Sigep World 2027
Rimini.

What Sigep is, in two lines

Sigep is the annual world fair of sweet foodservice organised by Italian Exhibition Group in Rimini. It is the reference point for five verticals: artisan gelato, pastry, bakery, coffee, pizza. More than 1,000 exhibitors, buyers from over 150 countries, and a concentration of international championships (Gelato World Cup, Pastry World Cup) that catalyses sector media attention.

Frequency is annual, always in the last ten days of January. The 48th edition will be held from 23 to 27 January 2027.

What to exhibit, where to exhibit

Sigep is organised by product macro-category, each in a dedicated hall:

Main areas

• Gelato Hall: artisan gelato, semi-finished products, displays, batch freezers, packaging. The historic heart of the fair, the hottest and most crowded hall.
• Pastry & Chocolate Hall: ingredients, equipment, decorations, chocolate.
• Coffee Hall: roasters, espresso machines, accessories, barista apparel, specialty distributors.
• Bakery & Pizza Hall: flours, ovens, leavened products, pizzeria equipment, frozen for bakery.

Cross-cutting areas

• Machinery and technology: lab automation, large/medium professional equipment
• Packaging: take-away solutions, glass, biocompostable, branding
• Ingredients: semi-finished, fruit, bases, milk, egg products, additives

If you sell finished product to gelaterias/pastry shops, the booth in the category hall is mandatory: buyers walk by category. If you sell professional equipment, consider a strategic position near the entrances: the equipment buyer plans investments at the fair, not just courtesy visits.

Visitor profile, who walks the halls

Sigep visitors are professional operators with purchase authority:

• 45% gelaterias, pastry shops, bakeries, bars: owners and master artisans, mainly Italian and European. Individual decision, 3-12 month purchase cycle.
• 20% international buyers: importers of Italian gelato/pastry around the world, foreign retail chains, chain HoReCa distributors.
• 15% chain groups and franchises: multi-store buyers with centralised purchasing.
• 10% restaurants, pizzerias, hotels: buyers of sweet/bakery equipment and ingredients.
• 10% misc: trade press, hospitality schools, institutions, food influencers.

Critical theme: 64% of visitors declare they want to close concrete orders at the fair or in the following 30 days. Losing follow-up means losing measurable revenue.

How to prepare in the 4 weeks before the event

Week -4, championship + masterclass calendar

Sigep is rich in competitive events: Gelato/Pastry World Cup, barista championships, master pastry chef demos. Understanding who sponsors what, where the stages are, which demos attract your target buyer is half the work.

Common strategy: booth near a championship/demo stage = naturally high traffic, smoother conversations. If your booth is isolated, bring the public to you with scheduled demos (a master pastry chef in a 30-minute slot every 2 hours works).

Week -3, samples and tasting

Sigep is a flavour fair. You do not sell without letting people taste. Plan:

• Which product to offer for tasting, at what time of day
• Logistics of fridge, display, conservation (Rimini in January is cold, but inside the fair it is warm)
• Staff trained to tell the product story in 60 seconds while the buyer tastes
• Follow-up materials delivered to the buyer after the tasting (not before)

Week -2, qualification form

At the booth the 3 useful questions are:

1. Type of business: single gelateria, chain, pastry shop, bar, restaurant, importer?
2. Monthly volume: how many kg/L of the product do you buy per month?
3. Decision timing: when do you close the price list for the season? (in gelato the season opens March-April, critical decision in February)

Without these 3 pieces of information, post-event follow-up is generic and ineffective.

Week -1, CRM integration and shadow team

Sigep follow-up must start while the fair is still open. The gelateria buyer goes back to the shop on Monday and makes decisions in the following 5-7 days. If your follow-up email arrives the Monday after the fair, you arrived late.

Configure the system so that every contact collected at the booth lands immediately in the CRM with Sigep tag + qualification answers + a sample of the product offered at the fair. The person at HQ can start follow-up emails from day 2 of the fair.

