Activities programme

A sensory and strategic journey for your business.
The Coffee and Tea Tour is an experience that connects tradition, innovation, and expert guidance. Here, roasters, manufacturers, and distributors become strategic partners, helping you create unique and profitable proposals.
Our purpose? To inspire you, advise you, and accompany you in the evolution of your business.
Discover the Coffee and Tea Tour freely!

La Ruta del Café y Té | Alimentaria

We will analyze the new role of the artisan baker in communicating with an audience saturated with artificial content. Authenticity is the best tool.

WHEN HORECA, RETAIL AND AUTOMATION COME TOGETHER

The borders have fallen.

In this Focus Session, you will discover how restaurants, retail, and new hybrid formats are creating real growth opportunities.

Cases, partnerships, and models that work.

A session to open your mind, identify new channels, and understand how to play on multiple boards without losing identity.

INDUSTRY LEADER: Pablo de la Rica

Live demonstration of our CO₂ supply solutions for hospitality, industry and events. We will cover available formats, installation and refill logistics, and how we ensure service continuity during peak demand. Designed for distributors looking for a reliable supplier, with technical support and agile logistics.

Food in care homes is key to resident satisfaction and well-being, but it also presents a significant management challenge. This session will address how to transform mealtimes into a positive experience, balancing the center's nutritional and organizational needs, based on real-world experiences and best practices. This session is co-organized with Inforesidencias.

Coffee is experiencing one of the most relevant moments in its recent history. Popularity, new formats, emerging habits, and a category that is consolidating as a value driver for the HORECA channel. This opening session offers a clear and up-to-date overview of the coffee ecosystem, its value chain, and the strategic role of each stakeholder in the overall success. An essential introduction to understand why coffee is no longer just a beverage, but a real business opportunity.

By AE Café.

The coffee category is evolving at great speed within the OOH channel. New models, hybrid concepts, and proposals are emerging in response to increasingly demanding and better-informed consumers. This session presents the key insights from the Local Heroes Coffee & Bakeries report, focusing on trends, operational complexity, structural challenges, and growth levers. An essential snapshot to understand where today’s opportunities lie and how to capitalize on them from a business perspective.

Overview of the evolution of baking in Brazil and other countries around the world. The evolution of new flavours with the return of bread.

At ALIBER 2026, the latest trends in new business models (technology platforms, innovation hubs, clusters, etc.), entrepreneurship (startups), new technologies and new trends in healthy food, consumer perception, circular economy and digitalization at the IAB will be presented.

In this session, we will share practical insights on how to protect brands and turn them into a strategic asset for any company. We will explain how to simplify the procedures and make them more accessible for SMEs and entrepreneurs, helping them strengthen their identity and compete more effectively in the market.

THE FACTORS REDRAWING GLOBAL HORECA

In this Focus Session, The Shift opens the discussion to understand which economic, political, and social forces are reshaping tourism, hospitality, and consumption.

You will gain the insight to anticipate trends, read the context, and make smarter decisions in an uncertain environment.

A session designed to move from reacting to playing with an advantage.

INDUSTRY LEADER: Inma de Benito

Real-life cases of operators who have turned coffee into the strategic backbone of their business model. Contemporary, profitable concepts aligned with new customer expectations. This roundtable discussion brings key decisions, practical learnings, and avoidable mistakes to the table, showing how coffee can become a powerful competitive differentiator. Direct inspiration for hoteliers, restaurateurs, and coffee professionals who want this category to move beyond being a mere add-on and become a true driver of success.

The creative genius of these three chefs does not rest. Disfrutar once again shares with its followers the latest culinary explanations.

An in-depth analysis of emerging ingredients, process and technique optimisation, and cutting-edge machinery that will shape the sector over the next decade. Tasting activity led by the Baking School of Barcelona Sabadell.

The challenge of adapted nutrition: solutions that change lives

This insightful presentation, offers an exclusive glimpse into the future of the industry. Dive deep into the latest market and consumer trends as we highlight the breakthrough directions and innovations set to transform the food and beverage world in 2026 and beyond. This presentation will empower you with the forward-thinking insights you need to stay ahead of the curve in a rapidly evolving landscape.

