitchen equipment specializing in “machinery for bakeries, pastry and biscuit making” totalled EU2.5 billion in 2017. Despite having slowed down over the last few years, the market is in an upswing for the 2019-2021 projection (+3.8 per cent yearly average).

The strongest growth will be the premium-priced products which, in 2018 accounted for about 30 per cent of the world total alone. In terms of imports, the United States, China, Germany, Russia and Canada are the “richest” main markets for the sector, with a particular growth recorded in the last five years in the USA and Russia, mainly in the high range segments.

Italy is the market leader for international exports with a global market share at 30.6 per cent, and is predicted to climb until 2021. Despite these numbers, the leadership of Italy was undermined by the growth of Austria, specializing mainly in the premium-price segments, over the past five years.

The bread is on-trend, even among chefs
Thanks to a more sedentary lifestyle and the advent of social media, a “new wave” of bakery has reached Italy cross-pollinating artisanal and commercial elements. For example, chefs and pastry chefs have started to take an interest in bread-baking, and even supermarkets are seeking skills of artisan bread bakers.

Hand-crafted bread, slow rising doughs and recipes that put a twist on tradition, are being highlit in bread making. Pizza, for instance, is another everyday dish that is being re-interpreted in gourmet approaches. The trend of adding new ingredients, from grains with lower gluten content and sourdough, to the use of special salts to result in a healthier, more digestible and naturally tasty pizza.

And there is more. Bread’s new status as gourmet food has boosted the opening of points of sales including cafés and pastry shops, and extended its consumption for lunch and appetizers. In terms of exposure, it is always important to have attractive products that can enhance a shop’s display, due to the wide influence of social media on the bakery world.

Patisserie – Luxury, fashion and design while respecting tradition
In the bakery as in pastry sector alike, however, serving good products is no longer enough to win consumer loyalty: Luxury, style and food design have become the new must of gourmet patisserie.

Experts believe that amateur pastry professionals will disappear, but high-quality and the fusion of culinary cultures will prevail. But more importantly, pastries must be delicious. In other words, although the trend in pastries is in the direction of elegance, sharpness and beauty, quality is always the underlying factor, driven by customers who are increasingly better informed and who ask for local products.

The growing need for smaller square footage capitalises on transparent display cases, posable lighting and boutique-like furnishings to enhance products and create spaces for traditional pastry take-away and also for on-site enjoyment, from breakfast to appetizers.

HostMilano rewards innovation with the SMART Label Host Innovation Award
Hospitality and innovation are two qualities that make Hostmilano the hotspot for solutions that shape the future of hospitality. Thanks to the Smart Label Host Innovation Award. The competition organised by Fiera Milano and HostMilano, in
partnership with POLI.Design (Milan Polytechnic Consortium) and sponsored by ADI (the Italian Association for Industrial Design), have over the past three events handed out more than 150 awards and 20 special awards to prime players in the Italian and international hospitality industry.

This year the five-member international jury of university professors, professionals and international experts with extensive experience in design, hospitality and energy saving will vote on innovation and the smartest solutions. The panel will assess the candidates’ products, services and projects, under the following criteria: efficiency and effectiveness of the products and services, and ease of use of services, and innovative usability, technologies and benefits for its users.

The Pizza, Cake Designers and Pastry, Ice Cream and Chocolate Championships will also be in the spotlight
In addition to meeting with some of the most important national and international companies in the HORECA sector, the booths of Hostmilano 2019 will also include focus seminars, training on the hottest topics of the day and contests featuring the most important names in the hospitality industry. For instance, the biennial European Pizza Championship, organised by Pizza e Pasta Italiana and by Scuola Italiana Pizzaioli brings together European pizza makers to challenge each other in an exciting contest.

The spotlight will also be on the 2019 edition of the Cake Designers World Championship and of the World Trophy of Pastry, Ice Cream and Chocolate, organized by the Federazione Internazionale Pasticceria Gelateria Cioccolateria. Organised once every two years, the championships will be held for the third time during Hostmilano, respectively on October 19 and 20, 2019 and on October 21 and 22, 2019. The theme for both competitions will be the art and tradition of each participant’s country. Points will be awarded for appearance and taste.

For updates, go to www.host.fieramilano.it, @HostMilano, #Host2019.