Trends in Quality Food and Beverages
The 35th edition of the Salón Gourmets, the benchmark event for the Quality Food and Beverages sector, was held from 25 to 28 April and we could not miss it. A space in which more than 40,000 products were displayed and which focused on Innovation through initiatives such as the “Innovation Area”.
Salón Gourmets, the most important Quality Food and Beverages Fair in Europe, was held between 25 and 28 April at IFEMA Madrid. With more than 1,600 exhibitors and 40,000 products on display, the event has already become an important event for professionals in the food and beverage sector, but also for amateurs who have come to see the best national and international gastronomic products firsthand.
More than 70,000 visitors were also able to enjoy the more than 800 activities that made up the interesting program of parallel activities offered by the 35th edition of Salón Gourmets: championships, renowned awards, themed and sensory areas, round tables and all kinds of tastings and live cooking shows.
The leading role of wine
The wine sector is, without a doubt, one of the major sectors usually represented at the Salón Gourmets.
Our client, González-Byass, took advantage of the event to present the “Ángel de Viñas” initiative created in collaboration with the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid to rescue, preserve, care for and maintain old vineyards that are on the verge of extinction in Spain. In addition, the winery team has shown the essence of this initiative, offering a tasting of wines from the first vineyards rescued in Madrigal de las Altas Torres (D.O. Rueda) and Espiells (Alto Penedés), which was attended by our Business Development Director, Fernando Boned.
In addition, after 26 successful editions, the Show has once again dedicated a very special space to wine: “The Wine Tunnel”. This is a tour, organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA), in which 330 wines of 22 single-varietal references from 252 wineries selected by the Ministry’s technicians together with the Tasting Committee of the Gourmets Group’s Wine Guide were exhibited.
In this Tunnel, visitors were able to get to know the wines thanks to a guide and the sommeliers who manned the space. In addition, tastings and introductory courses were given to explain the different methods of making and ageing white, red, rosé and sparkling wines, as well as their particularities and harmonies.
A space for Innovation and Sustainability
Innovation has been a common denominator in many of the activities offered by Salón Gourmets. In this respect, the “Innovation Area”, a wide-ranging space for trends and advances in the sector which this year exhibited more than 250 innovative references, was particularly noteworthy.
This is a successful format that aims to highlight the innovation of companies in terms of the quality of their products, their packaging and the production technology used. In addition, since 2011 the products presented in this space have been the subject of the Salón Gourmets Awards in the categories of “Innovation”, “Presentation”, “Versatility” and “Most nutritionally complete organic product”.
Sustainability has been another of the main protagonist thanks, among others, to initiatives that promote an increase in the consumption of vegetables as opposed to meat. Activities such as the one led by chef Alex Pirla to show the versatility of plant-based products and their application in gourmet cuisine contributed to this.