Live a culinary experience where learning, entertainment, and gastronomy come together in a spectacular demonstration of the advanced capabilities of Mychef equipment, accompanied by an exclusive tasting that reveals its full potential.

Built on a strong productive base and a diverse innovative industry, Argentina is consolidating its position as a strategic partner for the global supply of food and beverages.

An analysis of the current challenges and opportunities of the specialized organic channel, presented by high-level representatives

THE NEW STRATEGIC POWER OF SMART PURCHASING

Purchasing is no longer operational, it is pure strategy.

You will learn how to optimize costs without sacrificing quality, negotiate better, standardize processes, and build resilience.

A Focus Session to understand how supply decisions directly impact margin, brand, and competitiveness, especially in independent restaurants.

INDUSTRY LEADER: TBC

Transforming traditional local pastries into an iconic Taiwanese product, where we seek to turn it into a luxury product that adapts to the present and the future.

Machinery manufacturers share real-world experiences of automation applied to coffee. What works, what doesn’t, and the impact on costs, quality, and daily operations. An honest conversation about investment, return, and smart decisions for businesses seeking efficiency without compromising a high-quality customer experience.

The panel will discuss the impact of the new regulations on different management models, comparing self-management and outsourcing. With insights from various stakeholders in the sector, the discussion will analyze which model fosters legal compliance, efficiency, and the ability to demonstrate best practices, highlighting transparency as key in an increasingly demanding environment. This session is co-organized with Inforesidencias.

The food industry is undergoing an unprecedented transformation driven by Deep Tech technologies such as AI, robotics, photonics and biotechnology. These solutions are reshaping processes, optimising resources and addressing social and environmental challenges that were considered insurmountable. We will explore real case studies from leading companies applying these technologies, redefining production models and sector competitiveness.

Analysis of the most emblematic creations developed by the Spanish National Bakery Team, addressing the technical and creative criteria that have defined its evolution and competitive identity.

Watch live as waste is reduced by 90%.

Pasta is one of the most consumed dishes in the world and, paradoxically, one of the worst executed outside traditional restaurants. In this talk, Relleno explains how it addresses this challenge through its own system combining technology, design, and operations, integrating innovation and logistics to ensure consistency at scale, from raw materials to the last mile, in any city and channel. Pasta as an operating system.

The Moroccan-born chef invites us on a journey through the Mediterranean. Moha, from El Terrat restaurant, draws inspiration from his roots and the rich culinary history of the Mediterranean. His culinary approach explores and blends the historical and cultural connections of various Mediterranean civilizations.

Spponsored by Royal Air Maroc

Round table discussion on the vision of the members of the UIBC select club for the future of bakeries.

Catering in senior living facilities faces new challenges in healthy eating, food safety, and sustainability, in line with recent Royal Decrees. This demonstration shows how equipment such as Rational's iCombi Pro and iVario Pro facilitates tailored and balanced menus, improving process control, traceability, energy efficiency, and working conditions, ensuring cost-effective and safe management.

A proposal that brings together cooking and knowledge to reflect on the role of frozen products in professional kitchens. Led by Francesc Colom (Executive Chef at Friman) and Pepe Martín (CEO at Scal), the session will be presented as a live showcooking, addressing key aspects such as the value of frozen products, freezing processes and technologies, the importance of the cold chain, and their real application in the kitchen.

INFINITE TRASH BAGS

INTERECO presents its 2025 Data Report, an updated overview of the organic sector in Spain, with key events and the most relevant trends.

In the face of the recent production crisis, cocoa prices have skyrocketed. Although the crisis seems to have been overcome for the moment, it continues to reveal the uncertainties facing producing countries and chocolate processing industries: land constraints, disease and climate change, and the need for alternative crops and manufacturing methods. Will good chocolate once again become a luxury product?

This talk explores the new relationship between a generation of consumers and coffee. We will examine the silent return of the third place, cafés as spaces for connection, pause, and identity, and contrast it with an equally powerful trend: coffee stepping back from the spotlight, becoming an ingredient rather than an experience in itself. From matcha lattes to functional drinks and menus where food takes the lead, younger consumers are redefining what coffee means to them. Together, we will map where these two movements intersect, what they tell us about current consumer behavior, and what they imply for the future of coffee culture in Spain.