Is the official Sigep app worth it?

The official Sigep World app is useful for fair navigation: interactive map of the 4 main halls (Rimini Expo is large), championship calendar, exhibitor list, ability to save contacts met.

What it does NOT do, and what matters for an exhibitor:

• It does not integrate your CRM (HubSpot, Salesforce, in-house system). Contacts stay in the app.
• It does not automatically distinguish between a single gelateria and a chain group, so it does not help with qualification.
• It does not automatically enrich data from a buyer’s name + email.
• It does not send automatic follow-up to collected contacts.
• It does not generate post-event executive reports.

In an industry where the average annual value per customer can go from €5,000 (single gelateria) to €500,000+ (chain group of 50 stores), distinguishing the level of opportunity at the moment of lead capture is essential. The official app helps you navigate the halls. For the complete commercial workflow you need more, see how Linkly works.

What to do during the 5 days of the fair

Saturday 23, opening

• Team briefing at 8:30 am with qualification script and championship calendar
• The first 10 leads of the morning are for fine-tuning the questions
• At 7:00 pm first debrief: what works, what to fix on Sunday

Sunday 24 + Monday 25, Italian professional days

• Peak of Italian operators, single decision-makers (gelateria owners, master pastry chefs, specialty baristas)
• Direct conversations, fast decisions, sample orders closed on the spot
• Catering: January = peak of staff flu. Keep a backup sales rep.

Tuesday 26, international day

• Historically the day with the highest presence of foreign buyers and chain groups
• English-language material ready (catalogue, tech sheet, price list in EUR and USD)
• Team members with professional-level English for the most strategic conversations

Wednesday 27, closing

• Traffic drop, excellent for closing meetings with hot leads from previous days
• Competitor visits (walk the other halls, see who is new, take notes)
• Team debrief at 5:00 pm before closing, alignment on top leads to contact within 48 hours

What to do in the 7 days after the fair

Post-Sigep timing is extremely tight for the spring gelato/sweets season:

1. Within 24h: personalised email to qualified leads with requested samples already shipped or scheduled
2. Within 7 days: sales call to top 20 leads, first price proposal
3. Within 14 days: shipping of spring-summer seasonal price lists
4. Within 30 days: executive report on fair performance (top categories / countries / customer types, estimated pipeline, cost per qualified lead), useful to justify the Sigep 2028 budget

Practical FAQ

How much does it cost to exhibit at Sigep 2027?

Realistic range for an SME or medium-size company: bare space €7,000 to €22,000 by hall (Gelato is the most expensive, Coffee the most sought-after), build-out €12,000 to €35,000, services/staff €8,000 to €15,000. Total: €25,000 to €70,000 for a respectable presence.

Is it worth exhibiting or only visiting?

For an established brand (gelato, equipment, ingredients), exhibiting is an annual must: it is the fair where they remember you. For startups or new entrants: the first edition costs a lot and converts little. Consider an exploratory visit with a small booth in the IEG startup area (if available) or presence only as visitors to map the sector.

I have an innovative product, how do I maximise visibility?

Three options: (1) participate in the championships sponsored by your hall; (2) request a demo space in the hall (some halls have free or low-cost demo areas); (3) sponsor parallel events (talks, masterclasses, awards).

Do purchase decisions close at the fair?

Only in part. 30-40% of sample orders close at the fair (gelati, ingredients, low-ticket consumables). Decisions on equipment, annual contracts, distribution partnerships mature in the 30-90 days post-event. Follow-up determines 70%+ of the value.

How to get to Rimini?

Federico Fellini Airport (RMI) 8 km from the exhibition district, alternative Bologna BLQ (1.5 hours by train). Train: Rimini station 4 km away with dedicated shuttle on fair days. For the team, book hotels by November-December 2026: Rimini during Sigep sells out quickly.

Page updated ahead of the 2027 edition. For official information, registration and booth booking: sigep.it.