The extended Italian agri-food chain generates a value of 707 billion euros according to Coldiretti, making food the country’s primary source of wealth. This prestige led to the recognition of Italian Cuisine as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage last December, a milestone celebrated today during SIGEP World. Organized by Italian Exhibition Group, the event is held at the Rimini Expo Centre from today until Tuesday, January 20th.

SIGEP Vision Talk: Out of home visits, Italy and Spain hold steady. China booms

The roundtable featured Pierluigi Petrillo (Director of the UNESCO Chair at Unitelma Sapienza in Rome), author of the successful nomination dossier. He outlined the key pillars of the work that led UNESCO, for the first time in its history, to recognize a national cuisine as World Heritage. He also discussed future challenges, noting that within five years, Italy must meet the objectives set in the candidacy to maintain this prestigious status. The talk, moderated by Federico De Cesare Viola, also included Maddalena Fossati (Editor-in-chief of La Cucina Italiana), Giacomo Bullo (Communication Manager at ALMA), Sergio Colalucci (president of the Gelato World Cup), Sal De Riso (president of AMPI), and Michelin-starred chef Gennaro Esposito.

During the SIGEP Vision talk “The New Era of Hybrid Foodservice Experiences,” four international experts analysed the evolution of the foodservice industry. In the panel moderated by Flavia Morelli (group exhibition manager food and Bevearge division at IEG), Edurne Uranga, vice president foodservice Europe at Circana, provided a global overview: while the number of out-of-home visits, in recent years, has declined in several countries Italy and Spain are relatively bucking the trend, while a significant positive spike is emerging in China. The talk, held at SIGEP World (running until January 20th at the Rimini Expo Centre), also featured Nicola Greco (Co-founder and CEO of RivaReno Gelato), Stacey Kane (Fractional chief marketing officer), and Sabyasachi Gorai (owner of Fabrica by Chef Saby).

Magnetic Refrigeration revolutionises beverage cooling; estimated efifciency increase of +50%

Magnetic refrigeration can reduce electricity consumption by 30%, with an efficiency potential exceeding 50%. This emerged from the talk “Fresh thinking: unlocking growth through the power of cooling innovation” held today at SIGEP World. Alessandro Pastore, professor at the Bologna Business School and co-founder of Camfridge Ltd, joined journalist Emma Jane Barltrop to present real-world data on the first commercial prototypes of solid-state magnetic refrigeration beverage coolers. Drawing on data from scientific papers and industry conferences, the presentation highlighted that compared to gas compression systems, electricity consumption can be reduced by 30% with an efficiency potential over 50%. In competitive environments such as supermarkets and retail outlets, this innovation allows for cooler designs with larger display areas and lower energy consumption, with estimated purchase costs for large quantities already proving competitive. Furthermore, these units can be powered by small batteries or solar panels.