The tortilla and the smash burger are global icons in the world of gastronomy. In Spain, these niches are clearly led by two key players who have reached the top through high-quality products, a premium brand experience, and innovative strategies in which social media has played a decisive role.

A four-handed performance by these great professionals, who will give a demonstration of the recipes from Antonio Bachour's new book.

WHEN THE BEST RESTAURANT NO LONGER WINS, THE BEST MODEL DOES

Discover why some businesses grow, scale, and attract investment while others, despite being brilliant, fall behind.

In this Focus Session, we will analyze models, efficiency, structure, and business mindset.

You will take away practical insights to rethink your business, make it more profitable, and design it with a future vision without losing its soul.

INDUSTRY LEADER: Joan Jover

CITIES, LOGISTICS, AND THE NEW URBAN FOOD PACT

How can the cities of the future be fed better?

You will learn about urban models, smart logistics, applied sustainability, and public-private collaboration.

An inspiring Focus Session to understand how food service fits into the new urban design and what opportunities are opening for agile and conscious operators.

INDUSTRY LEADER: TBC

Artificial intelligence and data analytics are already transforming coffee management. Consumption forecasting, purchasing optimization, and profitability improvement. This session explores how technology enables more precise and profitable decision-making, anticipates customer needs, and professionalizes the category within the HORECA business.

The QR code is presented as the future and present of the barcode to improve efficiency in-store and open a digital channel to communicate directly with the consumer. With this technology, food safety can be enhanced, food waste can be reduced, and at the same time, it can redirect users to an extended product label containing a lot of additional information about the product

The approval of the Royal Decree on healthy and sustainable menus will bring about a key change in the food provided in care homes and hospitals, strengthening the role of the registered dietitian nutritionist. This panel will analyze the regulatory changes from their perspective and how their implementation improves legal compliance and the quality of food services.

A jury composed of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of Spain, ICEX, Alimentaria, Cesce, FIAB, Ecovalia and Bio Eco Actual meets to evaluate the organic products nominated for the awards.

This year Lasarte celebrates its 20th anniversary. Twenty years of memory, evolution, risk and learning. Thousands of dishes that no longer exist, yet still live on in those who tasted them. An anniversary that affirms an identity and honours a legacy rich in shared experiences.

A contemporary interpretation of one of the most representative compositions of Catalan culinary tradition: sea and mountain.

The processing of cocoa at source—harvesting, fermentation, drying, selection, and traceability—has gone from being an industry standard to becoming a language in its own right, capable of expressing territory, culture, and vision. At the same time, it analyses how, in contemporary workshops, ingredients are no longer incorporated for decoration or flavouring, but to build narrative, balance, coherence, and transmission with the original cocoa.

An inspiring keynote exploring successful models in cafés, restaurants, and hotels from other markets. Countries and cultures with an advanced relationship with coffee serve as a reference to identify trends, formats, and replicable approaches. Fresh ideas to anticipate and evolve your business.

How is the trend of satiating products linked to GLP-1 redefining food innovation? In this presentation, we will explore the challenges and strategic opportunities it presents for the agri-food industry.

A space led by IED Barcelona where the results of a food design project on Generation Z’s relationship with coffee will be presented.
An analysis of environments, formats, and consumption moments to understand how this new audience is already entering bars and cafés.

Link at https://www.ied.edu/courses/barcelona/master/food-design

Four-handed presentation

Medal award ceremony of the Union of Bakers and Confectioners of the UIBC.

A sensory and strategic journey for your business.
The Coffee and Tea Tour is an experience that connects tradition, innovation, and expert guidance. Here, roasters, manufacturers, and distributors become strategic partners, helping you create unique and profitable proposals.
Our purpose? To inspire you, advise you, and accompany you in the evolution of your business.
Discover the Coffee and Tea Tour freely!

La Ruta del Café y Té | Alimentaria

A competition that evaluates the technical and creative skills of baristas in the creation of latte art.

WHEN DATA, EXPERIENCE, AND PROFITABILITY MEET

The hotel experience is no longer improvised: it is designed using data, sound judgment, and strategic vision.

