Cibus Tec 2026 is set to be the most comprehensive and international edition in its history. From 27 to 30 October, Parma will become a global meeting point for technology and innovation. More than an exhibition, Cibus Tec is an industrial ecosystem bringing together content, special projects, live demonstrations, dedicated sector insights and a conference programme designed to address the transformations shaping the food & beverage industry.
With 1,300 companies and brands from more than 35 countries, Cibus Tec confirms its position as a major multi-sector exhibition representing the entire technology supply chain. International participation is now a defining feature of the event, with international exhibitors accounting for approximately 30% of the total. The foreign countries most strongly represented include Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, as well as China and the United States.
In Italy, the main regions of origin of exhibitors are Emilia-Romagna and Lombardy, followed by Veneto, Piedmont, Campania, Tuscany and Lazio.
More than 40,000 industry professionals are expected to attend, while the Top Buyer Program, the sector’s most structured international incoming programme, will bring more than 3,000 international top buyers from over 90 countries to the exhibition, including the Americas, the Asia-Pacific region, the Caucasus, Europe, the MENA region and Turkey.
Of the 3,000 top buyers expected, 300 will come from 58 countries, thanks to the collaboration with ICE Agency.
This year, Africa has a particularly significant presence, with more than 300 qualified buyers from 20 countries. Compared with the previous edition, participation by African professionals is growing, also thanks to Cibus Tec for Africa, the project which, in collaboration with ICE Agency, has promoted Italian technologies in Sub-Saharan African markets throughout the year through missions, B2B meetings and company visits, fostering new relationships with local operators and greater participation in the exhibition in Parma.
The Top Buyer Program is supported by the Emilia-Romagna Region, helping to strengthen international business opportunities for companies in the region.
More than 10,000 B2B meetings have already been scheduled as part of the programme, demonstrating Cibus Tec’s ability to foster targeted business relationships between international buyers and exhibiting companies, turning its hosted-buyer programme into a concrete opportunity for business development.
The technological dynamism of the 2026 edition is reflected in the more than 450 new products presented by exhibitors. These innovations highlight an increasingly clear trend: innovation is focused on improving production process efficiency, with technologies designed to enhance plant performance, reduce energy consumption and optimise resource use. This approach responds to companies’ competitiveness needs and concerns the entire supply chain, from processing to packaging
Among the highlights of Cibus Tec 2026 is World Pasta Day, promoted by Unione Italiana Food and IPO (International Pasta Organisation), which for the first time takes place in Parma on 27 and 28 October, within the exhibition.
The event brings together more than 150 participants, including pasta manufacturers, technology partners, associations, institutions, retailers, specialised media and key players in the international supply chain, to discuss market developments, sustainability, biodiversity and innovation, creating a direct link between the pasta supply chain and the technologies supporting its development.
World Pasta Day features Barilla Group, Bühler, Emka Makine, Fava and GEA Extruded Food Technologies as Platinum Sponsors.
The opening day was introduced by Franco Mosconi, President of Fiere di Parma, who welcomed the attendees and stated: “Cibus Tec has progressively built a platform that increasingly connects industry, technology and markets, supporting the evolution of the entire supply chain. Today, this journey finds its meeting point in Parma, a region where food culture, manufacturing expertise and technological innovation are deeply interconnected. The event’s co-location with Labotec, and, in this edition, with World Pasta Day, further reinforces this vision by bringing together production, quality control and food safety“.
Thomas Rosolia, President of Koelnmesse Italia and Koeln Parma Exhibitions, then highlighted the importance of the event’s international reach: “This edition records significant figures in terms of international participation, both among exhibitors and visitors. This result is supported by our collaboration with Koelnmesse and its global network, which includes all the international trade fairs dedicated to food and beverage technology within the Anuga FoodTec Family portfolio. This international network has enabled us to bring companies and industry professionals from around the world to Parma and strengthen relationships with key markets.”
Margherita Mastromauro, President of the Pasta Makers’ Association of Unione Italiana Food, stated during the event: “The World Pasta Day celebrations in Parma and as part of Cibus Tec represent a milestone for our supply chain and for Italy’s agri-food Made in Italy, creating for the first time a direct bridge between product excellence, gastronomic tradition and the advanced industrial technology that makes it possible. During these days of international discussion, producers, institutions and technology partners have demonstrated how pasta is an extraordinarily contemporary food: a product that not only nourishes the planet in a healthy and accessible way, but also addresses the future challenges of sustainability, technological innovation and food biodiversity. We leave this event with an even more cohesive supply chain, ready to consolidate the global leadership of Italian pasta and respond with flexibility and vision to the changing dynamics of international markets and large-scale retail. Pasta confirms its role as a driving force for boundless innovation in the agri-food sector.”
