PIZZA RISING, BAKING EVOLVING: SIGEP WORLD 2026 – MARKETS, SKILLS AND COMPETITIONS

•        Pizza is expanding its reach and becoming a key platform for business, focusing on professional skills, marketing, and new markets. ​At the trade fair, conversations will include masterclasses featuring leading industry associations, culinary schools, and media partners.

•        Bakery Reinvents Itself: driving value, expertise, and innovation across the entire supply chain

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Rimini, 22 December 2025 — Dough, flour, and leavening are no longer confined to the workbench—they now drive entire supply chains, spanning production, technology, and foodservice. From Friday 16 to Tuesday 20 January 2026, SIGEP World – The World Expo for Foodservice Excellence, curated by Italian Exhibition Group (IEG) at Rimini Expo Centre will spotlight the evolving pizza and bakery industries as part of the leading B2B event for gelato, confectionery, chocolate, coffee, breadmaking, and pizza.

Pizza and bakery remain cornerstones of the Italian foodservice industry: pizza generates over €15 billion in revenue, producing roughly 2.7 billion pizzas annually, while the bakery sector comes in at €13.4 billion, all within a context of increasingly selective, quality-driven consumption (sources: CNA Agroalimentare, Coldiretti, FIPE-Confcommercio, Confartigianato Alimentare, AIBI, Italmopa).

PIZZA (R)EVOLUTION: A GROWING PROJECT

Following its debut last year, pizza enters a new phase at SIGEP World 2026 with Pizza (R)evolution, a project designed to elevate the sector’s exhibition and cultural presence. Visitors will experience pizza in all its forms—classic, Neapolitan, Roman, gourmet, pan-baked, and on a peel—alongside the latest consumer trends, technology, and production processes, including flours and blends, leavening, cooking techniques, frozen and ready-to-use ingredients, ovens, equipment, and furnishings tailored for independent pizzerias, groups, and international chains.

TALKS AND MASTERCLASSES: PIZZA, PROFESSION, MARKETING AND EMERGING MARKETS

SIGEP World 2026 tells the story of pizza through a packed programme of talks and masterclasses featuring leading culinary schools, media, and industry associations: from ALMA Culinary School to editorial contributions from FOOD Ristorazione Italiana Magazine and Italian Gourmet, plus initiatives by 50 Top Pizza, AVPN (Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana), and NIP (Nazionale Italiana Pizzaioli). The programme presents expertise and innovation shaping the present and future of pizza worldwide.

Highlights include:

·       Gourmet Pizza Masterclass – Saturday 17 January, 12:00 & 3.00pm, Pizza Arena, presented by ALMA – International School of Italian Cooking.

·       Pizza Chains Panel: “Pizza, a Global Driver of Made in Italy” – Friday 16 January, 1:00pm, Pizza Arena, moderated by FOOD editorial team.

·       “Codifying the Contemporary Pizza Chef” – Saturday 17 January, 1:00pm, Pizza Arena, organized by Italian Gourmet.

·       Slice Pizza Showcase: “The Taste You Eat in Slices: The Future of Takeaway Pizzas” – Monday 19 January, 4:00pm, Vision Plaza, presented by 50 Top Pizzas.

·       Guest Country Spotlight – India: “The New Frontiers for Authentic Neapolitan Pizza” – Sunday 18 January, 4:45pm, Vision Plaza, organised by AVPN - Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana.

·       Official Presentation of the 2026 “70 Best Restaurants with Pizzeria in the World” Guide – Saturday 17 January, 11:00, Sala Neri 2, organised by Ristorazione Italiana Magazine.

BAKERY: LESS VOLUME, MORE VALUE

Complementing the pizza industry, the bakery sector reaffirms its strategic role at SIGEP World. While production volumes decrease, demand for high-value products is rising, driven by flour quality, local supply chains, natural leavening, and evolving nutritional preferences.

SIGEP World 2026 explores the entire bakery value chain—from raw materials to technology, from innovative bakery concepts to integrated business models for production, sales, and foodservice—through talks, masterclasses, and professional development initiatives.

COMPETITIONS: TALENT AND GLOBAL VISIBILITY

Competitions remain a highlight, transforming SIGEP World into a showcase of technical and creative excellence.

Pizza Senza Frontiere – World Pizza Champion Games, bringing together pizza chefs from over 30 countries across 18 categories, from traditional to the most innovative interpretations. The competitions will take place in the Pizza Arena (Hall D6), sponsored by Irinox.

National White Art Competition, hosted in the Bakery Arena (Hall D8), in partnership with Richemont Club Italy and under the patronage of Richemont Club International, celebrating the technique, creativity, and innovation of professional Italian bakers. Awards ceremony: Monday 20 January, 11:00.

The Bakery Arena programme includes talks, masterclasses, and interviews supported by Richemont Club, UIBC – International Union of Bakers and Confectioners, RBA – Retail Bakers of America, and leading industry companies.

Sponsors of the Bakery Arena:

Platinum Sponsor: Molino Dallagiovanna; Golden Sponsors: Lesaffre; Silver Sponsor: Corman; Technical Sponsors: Bragard, Irinox, Mecnosud, Polin Group, Tecnomac, Winterhalter; Media Partners: Pasticceria Internazionale and Italian Gourmet.

PRESS CONTACT ITALIAN EXHIBITION GROUP | media@iegexpo.it
head of corporate communication & media relation: Elisabetta Vitali|
press office manager: Marco Forcellini, Pier Francesco Bellini | international press office coordinator: Silvia Giorgi | press office coordinator: Luca Paganin | press office specialist: Nicoletta Evangelisti, Mirko Malgieri

MEDIA AGENCY SIGEP World: Mind The Pop

Martina Vacca: martina@mindthepop.it, mob. +39 339 748 5994; Fabrizio Raimondi: fabrizio@mindthepop.it, mob. +39 335 389 848; Benedetto Colli: benedetto@mindthepop.it, mob. 380 371 2272; Stefano Chiossi: stefano@mindthepop.it, mob. + 39 388 739 4358.

This press release contains forecast elements and estimates that reflect the management´s current opinions (´forward-looking statements´), particularly regarding future management performance, realization of investments, cash flow trends and the evolution of the financial structure. For their very nature, forward-looking statements have a component of risk and uncertainty, as they depend on the occurrence of future events. The effective results may differ (even significantly) from those announced, due to numerous factors, including, only by way of example: food service market and tourist flow trends in Italy, gold and jewellery market trends, green economy market trends; the evolution of raw material prices; general macroeconomic conditions; geopolitical factors and evolutions in the legislative framework. Moreover, the information contained in this release, does not claim to be complete, and has not been verified by independent third parties. Forecasts, estimates and objectives contained herein are based on the information available to the Company as at the date of this release.