Food 4 Future will turn Bilbao as a global hub on FoodTech to attract international investment and talent

• Bilbao will host Food 4 Future – ExpoFoodTech, between June 15 and 17, which will bring together the most innovative business experiences, the latest scientific advances and development of food and beverage products trends that will transform the sector in the coming years
• This event has Basque Government and Bilbao City Council support, additionally to the main food and beverage associations and companies, among innovative entrepreneurial network of EIT Food, in order to turn Bilbao into the Capital of Foodtech Innovation

Madrid, 25 March 2021. Food 4 Future – ExpoFoodTech 2021, the professional event to transform the food and beverage industry towards innovation and digitization, was official presented yesterday in Madrid to the whole industry and stakeholders. The summit will take place next 15^th to 17^th of June 2021 at the Bilbao Exhibition Centre (BEC). F4F2021 is a three-day forum that will analyse all the challenges that the food industry will face during the upcoming decade, such as digitization, sustainable models and innovative ingredients and products that consumers are increasingly demanding.

Food 4 Future will gather professionals from the entire value chain of the food industry in Bilbao to show how technology and science are creating a necessary revolution in the food industry. “Food 4 Future is born with the aim of becoming a European and international reference event to present the technological novelties, disruptive innovations and the most advanced scientific knowledge that will help the transformation of the agri-food sector in the coming years” highlighted the organizer Alberto Planas, CEO of NEBEXT, during the presentation ceremony that took place in Madrid.

The presentation of Food 4 Future, an event supported by the Basque Government and the Bilbao City Council, was also attended by Bittor Oroz, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Policy of the Basque Government who stated that “Food 4 Future positions the Basque Country as an advanced territory in FoodTech with a structured food ecosystem that develops innovative solutions to the strategic challenges of the sector, thus stimulating cooperation and existing capabilities with international players for a sustainable, safe, healthy and unique transformation of the food sector”.

Rogelio Pozo, Food 4 Future World Summit Director and CEO in AZTI, presented the keys that will structure the congress of the event. “Digitalization, Sustainability and Health, are the strategic lines to revolutionize the food industry and generate more sustainable and healthy new patterns of consumption and production”.

Javier Garcinuño, General Director of Bilbao Ekintza, Bilbao City Council’s economic promotion agency, added “the celebration of this event is part of the strategy of seeking and advancing in the identification of new business opportunities for our companies, which will become them with more effective on their productions, while developing new market solutions and innovative products”.

Javier Sierra, General Director of internationalization of ICEX, highlighted during the presentation that “This event is a strategic appointment for the positioning of our country in a growing and fundamental sector for the international economy”. Mauricio García de Quevedo, president of the Food for Life Technology Platform, also commented “with the arrival of Food 4 Future to the Basque Country, Bilbao will become the world capital of Foodtech Innovation”.

Food 4 Future has the support of the public administration and private global organizations such as Hazi, Food for life Spain, SPRI, ICEX, EIT Food, Eatable Adventures, IASP (International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation), Santelmo Business School, whose Deputy Director General, Julio Audicana, shared a few pills about the future of foodtech with representatives of the food and horeca industry during the HIP Leadership Summit.

280 international experts will represent an industry that accounts for 11% of the world’s GDP

The food industry represents 11% of global GDP, and it expects a growth in demand for food products of up to 70% by 2050. In addition, the digitization of this industry could have an impact of more than 300 billion euros between 2021 and 2025. Figures that show the relevance of the industry and the importance of boosting its digitization additional to the technologies that are designing the new processes for creating food products.

Food 4 Future – ExpoFoodTech will explore along 3 days the most innovative technological solutions designed to food safety, packaging, food processing, transport and logistics, etc., in order to optimize processes and achieve more efficient business models. The Food 4 Future agenda will include the presence of more than 280 international experts who will address, in more than 56 conferences, the new market trends in 6 vertical forums: Meat Forum, Beverage, Bakery, Sea Food, Dairy and Agro. In addition, attendees will be able to learn first-hand about technological solutions related to Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, IIOT, Biotechnology, Data Analytics, Cybersecurity, Cloud and Automation and Robotics.