Design, fashion and visual. Merit to changes of consumer habits and new influences from social media and TV, bread and pastry making has changed at the dawn of the Third Millennium. The bakery and pastry industries are now at the centre of a continuous evolution in a world where bread (including pizza) and pastries are exploring new formats, new technologies and new trends to become more gourmet. This is what visitors to the booths of HostMilano (fieramilano from October 18 to 22, 2019) will be invited to discover. With seven months to go before opening, the leading event in the HORECA sector can already count on the presence of 50 countries, for a total of 1,653 companies, of which 949 (57.41 % of the total) are Italian and 704 (42.59 %) international.

Exports and production are on the rise worldwide

According to the Ulisse Information System, the world trade of "machinery for bakeries, pastry and biscuit making" totalled EUR 2.5 billion in 2017. Despite having slowed down over the last few years (+4% in the period 2009-2018 vs. the +5% yearly average recorded between 2000 and 2008), the increase is confirmed, with favourable dynamics also for the 2019-2021 scenario (+3.8% yearly average values in Euro).

Experiencing the strongest growth will be the Premium-Price segments that in 2018 accounted for about 30% of the world total alone (vs. 22.4% compared to the previous ten-year period). 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.

As regards exports, the leadership of Italian sales in the world is confirmed and will also continue in the scenario until 2021, with a market share at a global level of 30.6%. Despite these numbers, the leadership of Italy was undermined by the growth of Austria, mainly specialised in premium-price segments, over the past five years.

The bread is on-trend, even among chefs

A variety of processes and formats unique in the world. Also thanks to more sedentary lifestyles and the advent of social media, a "new wave" of bakery has also reached Italy fostering cross-contaminations between areas which were once strictly separate. An example? Chefs have also started to take an interest in bread, the same applies to pastry chefs, while the news of the past few years is that even supermarkets are seeking skills of artisan bakers.

So, craftsmanship, synonymous with slow processing and recipes capable of innovating tradition, is being rewarded in bread making. Pizza, for instance, is another everyday dish that is being re-interpreted in gourmet perspective. The trend is the addition of new ingredients, from grains with lower gluten content and sourdough, to the use of special salts, to make products which are healthier, more digestible and naturally tasty.

And there is more. The new "status" of bread as gourmet food has boosted the opening of points of sales including cafés and pastry shops, and extended its consumption for lunch and apéritifs. In terms of exposure, it is always more important to have products which can enhance the value of a shop display because today as never before the law of Instagram has also impacted the bakery world.

Patisserie – Luxury, fashion and design while respecting tradition

Diversifying supply and know-how to transform a venue during the day and build customer retention. In the bakery as in pastry sector alike, however, serving good products is no longer enough to win consumer loyalty: Luxury, fashion and food design have become the new must of gourmet patisserie.

"The improvised or alleged pastry professionals will disappear. High quality and fusion of cultures will prevail. But more importantly pastries must be delicious,” say some of the most famous contemporary pastry masters, stressing that innovation is not possible without knowing traditions and the characteristics of ingredients. In other words, although the trend in pastries is in the direction of elegance, sharpness and beauty, quality is always the underlying factor, also driven by customers who are increasingly better informed and who ask for local products.

Pastries in bakeries must always please the eye. This trend capitalises on transparent showcases, ad hoc lighting and boutique-like furnishings to enhance products and create differentiated spaces for traditional pastry take-away and also for on-site enjoyment, from breakfast to apéritifs.

Host rewards innovation with the SMART Label Host Innovation Award

Hospitality and innovation. A binomial that confirms Hostmilano as the place-to-be when in search of solutions able to shape the future of hospitality. Merit for this also goes 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), which over the past three editions has handed out more than 150 awards and 20 special awards to prime players in the Italian and international hospitality industry.

Again this year, the five-member international jury of university professors, professionals and international experts with enormous experience in design, hospitality and energy saving will be voting the degree of innovation and the smartest solutions. The panel will assess the candidate products, services and projects in light of the following criteria: efficient functions of products and services, efficacy of products and ease of use of services, and innovative usability, technologies and benefits for users.

The Pizza, Cake Designers and Pastry, Ice Cream and Chocolate Championships will also be in the spotlight

More than just business and one-to-one meetings. In addition to the possibility of meeting the most important national and international companies in the HORECA sector, the booths of the next edition of Hostmilano will also include focus seminars, training on the hottest topics of the day and contests capable of attracting the most important names of the hospitality industry. For instant, the European Pizza Championship, organised by Pizza e Pasta Italiana and by Scuola Italiana Pizzaioli once every two year 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 participants' country. As usual, points will be given to appearance and to taste.

Many names from the Pizza, Bakery & Pastry industry have already signed up for the 2019 edition of HostMilano: Alfa Refrattari, Bake Off, Daub Machiney (new), Forni Fiorini, Italforni Pesaro, Italmill, Logiudice Forni (new), Morello Forni, PizzaMaster, Rollmatic, Sigma, Starmix, Tagliavini, Valoriani, Zanolli, Wiesheu, Konomac, Z.Matik, Ciam, Frigomeccanica, Clabo Group, IFI, Selmi, ICB Tecnologie, Pomati (new), Chocolate World (new), Mussana, Zucchelli Forni.

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