BEER&FOOD ATTRACTION STRENGTHENS ITS ROLE AS A EUROPEAN HUB FOR THE BAR AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY. MIXOLOGY’S STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE IS GROWING

·       From 15^th to 17^th February 2026, at Rimini Expo Centre, Beer&Food Attraction (11^th edition), Europe's leading beverage and bar industry event, organised by Italian Exhibition Group, with over 600 exhibitors from 16 countries occupying 14 halls, and 130 international buyers from 45 countries

·       Driving the evolution of the event is Mixology Attraction, the big new entry for 2026. The beverage and mixology exhibition area will be 39% larger than the previous edition

·      Food, mixology and beer will also play leading roles in the content with a calendar of events and sector competitions ranging from Italgrob's International Horeca Meeting to brewing world and food challenges

www.beerandfoodattraction.it
www.mixologyattraction.com/it

Rimini, 9^th February 2026 – Beer&Food Attraction will be back at Rimini Expo Centre from 15^th to 17^th February for its 11^th edition. The event, a European reference point for the Beverage & Bar Industry and the Out of Home channel, will showcase a comprehensive and integrated range of beers, beverages, food and consumer trends.

Organised by Italian Exhibition Group, Beer&Food Attraction will occupy 14 halls on the east side of the Expo Centre. The format will provide a uniform vision of the sector, connecting products, content and technologies across the entire bar and out-of-home supply chain. With the introduction of Mixology Attraction, Beer&Food Attraction 2026 will extend the mixology and spirits area, strengthening its position in the bar & beverage sectors. The beverage and mixology exhibition area will, in fact, be 39% larger compared to the previous edition, highlighting the strategic role of Mixology Attraction in the exhibition layout.

THE 2026 EDITION NUMBERS

The event will host over 600 exhibitors from 16 countries with Germany, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Spain and Austria leading the international presence, joined by new countries such as Greece, Poland and Switzerland.

The beer sector, the mainstay of the event, will offer products ranging from craft beers to mainstream brands. Food, which accounts for 20% of the exhibition, will be integrated with beer, beverages and mixology, with a particular focus on proposals for the casual dining channel. Beverage technologies (BBTech Expo) will complete the supply chain with solutions for systems, equipment and raw materials.

In addition to companies, Beer&Food Attraction will also host leading organisations and institutions in the beverage and out-of-home sector, including Italgrob, Assobirra, Unionbirrai, Assobibe, Mineracqua, FIPE – Italian Federation of Public Enterprises and FIC – Italian Federation of Chefs. On the international front, leading organisations such as the American Brewers Association and Euskal Garagardo Elkartea Basque Beer, representing the Basque Country's brewing sector, will also be in attendance.

BUSINESS AT THE CORE: EUROPEAN AND INTERNATIONAL BUYERS IN RIMINI

Beer&Food Attraction will reinforce its international and business flair in 2026. The trade show will welcome 130 foreign buyers from 45 countries, selected through Italian Exhibition Group’s network and the Italian Trade Agency (ITA). The largest delegations will arrive from Spain, Great Britain, Canada, Poland and Estonia.

This targeted incoming will bring importers, distributors, beverage wholesalers, casual dining chains and technology operators to Rimini, offering exhibiting companies a context for discussion and new commercial opportunities on international markets.

MIXOLOGY, FOOD AND BEERS: NOT-TO-BE-MISSED EVENTS

The exhibition area at Beer&Food Attraction 2026 will be accompanied by a calendar of talks, competitions and professional meetings in the event’s main arenas with bars, beverages, food and out-of-home as the key topics.

The main issues related to the out-of-home debate will be featured in Italgrob's International Horeca Meeting, which, on Monday 16^th February, will host the Horeca Congress entitled “The out-of-home consumption market between rising costs and inflation. Trends and best practices to overcome the crisis”.

Besides analysis, the future will be looked at with “Stories, visions and ambitions for the Horeca of tomorrow”, a meeting that will see the sector’s new generations on stage with personal accounts from students taking a Master Degree in Sales Account Management at Luiss Business School, in collaboration with AFDB.

