New developments are on the horizon for iMEAT 2026, Italy’s leading trade fair dedicated to butchers, delicatessens and charcuteries, the Ho.Re.Ca. sector, meat processing industries and small to medium-sized artisan companies of excellence. After nine editions in Modena, the event will take place for the first time at the BolognaFiere exhibition centre from 11 to 13 October.
The tenth edition of the fair therefore marks a milestone in its history and a strategic step towards future development. With the move to Bologna, the fair will benefit from larger spaces, more services and a logistics and international platform capable of enhancing the sector’s potential.
iMEAT 2026: a new partnership between Ecod and BolognaFiere
A new company, Ecod Extra, has been set up to oversee the move. This company owns 49% of the exhibition, while BolognaFiere holds a 51% stake. As a publisher and organiser, Ecod has been designing and developing the new meat industry exhibition for over twenty years.
This collaboration represents a natural and strategic evolution, combining ECOD’s editorial expertise and market knowledge with BolognaFiere’s international dimension, organisational experience and global network.
As Antonio Bruzzone, CEO of BolognaFiere, pointed out, ‘our goal is to accompany iMEAT 2026 towards an increasingly international dimension, promoting the meat and artisan gastronomy supply chain through our global trade fair network, from China to India, the USA and Southeast Asia’.
A continuously growing exhibition
Created 13 years ago from an idea by ECOD, which was able to identify the needs of a sector undergoing transformation, the event offers a unique meeting place for butchers, delicatessens, charcuteries, Ho.Re.Ca. operators and small food industries.
Today, with the move to BolognaFiere and the creation of the new company, iMEAT 2026 – www.imeat.it – aims to strengthen its international dimension, attract foreign buyers and operators, and consolidate its role as a reference point for the meat and related products supply chain.
Furthermore, thanks to its new autumn location, the long-standing support of Federcarni and the new patronage of Uniceb, the fair confirms its vocation as a platform for business, updating and innovation for all professionals in the sector.