This Focus Session reveals how intelligence, distribution, automation, and customer experience come together to drive efficiency and profitability without losing soul.

You will leave with practical insights to make better decisions, optimise operations, and build coherent experiences in an increasingly demanding market.

INDUSTRY LEADER: Álvaro Carrillo de Albornoz

Live demonstration of our CO₂ supply solutions for hospitality, industry and events. We will cover available formats, installation and refill logistics, and how we ensure service continuity during peak demand. Designed for distributors looking for a reliable supplier, with technical support and agile logistics.

The leadership of both associations will welcome attendees and introduce the two-day program, highlighting its objectives and key themes.

More than 720 million people in the Mercosur area are awaiting the European Court of Justice. The EU and India have signed a promising agreement at a time when international trade is moving away from the umbrella of the WTO. Bilateral agreements between large countries are taking precedence over the multilateral framework that has been in place until now, while the planet is experiencing the highest number of open armed conflicts since WW II.

Analysis of the current economic and regulatory context in Europe and its direct impact on the sector. The session focuses on the key challenges and opportunities arising from this environment and highlights the importance of addressing them collectively to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness.

Food loss and waste reflect inefficiencies in the food system and a lack of social awareness throughout the entire chain, from production to consumption. The sector has demonstrated adaptability, guaranteeing quality, sustainability, and the preservation of gastronomy. Reducing waste requires collaboration among stakeholders, best practices, and the optimization of surpluses through a multidisciplinary approach.

Leading companies in the agri-food sector that are part of Forética's Sustainable Food Systems initiative will share the measures they are implementing to generate a positive social impact on communities, consumers and their workers. They will show what it means to lead by example, highlighting the results and positive impacts that are already being achieved for people's well-being.

Ecovalia presents the 2026 Annual Report, focusing on the latest data on organic production and consumption in Spain. Following the presentation, there will be organic catering and a networking area.

Analysis of the evolution and outlook of prices and raw materials, highlighting the importance of understanding the economic and regulatory context, the challenges and opportunities for sector companies, and trade and non-trade barriers affecting development in Europe.

Triptolemos Foundation is a global pioneer in sustainable food systems: ALIMENTARIA's 50th anniversary invites reflection. Leaders committed to Sustainable Food Systems will share their experiences, demonstrating how business leadership, innovation, science, and cooperation enable progress toward more competitive, sustainable, and healthy food models, generating positive social impact and economic value

Debate with representatives from various European associations on their role in today’s market, exploring in greater depth the topics addressed in the previous panels and sessions within the current economic and regulatory context.

Live a culinary experience where learning, entertainment, and gastronomy come together in a spectacular demonstration of the advanced capabilities of Mychef equipment, accompanied by an exclusive tasting that reveals its full potential.

Analysis of the current state and outlook for branded foodservice in the U.S. and Europe, offering key insights on consumer trends, customer behavior, and growth opportunities in the sector.

In this session we will focus on the consumption of animal protein in the hospital environment and its role in clinical nutrition, in contrast to the growing rise of plant protein, analyzing nutritional criteria, sustainability and decision-making in dietary planning.

Presentation of the traditional Ramadan recipe book that the FRINUTS brand has created together with the cooks Saloua Loqmane and Fátima Labyedh.

A culinary journey where creativity and innovation meet on the plate. Through differentpreparations, the main alternative protein products from ZYRCULAR FOODS and itsAMARA brand will be presented, exploring textures, flavours and new gastronomicpossibilities for contemporary cuisine.

The rules of the game have changed. AI is no longer just a tool for chatting or creating text; it can now pursue business goals and make autonomous decisions. We have moved from giving simple instructions to ChatGPT to enabling AI to work independently to deliver results. Today, there is a strong competitive advantage in redesigning processes and a real cost in continuing to rely on legacy tools in this new era

Discover consumer habits around how food is handled, stored, and prepared at home. In this session, we’ll share insights from the 2nd edition of the AECOC Shopperview Food Safety Barometer, highlighting the important role consumers play in ensuring food safety.

A proposal designed to take basic preparations one step further and turn them into desserts with higher perceived value, without complications. Through versatile ideas that are quick to apply, it presents solutions using ready-to-use products that help diversify the offer, enhance visual appeal, and optimise time and resources, adapting to the real pace of day-to-day work.

