"Alimentaria FoodTech Is the Space Where Innovation Becomes Industrial Business"

Albert Puxan takes over the presidency of Alimentaria FoodTech at a decisive moment for the food industry, with an edition — October 6-8 at Fira de Barcelona's Gran Via venue — defined by transversality, technology and a business focus. In an interview, Puxan highlights the show's double transversality: it covers all food sectors and the entire value chain, so any visitor, from pet food to meat or bakery, finds a complete offering from ingredients and machinery to packaging and services. He stresses that it is "a fair designed for buying and selling technology", where for three days exhibitors receive engineering, process, maintenance, quality and general-management teams with concrete projects and decision-making power — a model proven over decades that guarantees qualified contacts. On the current climate, he says the food industry has been investing steadily in technology for years and uncertainty has ceased to be a brake, with the sector showing great adaptability and resilience. In automation and digitalization "the leap has already happened", while AI is more incipient, with consolidated solutions in data management and decision support. He sees pet food's growth as structural, driven by demand for healthier, higher-value products. Hosted Buyers arrive with concrete projects and willingness to invest, though returns should be assessed over the medium term, and the FoodTech Innovarena will again showcase success stories and anticipate the sector's future.