The food sector seeks new ways to grow without giving up its origin, at Auténtica 2026

Our country has a wide range of food products as well as a way of understanding cooking and gastronomy that causes admiration in much of the world. Knowing and preserving these products and methods of preparation, as well as ensuring they are accessible to all consumers, is essential to guarantee a way of living, sharing experiences, and nourishing ourselves that finds its highest expression in collective achievements such as the Mediterranean diet. That is precisely the spirit that drives Auténtica, the great fair of food and quality products, whose values are closely linked to origin, authenticity, and sustainability.

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Under the motto “Committed to origin,” Auténtica 2026 reaches its fourth edition, bringing together on September 14 and 15 at FIBES-Seville, in the city’s Congress and Exhibition Palace, executives and professionals from large distribution, retail, the Horeca channel (the economic sector that groups companies of hotels, restaurants, and cafeterias), haute cuisine, and the food industry to promote the value of the product, its identity, and its origin.

After three previous editions marked by constant growth, this year more than 12,000 professionals will discover the latest proposals from 321 exhibiting companies, in a space of 15,000 square meters distributed in two pavilions, which will again place Seville and Andalusia as the epicenter of quality food, gastronomic innovation, and products with identity. Among the star products, we will find oils, preserves, meats and cold cuts, fish and seafood, dairy, beverages, bakery, sweets, vegetables, greens, rice, legumes, denominations of origin, or packaging solutions, which will coexist during two days in a great professional showcase of quality food and beverages.

But the exhibition is only part of the proposal. Auténtica is also a great platform that allows producers to connect directly with those responsible for deciding which foods finally reach a supermarket, a specialty store, a restaurant menu, or a professional kitchen. Its B2B (Business-to-Business) profile makes the fair the ideal space to discover the latest innovations, identify trends, and generate fruitful business relationships among producers, manufacturers, buyers, distributors, importers, retailers, and hospitality entrepreneurs.

Once again, the Auténtica congress will place knowledge at the center of the event. On this occasion, 267 experts will participate on five stages and more than 200 conferences, conversations, and tastings to address the major challenges of food and gastronomy in the coming years: from the evolution of the shopping basket to the application of artificial intelligence to the sector, sustainability criteria, the need to bet on product innovation, new nutritional demands, retail transformation, or the major management challenges of the hospitality world.

Of course, haute cuisine, in which Spain is a world reference, will have a prominent role through Culinary Fest by Gusto del Sur and Sin Filtro by Montagud, spaces where reference chefs such as Ángel León, Carme Ruscalleda, Begoña Rodrigo, Rafa De Bedoya, Paco Roncero, Luis Lera, Javi Olleros, Ricard Camarena, Benito Gómez, Juan Carlos García, Javi Estévez, or Diego Guerrero, among many others, will share their vision on the product, creativity, territory, and the evolution of contemporary gastronomy.  

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At the same time, large distribution and the retail sector will also be well represented in a prominent space that will feature professionals and executives from companies such as Lidl Spain, Mercadona, Uvesco, Aldi, Somos Grupo MAS, DIA, Alcampo, FIAB, ANGED La Distribución, or ASEDAS. They will be responsible for analyzing how shelves, manufacturer and distributor brands, e-commerce, packaging, the shopping basket, and the relationship between producers, manufacturers, and distribution chains are changing.

Among the new additions to the congress program, we can highlight the Oleum Summit, a meeting dedicated to extra virgin olive oil as a strategic product of the Mediterranean diet and which will feature the main executives of the oil segment, such as Acesur, DCOOP, Migasa, and Sovena. Also, as novelties of this edition, it is worth highlighting the participation of Galicia as a guest region, a presence that will allow showcasing the diversity of its pantry and strengthen the connection between territories with a strong agri-food identity; as well as the arrival for the first time in Andalusia of Burger Combat, a competition that will focus on the professional talent of the gourmet burger segment.

The proposal will be completed with other initiatives such as the Aulas Degusta, focused on offering tastings and experiences related to multiple products. The Chefs’ Retreat, for its part, will allow the country’s leading Michelin-starred chefs to weave synergies and share valuable experiences.

Within the framework of Auténtica, the Auténtica Excellence Awards 2026 will also be awarded, prizes aimed at recognizing the work, leadership, and willingness to transform of those companies and professionals who are betting on new ways of conceiving social dialogue in the food and beverage industry, always maintaining respect for origin. Likewise, the B2B meeting agenda will offer a great opportunity to generate real business opportunities.

In summary, these will be two days that will serve to confirm that Auténtica has already established itself as a fundamental meeting point for the entire food value chain, capable of going beyond the traditional fair to ensure that product, knowledge, and business dialogue around the same idea: continue growing without losing one’s own identity.

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