Alimentec | Anuga Select Colombia 2026 closed its thirteenth edition after four days at Corferias, welcoming more than 39,000 professional visitors, delegations from approximately 22 countries, and more than 650 exhibitors — figures that confirm the event's leadership as the main stage for business, innovation, and knowledge in the food and beverage industry across the region.

 

For the first time in its 13 editions, the fair officially joined the global Anuga network, the world's largest trade fair ecosystem specialized in food and beverages — a milestone that marks a new chapter for the fair and strengthens its capacity to connect producers, entrepreneurs, and buyers from Latin America and the Caribbean with international business opportunities and markets.

 

With this integration, Alimentec | Anuga Select Colombia reinforces its role as a strategic platform for the internationalization of the Colombian and regional food industry.

 

The 2026 edition also confirmed a trend redefining the global food industry: consumers are increasingly interested in knowing the origin of food, its production processes, and the impact generated across the value chain.

 

Under that premise, Origin Matters consolidated as the fair's central axis. The launch of a pavilion dedicated to unprocessed foods and the value of origin was one of the most visited spaces by buyers, entrepreneurs, and industry professionals, who found there a showcase of the trends driving consumption and purchasing decisions in international markets.

 

"This edition demonstrated that the conversation about what we eat is no longer just a consumption trend — it is a reorganization of the entire chain. Buyers arrived with different questions than five years ago. Now they also ask where it comes from, how it was produced, and what is behind it," said Doris Chingaté, Project Head at Corferias.

 

Beyond being a commercial showcase, Alimentec | Anuga Select Colombia 2026 strengthened its value proposition through an events agenda designed to drive knowledge, innovation, and connections within the industry.

 

The academic and experiential agenda brought together approximately 220 speakers across 168 activities — 143 talks, 17 workshops, and 8 masterclasses — distributed across nine spaces: Food Innovation Summit, Cooking Shows, HORECA Talks, Franchises, Food Service Summit, Club del Asado, and Bake & Arts. Entrepreneurs, buyers, chefs, producers, and regional experts accessed specialized content, live demonstrations, and trend analysis that complemented the trade fair experience.

 

The business results that defined the 2026 edition

 

The strengthening of the international component and the participation of buyers from different markets was reflected in the fair's commercial results. The business round held during Alimentec | Anuga Select Colombia 2026 brought together 107 national and international buyers from 18 countries and 384 participating exhibitors, generating projected business expectations exceeding USD 16 million and closing approximately 1,270 business meetings during the event.

 

The fair's impact was also reflected in its exhibitors' results. For Grupo Diana, for example, the edition represented the official launch of Diana Profesional, an ecosystem of eight categories oriented toward the food service and institutional channel.

"This is much more than a commercial space. We have seen brands we hadn't seen in almost ten years. It is a stage where the actors truly transforming the gastronomic and food industry of this country are present," said Ana Catalina Bolívar, B2B Business Director at Grupo Diana.

 

For Colombian companies, Alimentec | Anuga Select Colombia 2026 also opened doors to new markets. Avícola El Guamito, a company with more than 40 years of history and a production of over 600 million eggs per year, used the fair to meet with international clients and advance export opportunities. "We had the opportunity to open new markets — in the case of Chile and Greece — to activate exports," said Andrés Hernández, Commercial Director of the company.

 

One of the most outstanding moments on the agenda was the national elimination round of the Premio Internacional de Alta Pastelería Paco Torreblanca for the Best Chocolate Cake in the World. In the professional category, chef Jonathan Buitrago took first place with his creation "Macondo," becoming Colombia's representative in the final to be held in Spain. In the student category, the winner was chef Alicia Castañeda with her cake "Armonía 70," a recognition that awarded her a scholarship to train at the Paco Torreblanca School.

 

"Integrating Alimentec into the Anuga network was more than a name change: in this edition we connected Colombia more powerfully with the world's most important food and beverage trade fair ecosystem. Colombian exhibitors now have direct access to a brand family bringing together more than 8,000 exhibitors from 110 countries across four continents. This edition demonstrated that Colombia is ready for that stage," said Alberto Almanza, Project Manager at Koelnmesse for Alimentec | Anuga Select Colombia.

 

After an edition that marked the beginning of a new chapter under the global Anuga network, Alimentec | Anuga Select Colombia 2026 reaffirms its role as the leading meeting point for the food and beverage industry in Latin America and the Caribbean. The next edition of Alimentec | Anuga Select Colombia is scheduled for June 6–9, 2028.