Evolution and trends of quick service restaurant categories, comparing markets and contexts, and exploring how companies use consumer insights to guide strategic decisions and identify growth opportunities.

Watch live as waste is reduced by 90%.

“Harmony of Flavors · China–Spain Pairing” is a gastronomic pairing experience that invites participants to discover new combinations of dishes and beverages through the dialogue between the culinary traditions of China and Spain. Within the framework of Alimentaria, the event proposes a sensory journey that explores balance, complementarity, and surprise, creating a space for encounter and enjoyment around the table.

Culinary demonstration offered by the Catalan Government’s Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food, together with PRODECA.

During this presentation, Innova explores how gut health is evolving beyond probiotics into a broader innovation platform in food and beverages. It highlights key consumer drivers, emerging ingredients, and product opportunities shaping the growing “gut health hub.”

Preventive health and longevity are the new status symbols — not luxury, not wealth.
The real question is whether the food industry is ready to lead this shift or will remain trapped in legacy models. What opportunities exist to move fast and own a place in consumers’ emerging lifestyles? And, more importantly, what will be the kryptonite — the strategic blind spots that could make today’s winners irrelevant tomorrow?

The past, present and future of their view of the world of ice cream.

Hospital food services demand precision, safety, and efficiency in the face of increasingly complex therapeutic diets and an evolving regulatory framework. This demonstration shows how iCombi Pro and iVario Pro enable the preparation of high-quality hospital menus with maximum food safety, allergen control, and traceability, improving productivity, reducing costs, and strengthening the sustainability of the service.

LUXE Collection – Gourmet Honey is Alemany’s gourmet line, featuring pure honey blended with premium ingredients. Small formats designed to deliver an intense and sophisticated experience in every spoonful.

Join us for an exclusive tasting led by the Head of the Parmigiano Reggiano Academy. Discover the story behind this world-famous Italian cheese followed by a vertical tasting of three different aging stages. This unique sensory experience is designed for professionals eager to explore the versatility of Parmigiano Reggiano - from aperitif to dessert- and learn how its evolving flavors and textures can elevate a variety of culinary occasions .

INFINITE TRASH BAGS

The full-service restaurant market adapts to changing customer behaviors, evolving experience expectations, and industry trends, identifying opportunities to innovate and enhance competitiveness.

EXPERIENCE IS NO LONGER EATEN, IT IS FELT

Customers no longer remember what they ate, they remember how they felt.

In this Focus Session, you will discover how the space becomes a strategic tool: lighting, sound, tableware, rhythm, and atmosphere working together to influence perception, dwell time, and repeat visits.

Designing experience is no longer just aesthetics, it is a business decision.

INDUSTRY LEADER: Paqui Cánovas

Chef Pepe Rodríguez, Michelin-starred and MasterChef Spain judge, leads an exclusive showcooking featuring premium Finura de Ibérico cuts. Live, he will work with fresh Iberian pork pieces, showcasing their versatility and potential in professional kitchens. A demonstration of how an exceptional product, handled with precision and respect for its origin, becomes haute cuisine.

We will explain the collaboration between Chocolates Torras and Realfooding through the launch of a new generation of chocolates made with real ingredients, with no added sugars or sweeteners, responding to current consumer trends. We will highlight how the creative process, an innovative formula, and a shared vision come together to shape the chocolate of tomorrow.

Artificial intelligence opens a new era in collective catering, where data must be converted into optimization and relevant experiences for customers. In this talk we will see how AI allows us to anticipate preferences, personalize the offer and better communicate the value of the service.

Gastronomic and food innovation supported by new ingredients and technical solutions.

Discover the strategic trends that will define the evolution of food retail in 2026, and get inspired by a journey through the sector's most innovative and representative initiatives globally.

Mental and cognitive health is one of the major challenges of the 21st century, worsened by ageing and current lifestyles. This talk examines the role of nutrition in Brain Health and how to turn scientific evidence into measurable criteria for developing functional foods and ingredients. Eurecat will present tools and projects integrating in vitro models and human studies to assess efficacy and reduce risks in innovation.

