BARCELONA, Spain, Dec. 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Alimentaria+Hostelco, the leading international platform for food, beverages, food service and hospitality equipment, and one of the main international benchmarks for the sector, will return to Fira de Barcelona's Gran Via venue from 23 to 26 March 2026, with a 41% increase in the space of international participation compared with the previous edition. More than 3,300 companies will take part as exhibitors, including nearly 1,000 international firms from more than 70 countries, with particularly strong representation from European, Asian and Latin American markets.

Alimentaria ranks among the top food industry events in Europe.

With just over four months to go before Alimentaria+Hostelco 2026, nearly 1,000 international companies have already confirmed their participation. They account for more than 30% of all exhibitors and represent an 11% increase compared with the previous edition. In addition, the exhibition space allocated to these companies is increasing by 41%.

Italy again leads international participation with more than 200 firms. Following Italy, the countries with the highest number of exhibitors will be Poland, China, Turkey, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, France, the Netherlands and Greece.

According to J. Antonio Valls, managing director of Alimentaria Exhibitions, the company of Fira de Barcelona organizer of Alimentaria+Hostelco, "The increase in international participation confirms that the show remains a global benchmark, able to attract the world's leading producers and exporters and generate new business opportunities for the food industry as a whole".

Alimentaria+Hostelco estimates that 25% of the more than 110,000 visitors expected for the next edition will come from abroad. To promote business opportunities in foreign markets, the event has a major buyer invitation programme through which it will bring together more than 1,500 importers, distributors, directors and international purchasing managers from more than 80 countries of strategic importance for exhibitors.

The programme aims to connect the sector's main decision-makers: importers, distributors and Horeca operators across hotels, restaurants, retail, cruises and travel services, both in Spain and internationally. One of the event's core features is the matchmaking meetings between invited buyers and exhibitors, which are expected 14,000.

In addition, the event will welcome buyers and importers from the United States, Mexico, mainland China and Hong Kong, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, South Korea, Singapore, Germany and Chile, followed by the main destination markets for Spanish exports in Europe and Latin America.