The world of beer will take centre stage in the Beer&Tech Arena, the heart of content dedicated to the brewing sector and innovation. This is where the 21^st edition of Unionbirrai's Beer of the Year Award, Italy's longest-running brewing competition, will take place. With an international jury of 65 judges from over 15 countries, the competition rewards the best craft beers in the contest’s 46 categories. The competitions will be accompanied by opportunities for in-depth analysis with contributions from CERB - Perugia University’s Centre for Research into Beer Excellence - and the presentation of Assobirra's Beer Information Centre (CIB), a new observatory specifically for consumption, trends and the role of beer outside the home.

The Beer&Tech Arena will also host “Beer Supply Chain: Raw Materials, Technology, Quality, Excise Duties” a talk organised by Imbottigliamento on key issues affecting the entire brewing sector, from production to technological and regulatory aspects. An international dimension will accompany insights into the supply chain with talks and guided tastings such as “Discover American Craft Beer” by the Brewers Association, to explore the styles, trends and identity of American craft beer. The programme will be rounded off by the Accademia della Birra awards, the Pub&Friends Awards and the Horeca Social Stars Awards.

Mixology finds its highest expression in the Mixology Circus, one of the most spectacular and distinctive areas of the show. The arena will feature 9 outstanding cocktail bars, two of which international, in shows, signature drinks and performances dedicated to mixed drinks. The 2026 edition will have a new rotating narrative format, in which venues will alternate day after day, transforming each station into a stage for performances, tastings and new mixology interpretations. The story will develop further through three types of bar – Hip Urban Bar, Tiki Bar and Luxury Hotel Bar – which will guide the audience through different styles, atmospheres and languages. The Mixology Circus stage will feature The Bar at Aman Venice, Vesper, Grand Hotel Fasano – Ramas Lounge, Kaona Room, Rita's Tiki Room, Hawaiki, L'Antiquario, Moebius and Volare, ready to bring creativity, technique and a contemporary vision of cocktails to the Expo.

The theme of innovation will be reflected throughout Beer&Food Attraction with the Lorenzo Cagnoni Award 2026, promoted by Italian Exhibition Group in partnership with ANGI – National Association of Young Innovators and the Italian Trade Agency. The award enhances the best ideas for Out of Home with six awards dedicated to the Beer, Spirits, Soft Drinks Low & No, Food, Technology, Service and Digital Innovation sectors.

PRESS CONTACT ITALIAN EXHIBITION GROUP:
Head of media relation & corporate communication: Elisabetta Vitali; press office manager: Marco Forcellini, Pierfrancesco Bellini; press office coordinator: Luca Paganin; international press office coordinator: Silvia Giorgi; press office specialist: Nicoletta Evangelisti, Mirko Malgieri; media@iegexpo.it

MEDIA AGENCY BEER&FOOD ATTRACTION - BBTECH EXPO:
Mind the Pop - Martina Vacca: martina@mindthepop.it, mob. +39 339 748 5994; Fabrizio Raimondi: fabrizio@mindthepop.it, mob. +39 335 389 848; Stefano Chiossi: stefano@mindthepop.it, mob. + 39 388 739 4358.

This press release contains forecast elements and estimates that reflect the management´s current opinions (´forward-looking statements´), particularly regarding future management performance, realization of investments, cash flow trends and the evolution of the financial structure. For their very nature, forward-looking statements have a component of risk and uncertainty, as they depend on the occurrence of future events. The effective results may differ (even significantly) from those announced, due to numerous factors, including, only by way of example: food service market and tourist flow trends in Italy, gold and jewellery market trends, green economy market trends; the evolution of raw material prices; general macroeconomic conditions; geopolitical factors and evolutions in the legislative framework. Moreover, the information contained in this release, does not claim to be complete, and has not been verified by independent third parties. Forecasts, estimates and objectives contained herein are based on the information available to the Company as at the date of this release.