Airports are enhancing their dining offerings to create more enjoyable and engaging experiences, making transit areas places where eating and drinking are part of the overall journey.

In an increasingly competitive environment, it is time to rethink dynamics and explore new forms of collaboration. This presentation opens the dialogue on how to achieve real financial sustainability through authentic synergies. We will talk about people, about links between professionals and producers who share a vision, quality and commitment, and about returning to the human aspect to build meaningful projects.

A cuisine learned far from Ronda. Catalan culture did not reach Benito through a territory, but through a way of living and understanding cooking. Argentona, Can Raimi, the farmhouse. Kitchens where there is no artifice, where the product leads and time is respected. This way of understanding the craft is what both Bardal and Tragatá uphold today: an honest, direct cuisine, rooted, yet free from nostalgia.

The importance of the gastronomic identity created at Nolla, shaped through —and despite— the zero-waste model and our condition as immigrants, cooking with local products while interpreting them through our own gastronomic roots.

Operators’ perspective on airport food service: how they adapt their offerings to increasingly demanding travelers and to spaces in constant transformation.

This presentation will address how contemporary ice cream making can evolve when the traditional limits of the workshop are questioned. Through practical examples such as low-temperature infusions, fermentations, the use of unconventional machinery (roner, conchadora, etc.) and new technological applications, we will explore how to integrate cutting-edge techniques while always respecting the essence of the ingredient.

A conversation on the impact of fake news in the food sector and its effects on reputation, competitiveness and consumer trust. Based on the report “Health, Food and Fake News,” the session will explore the causes of misinformation, its consequences for the sector and the most effective strategies to anticipate and respond to these crises.

How can challenges be turned into opportunities to create innovative foods? This panel discussion will bring together leading companies to share real-life experiences in new product development, addressing technological, organisational and regulatory barriers. Collaboration, creativity and agility will be highlighted as key drivers to accelerate innovation in the food of the future.

How this category is shaping the experience in branded restaurants. From morning coffee rituals to quick breaks and social moments, it shows how offerings are evolving to delight consumers, combine quality and convenience, and create memorable experiences across all moments of consumption.

A gastronomic exploration of the life journey of the three-Michelin-starred Torres Brothers in their hometown of Barcelona, seen through the lens of its architectural singularity. Culinary and architectural talent intersect to offer a snapshot of Barcelona’s potential as a city of excellence for cultural and artistic exchange.

Latest innovations and trends in the avocado market, and the role that Trops is developing as one of the leading players in the European market.

A sensory and strategic journey for your business.
The Coffee and Tea Tour is an experience that connects tradition, innovation, and expert guidance. Here, roasters, manufacturers, and distributors become strategic partners, helping you create unique and profitable proposals.
Our purpose? To inspire you, advise you, and accompany you in the evolution of your business.
Discover the Coffee and Tea Tour freely!

La Ruta del Café y Té | Alimentaria

The 1st Alimentaria International Cooking Competition, sponsored by #alimentosdespaña, will be the first international chefs’ competition held in Spain under the endorsement of WorldChefs. It will take place in Barcelona on 25 March 2026, as part of Alimentaria + Hostelco.

The competition will feature six national teams from Spain, Poland, Portugal, Morocco, Romania, and Azerbaijan, each composed of two chefs (head chef and assistant). Teams will compete by preparing a starter using Aquanaria sea bass and a main course featuring Txogitxu Galician blonde beef striploin, within a total time of three and a half hours.

The jury will consist of four official international judges from the World Association of Chefs’ Societies, who will assess mise en place, hygiene, technique, innovation, service, presentation, and above all flavour and texture, with a maximum score of 100 points.

Teams will compete for gold, silver, and bronze medals, diplomas, and special awards for the best fish dish and the best “Alimentos de España” meat dish, reinforcing the fair’s position as a global benchmark for competitive haute cuisine and high-quality Spanish products.

To promote coffee culture in Spanish Hospitality Schools and Training Centers.
To encourage the professional development of students and teaching staff in hospitality schools.
To provide the HORECA sector with new professionals who have extensive knowledge of all aspects related to the world of coffee and its service, thereby fostering responsible, sustainable, and respectful consumption within the service industry.