Carl Zuanelli, President of IPO, added: “An extraordinary week is taking place here in Parma, the beating heart and timeless temple of Italian taste. For the first time, World Pasta Day has found its home here, celebrating pasta, a food in which the wisdom of the land meets human ingenuity. It is also a universal language, a bridge between peoples and a celebration of conviviality that knows no borders, barriers or latitudes. Parma represents the moral capital of food excellence. We celebrate the purity of simplicity: water and wheat, tradition and continuous innovation. On behalf of IPO, I would like to express my deepest and most heartfelt gratitude to the guardians of an ancient art, pioneers of scientific and nutritional research, and ambassadors of a dream that is renewed every day in a boiling pot, demonstrating that the future of global nutrition is rooted in quality, culture and respect for the land.”
Cibus Tec 2026 brings together the leading sectors of the food and beverage industry in Parma, from dairy and beverages to bakery and pasta, as well as confectionery, wine and alternative proteins. This breadth of sectors is matched by a technological offering that covers the different stages of production, from processing to packaging, with solutions for automation, quality control, food safety and plant efficiency.
The variety of sectors represented and the wide range of technologies on display confirm Cibus Tec’s position among the leading international trade fairs for food and beverage processing technologies.
Alongside its traditional exhibition areas, Cibus Tec 2026 features a new programme of special projects dedicated to specific sectors and markets.
Beverage? Yes, We Tec! is the area bringing together technologies for the beverage sector, from water and non-alcoholic drinks to alcoholic beverages, ready-to-drink products and liquid food.
With an entire pavilion dedicated to the sector, Cibus Tec confirms its position as Italy’s leading trade fair for the beverage industry.
Bakery? Yes, We Tec! brings together the main technology partners for the baking and bakery products sector at Cibus Tec, offering solutions covering every stage of the industrial process, from dough preparation and baking to automation and packaging. For the first time in Italy, this project presents an integrated range of industrial technologies for the sector, highlighting the participation of its leading players.
Wine? Yes, We Tec! marks the debut of a section entirely dedicated to the wine supply chain at Cibus Tec. This new space for networking and discussion has been made possible through a partnership with Federvini, the federation representing Italian companies in the wine, spirits and vinegar sectors. Hall 3 will host some of the leading suppliers of technologies and solutions for the wine industry, offering professionals an opportunity to discuss innovations and investment opportunities across the supply chain.
As part of the initiative, the workshop “Wine and Sustainability: Policies and Technological Innovations for the Sustainable Transition of the Wine Supply Chain” will take place on 29 October in Hall 2, organised by Federvini in collaboration with Cibus Tec. The event will bring together representatives of institutions, industry associations and businesses to explore regulatory developments, investments and technological solutions supporting the sector’s sustainability and competitiveness.
“The wine sector has always considered its relationship with local territories and sustainability as two fundamental elements of its history and identity. Today, increasingly, in response to ongoing climate change and growing environmental awareness among consumers, companies are looking to new technologies and the new tools made available by institutions to address the challenges of improving efficiency and reducing the use of increasingly scarce production inputs, such as water. These will be among the topics explored during the workshop, starting with the role of the Wine Package and measures supporting investment, and examining how technological innovation can contribute to the sector’s competitiveness,” said Gabriele Castelli, Director of Federvini.
The special projects programme also includes the Demo Factory, a long-standing format that Cibus Tec has been presenting since 2011 and which has become one of the exhibition’s distinctive features. Developed through collaboration between technology companies, it brings complete, fully operational production lines to the exhibition, allowing visitors to see the different stages of an industrial process live. For the 2026 edition, two new highly automated production lines will be presented, dedicated to seafood and dairy, respectively, demonstrating the integration of processing, packaging, automation and quality control.Inizio modulo
Fine modulo
Cibus Tec 2026 also places a strong emphasis on the next generation and skills through the Talent Academy, organised in collaboration with Cisita Parma. The initiative brings together schools, training institutions and companies operating in food technology. Throughout the exhibition, the area will host meetings and talks exploring the skills required by industry, innovation and the world of work.
Among the Talent Academy initiatives, the Food Future Challenge involves nearly 200 students from seven upper secondary schools in Parma and the surrounding province, who will develop projects focused on the future of Food Processing, Food Packaging and Beverage.
Innovation, which Cibus Tec considers a strategic driver of growth in the food & beverage market, is also at the heart of the Startup Area, showcasing a selection of promising startups in the sector, chosen in collaboration with partner Le Village by Crédit Agricole. The initiative brings new technologies, solutions and business models to Parma that can contribute to the evolution of the industry.
An extensive programme of conferences and meetings will accompany the exhibition, addressing the key themes shaping the transformation of the food & beverage industry, from innovation and sustainability to safety, packaging, digitalisation and emerging technologies, with dedicated sessions focusing on the main supply chains.
Cibus Tec 2026 takes place alongside the second edition of Labotec, on 27 and 28 October in Hall 8. Labotec is a leading event for innovation and laboratory analysis technologies, bringing together a range of industrial sectors under one roof and complementing the exhibition with a focus on technologies that play an increasingly central role in the food & beverage industry.
Admission to both exhibitions is free, subject to registration via the online ticketing system on the official website.
For further information:
www.cibustec.it
