Private labels in the limelight at Alimentaria 2010

In March every second year, Barcelona becomes the world capital of the food industry when Alimentaria, Europe’s biggest food and gastronomy fair is held. On 22-26 March 2010, the 18th Alimentaria will open its gates, this time at 100,000 m². Organisers reacted to the crisis by creating a single venue instead of the past practice of several venues operating in parallel. 150,000 visitors are expected and approximately 5,000 companies will participate. The Spanish think that the globalisation of retail leads the sector out of the economic crisis. An efficient promotion campaign lured numerous foreign exhibitors and at least one-fourth of Alimentaria visitors come from abroad. One of the major goals is to promote brand building, since brands help consumers to find their way in the world. Thus, the March event focuses on supporting private labels and proving that brands equal security and quality. Organisers divided the food industry into different sectors – Alimentaria became the umbrella event of fairs specialising in 13 sectors. Intervin is the biggest of these with its 25,000 m². Innoval is held in a separate pavilion: this year it concentrates on the shopping experience of the future. Entertaining and educating events will accompany Alimentaria, for instance The Taste of Spain or the International Food Industry Forum. One of the accentuated topics for the Spanish is to improve trade relations with the new EU member states.