FEATURE NEWS
Eyes on Milan BeanScene Editor Sarah Baker travelled to Italy to find out why HostMilano has a reputation for being the biggest and greatest global hospitality trade show.
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ostMilano 2019 is a beast of the expo world. The biennial event was the talk of the industry for the past few months, with chatter among businesses on what to expect, who was attending, and the necessity to take comfortable walking shoes. For many Australians, the 24-hour journey to Milan is a commitment. It’s time away from businesses, a different time zone and a foreign city devoted to risotto, fashion, and aperitivo. But as BeanScene discovered, a visit to HostMilano is an essential one for those wishing to do business, invest in products, and make new connections to take home. Along with the record-breaking crowd of more than 200,000 visitors who flocked to Rho Fiera for 41st edition of HostMilano, this year’s event also saw its highest number of international visitors from 171 countries at 40 per cent of attendees. It also attracted the highest number of Australian exhibitors to date, including Cafetto, St Remio, Coffee Roasting Australia Technology, Espressology, Coffee Machines Technology, and Barista Group,
“THE MARKET IS CHANGING. IT’S VOLATILE AND COMPLEX, SO THE MORE CONNECTED WE ARE, THE BETTER.” which participated in the five-day show from 17 to 22 October. HostMilano is a feast of technological innovation, future out-of-home and consumer trends, and hard-core industry networking, and this year’s event didn’t disappoint. The prominent theme and dominating trend at this year’s show was undoubtedly automation and quick-service coffee, followed by the integration of Internet of Things, sensor technology,
the importance of data collection, and supporting partnerships and services that put the customer first. There was further focus on compostable packaging, roasting equipment, and milk dispensing equipment, but it was automation that stood tall. Inside the four trade halls dedicated to coffee, roasting, and processing equipment, endless vending machines were scattered throughout the stands – including one producing scrambled egg within a minute. Furthering the idea of “automation”, three robot arms were spotted: one pouring shaky latte art, one serving Aperol Spritz at a bar, and another roasting and packaging coffee, signs that automating the barista role is still very much of interest. To that end, Eversys unveiled its limited-edition Cameo X machine at the company’s 10th anniversary party the evening before HostMilano. Talking about the company’s “blue ocean” approach, Eversys Chief Commercial Officer Kamal Bengougam highlighted the company’s vision to further bridge the gap between traditional coffee equipment and intelligent electronic super-automatic coffee machines. “We want to humanise the coffee
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