The 44th edition of Host Milano, held from October 17 to 21, featured an extended bakery-pizza-pasta showcase, which included an ‘Art of Baking’ hub and a focus on Milano Pane Pasta Pizza.
HOST MILANO
For the first time, Host 2025 organized a Bakery Square arena, as a stage for innovation and creativity, bringing together technologies, ingredients and skills that interact to anticipate the trends soon to enter pastry shops, bakeries and hotels. Leading Italian manufacturers of bakery equipment took part in the event, alongside international solution specialists in foodservice baking.
In the new focus area, training sessions, events, competitions, and workshops were held, aimed at promoting the culture and craft of baking. At the heart of this five-day event dedicated to baking was a technical and scientific conference focused on sourdough, a fascinating ingredient brought to life by industry experts.
Bread was the highlight from the perspective of innovation, culture and well-being, throughout the meetings held here.
The Bread Talk ‘Technology: A Key Element in the Bakery of the Future’, for instance, brought to stage a dialogue with Paolo Vicentini, from the historic bakery of the same name, among the first in Italy to introduce AI. Liu Jian and Wei Xin from China showcased how bread contributes to well-being, creating a bread that interprets health, balance, and food awareness according to Chinese bread culture. Peru Master baker specialists Carlos Alberto Pereira Cuentas and Miguel Angel Peching Chiong also presented a creation inspired by Andean biodiversity.
New, practical tools for use in bakeries were also presented. MyBreadCost was among them – a new platform developed by Assipan to help bakers monitor and plan business costs.To round off the cost optimization focus, Dr. Fabio Fiorentini held a session on the topic “Managing the
Accounts in a Bakery”, providing practical tools to improve efficiency and economic sustainability for businesses in the sector.
The Milan Bakers Association also prepared a special event celebrating the excellence of the baking arts, hosted at the Palazzo Castiglioni in Milan.
Best in show
The Italian hospitality trademark show was also home to prestigious competitions.
The Panettone World Championship was created to promote the international excellence of artisanal panettone, and was an opportunity to showcase and compare the different cultural traditions of those who craft it – always starting from sourdough starter, which is both the key ingredient and an authentic expression of each team’s origins and identity.
In Verona at the Gruppo Polin laboratories (the event’s main sponsor), all teams will be challenged to create the three required types of leavened products: Traditional Italian Panettone, Chocolate Panettone, and Innovative Gelato Panettone. They were also tasked with preparing: a ‘Circular’ Single-Serve Dessert, made with traditional panettone dough according to the principles of the circular economy, to minimize food waste, a ‘Sourdough Flower’, crafted using their own refreshed sourdough starter, and a Decorated Panettone, with free artistic expression. The Panettone World Championship jury awarded Taiwan for the best traditional panettone, while Australia took the prize for the most innovative panettone.
The European Pizza Championship, organized by the magazine Pizza e Pasta Italiana, organized since 2019, returned to the exhibition this year.
Host 2025 anticipates the future of hospitality
Sustainability took center stage at the event’s 2025 edition. Host was the first event at Fiera Milano to implement an ESG strategy, FieraMilano emphasized, integrating environmental sustainability, innovation and inclusion as competitive levers and key elements of its international positioning.
To complete the experience, Host 2025 staged 800 events, featuring approximately 3,000 opinion leaders – including academics, experts, masters, chefs and industry. In total, 2,050 came to Host 2025, spanning the entire hospitality sector. The organizers noted a remarkable surge of visitors from overseas, including Australia (+20%), Brazil (+29%), the United Arab Emirates (+21%) and the United States (+27%), with an increase in attendance from Europe, too: Germany (+16%) and Denmark (+45%) in particular.
From December 15 to 17, Host will also take place in Riyadh with Host Arabia, born from the collaboration between Fiera Milano and Semark, while a partnership with NAFEM will bring Host in the United States starting from 2027. The 45th edition of Host Milano will be held at Fiera Milano from October 22 to 26, 2027.
