HIP – Horeca Professional Expo is now accepting registration for its first Italian edition, scheduled to take place at BolognaFiere from October 19 to 21, 2026. The format, originally developed in Spain, is coming to Italy with the aim of building a platform dedicated to business, innovation, and training for the restaurant and hospitality industry.
The event aims to engage over 10 professionals, including entrepreneurs, managers, and decision makers. Discussions will focus on the issues most impacting the sector's competitiveness: efficiency, digitalization, profitability, human capital, new formats, and development models.
The exhibition area will bring together more than 300 companies and cover a broad spectrum, from digital solutions to smart kitchens, foodservice, design, automation, delivery, coffee, bakery, gelato, wine & spirits, and franchising.
Founding members include Fabbri 1905, Esse Caffè, Metro, Rational, The Fork, Welbilt, Unox, Toshiba, Cashmatic, Skello, and Deliverect. This composition reflects the desire to connect industry, technology, equipment, services, and operators.
The heart of the program will be the Hospitality 4.0 Congress, with over 400 speakers and more than 20 vertical summits. The meetings will address management, food cost, revenue management, organization, leadership, and scalability of business models.
Ample attention will also be given to human capital, at a time when attracting and retaining qualified personnel represents one of the most critical issues in the sector. The program will also explore the use of artificial intelligence, customer experience, sustainability, and design as a distinctive lever.
Announced speakers include entrepreneurs, managers, designers, and chefs, including Ciro Cristiano of Baldoria, Annibale Linguanti of UNA Hotels, Teresa Sapey, Valeria Zuppardo of Seu Pizza, Cristina Bowerman, Gennaro Esposito, and Lydia Barbini of Starhotels.
"We want to offer the sector a place where entrepreneurs and professionals can find inspiration, knowledge, and concrete tools to address the ongoing transformations," explains Manuel Bueno, director of HIP Italia.
Alongside the exhibition and conference, the event will offer networking opportunities and the Horeca New Business Models Awards, dedicated to companies and professionals who are innovating the sector.
With its Italian debut, HIP aims to position itself not just as a trade fair, but as a space for working on the new balance of the Horeca sector, increasingly oriented towards rethinking organizational models, service, and customer relations.
