The international trade fair, which is set to celebrate its 50th anniversary, will be held in Barcelona from 23 to 26 March 2026

The FIAB (Federation of Spanish Food and Drink Industries) and Alimentaria Exhibitions, a Fira de Barcelona company, have renewed the agreement to promote their collaboration at the forthcoming ALIMENTARIA trade fair, one of the most important events for the food and beverage industry in Spain, which will be held from 23 to 26 March 2026 at Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Vía venue.

The Federation and ALIMENTARIA are designing a comprehensive schedule of activities focused on highlighting the internationalisation, innovation, and sustainability of the food and beverage industries, turning the fair into a flagship venue for the projection of these key drivers of the sector’s competitiveness. 

Similarly, ALIMENTARIA, which will continue to support the Food & Drink Summit, will take part in the initiatives conducted by the FIAB to foster responsible communication and defend the sector’s reputation. These include #SomosNutrisensatos, a movement that promotes a varied and balanced diet and healthy habits, and combats food-related misinformation and hoaxes. 

The agreement will thus seek to reaffirm the organisations’ willingness to collaborate and the work they have performed over the last 25 years to reinforce and expand the global recognition of the Spanish food and beverage industry. 

Mauricio García de Quevedo, the FIAB’s general manager, highlighted the importance of these kinds of alliances, particularly given the unstable global context. “Alimentaria is the major international showcase for Spanish food and beverages, the finest setting to display the variety and quality of our products to buyers from around the world”, he stressed.

As for ALIMENTARIA director Anna Canal, she emphasised the importance of being “fully aligned with the strategic objectives of the FIAB, the leading representative of the country’s primary industrial sector”. 

The next ALIMENTARIA & Hostelco, due to take place from 23 to 26 March 2026 at Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Vía venue, will feature nearly 3,300 exhibiting companies, 30 percent of them from abroad, and the expected attendance of 110,000 professionals from the industry, 25 percent of them international ones, generating an estimated economic impact totalling 180 million euros.  Alimentaria will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2026, after five decades supporting the growth and development of the food industry. 

The FIAB, made up of 43 associations, constitutes the leading industrial sector in the country, with production exceeding 162,459 million euros and 47,620 million euros in exports in 2023. The industry is made up of more than 28,000 companies, most of which are SMEs located all over the country, and it directly employs around 463,000 people directly and another 2,500,000 indirectly.