There’s a moment, just after stepping into the expo hall, when the noise of outside life dissolves and the scene in front of you becomes its own little world — compact, contained, lively, and buzzing with purpose. This year’s 40th International Food & Beverage, Hospitality & Retail Week at EXPO Tel-Aviv wasn’t the largest trade fair on the planet, not by scale or surface area, but what it lacked in size it compensated with spirit. It was the kind of exhibition where people didn’t wander — they circulated. They tasted. They negotiated. They leaned in. Everything felt close enough to touch, smell, or bite into.
A few steps away, Donna Italia practically ran a live street food theater. Staff moved like seasoned performers: cutting pizza slabs, plating samples, and offering them to a constant flow of visitors who appeared both curious and hungry. The booth felt like someone had transported a Napoli takeaway counter into a trade hall — fast, warm, and full of energy. The food displays were impossible to ignore. One of the first showstoppers was a glass cabinet of Italian-style flatbreads and sandwiches so fresh-looking it felt almost inappropriate not to taste one. Mozzarella slices sat layered with tomatoes and basil inside blown-out, stone-baked dough — the kind that looks soft in the center but strong enough to hold everything together. Below them, rosemary-flecked focaccia glistened with olive oil, the roasted garlic cloves visible like edible punctuation marks.
Not far from the dough and cheese action, stainless steel dominated the landscape. Kiroskay, one of the better-known equipment suppliers listed in the official exhibitor catalog, displayed deep fryers, ovens, holding units, and precision machinery — all polished into a mirror finish. It was food service technology at its most confident: functional, durable, and quietly proud.
Then came something unexpected — a wheelbarrow overflowing with fresh mushrooms. Not packaged. Not staged. Just earth, spores, and incredible variety. This belonged to Marina Mushrooms, a company that has grown into a nationally recognized agricultural brand and is now preparing for an upcoming IPO on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Seeing their produce in raw form — earthy browns, pale creams, dense caps clustered like coral — felt symbolic. It wasn’t marketing. It was proof of origin.
But the expo wasn’t only about savory innovation. Turn one corner and a glass dessert display sparkled under white LED light: glossy chocolate cakes, fruit tarts in perfect symmetry, layered mousse pastries, and slabs of Napoleon mille-feuille. The booth belonged to Bron Cakes, another name from the exhibitor guide, and the three men behind the counter radiated that gentle confidence unique to people who know exactly how good their product is. Visitors didn’t just take pictures — they taste.
If the food stands delivered flavor, the exhibitor catalog delivered structure. Neatly organized alphabetically, it confirmed the diversity of the event: ingredient manufacturers, software vendors, logistics companies, coffee brands, packaging suppliers, equipment makers, plant-based innovators, and established food producers — all sharing equal space in print and on the floor.
Despite its modest footprint, the expo felt dense — like every square meter mattered. Conversations weren’t passive; they were direct. People weren’t just sampling; they were evaluating. Industry professionals pulled out notebooks, not shopping bags. Startup founders spoke quickly, hands moving, eyes bright with ambition. Established brands listened as much as they pitched.
And credit is due — the event organization, Stier Group, held everything together with a surprising amount of polish. Crowd flow was manageable, signage clear, exhibitors well-prepared, and every booth seemed to understand why it was there. For an exhibition that isn’t the size of trade giants in Frankfurt or Milan, it still felt substantial — not because of scale, but because of momentum.
As I walked out — catalog in hand, lingering scent of pizza still trapped somewhere in memory — I couldn’t help thinking that this expo reflected something bigger happening in the Israeli food industry: a shift from local production to global positioning, from tradition to modernization, and from product to brand.
Small event? Yes.
Quiet ambition? Not even close.
It was lively, confident, and full of signals pointing forward.
And if Marina Mushrooms and Bron Cakes — along with the dozens of other exhibitors listed in that guide — continue on the path hinted at today, the next time this event rolls around, “small” may no longer be an accurate description at all.
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