MILAN FOOD WEEK IS UNDERWAY: FOOD TELLS HOW ITALIANS ARE CHANGING

How are our eating habits changing? How important are well-being and convenience in our daily shopping? And how do research, businesses, and restaurants respond? These questions are the starting point for Milan Food Week, scheduled for Thursday, October 15th, to Sunday, October 18th. The event returns after seven years with a new project dedicated to the relationship between food and societal transformation.

Promoted by SG Company Società Benefit and GoodGuys with the patronage of the City of Milan , the event brings together universities, researchers, businesses, food service professionals, and citizens. The Identità Golose Food Hub at Via Romagnosi 3 hosts talks, roundtables, and insights, complemented by a citywide program of tastings, family workshops, sports activities, and initiatives to combat food waste.

The context in which the event takes place is illustrated by YouGov analyses , collected for the meeting "Purchasing Behaviours between Wellbeing, Generations and Experience", scheduled for 17 October.

How the way of shopping has changed

51% of Italians often or always think about long-term health in their daily purchasing decisions. The way we shop is also changing. In the twelve months ending in August 2026, Italian families made an average of 215.4 purchases of consumer goods , including fresh produce of varying weight, compared to 206.7 in the previous twelve months: a 4.2% increase, accompanied by a 2.2% reduction in average spending per purchase . Shopping carts are getting smaller: the average number of items drops from 12.8 in 2023 to 11.7 in 2026. This means smaller but more frequent purchases.

Food choices also reflect a growing diversity of needs and preferences. Among the packaging claims considered by the YouGov research, 20% of respondents would rely on high fiber content when choosing a product, compared to 13% who cite high protein content. 48.8% of households have at least one person who consciously reduces their meat consumption.

These are some of the phenomena that Milan Food Week aims to explore, connecting everyday behaviors with the evolution of food supply and scientific knowledge.

The program at the Identità Golose Food Hub

At Via Romagnosi 3, the program will unfold over three days of in-depth study. On October 15th , from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM, "Food, Culture, and Innovation" will focus on biodiversity, research, and applications in the food sector, with contributions from the University of Milan-Bicocca and a dialogue between the scientific world and businesses. This will be followed by a cooking show with a free tasting of Felicia pasta until 8:00 PM.

"Biodiversity represents a strategic resource for the food of the future: it can offer new species and varieties that are more resilient to climate change and help discover as yet unexplored aromas, colors, and flavors. Protecting it therefore means investing in the safety, sustainability, and richness of our diet." [Massimo Labra, professor at the University of Milan-Bicocca and scientific director of the National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC)]

On October 16th, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, the meeting "Brand Consumption: Between Individualism and the Centrality of Well-Being" will be held, with the contribution of Centromarca : the meeting will explore consumer expectations and the role of quality, trust, and innovation in purchasing decisions.

"Today, the pursuit of physical and mental well-being drives consumer purchasing decisions. Branded companies demonstrate an extraordinary ability to interpret these changes, transforming new needs into innovative products and valuable relationships. At Milan Food Week, we're putting this journey at the center: brands' ongoing commitment to building trust, credibility, and meeting consumers' individual needs." [Vittorio Cino, General Manager of Centromarca]

On October 17, from 10:00 to 12:00, the presentation of YouGov's analysis will be followed by a roundtable discussion on the implications for the restaurant and food trade.

Although Italian families still report being very concerned about "budget issues," and this is their top concern (45% of families interviewed), the shopping cart continues to show a new trend that can be summarized as the choice of products related in various ways to "health." This choice is transversal to all generations and is summarized in the purchase, for example, of products with high fiber and high protein content. [Stefania Vitiello, YouGov Shopper Italia – Senior Consultant]

Events across the city

Numerous events will take place throughout Milan, engaging the public. Milano in a Sample will offer a tasting tour at participating venues from the 15th to the 18th, accompanied by a passport to collect stamps from the various stages. On October 15th, the collaboration with Hard Run Club will combine running and conviviality from 6:00 PM, starting and ending at the Magutt on Via Lambro. That same day, the new Verziere Farmers' Market will be inaugurated, offering the opportunity to purchase from local producers.

On October 16th, from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM, the Edicola Castello in Piazzale Cadorna will host "Re-sample: Non si butta niente," curated by the IBVA Foundation and the Food Policy of the Municipality of Milan. Boxes of recovered surplus food products will be distributed free of charge to the public. A DJ set will accompany the afternoon with a soft clubbing option.

"To combat food waste, simply recovering food isn't enough: everyone needs to do their part. Initiatives like RE-SAMPLE are important because they shine a spotlight on the problem and engage citizens in a shared responsibility. This widespread awareness can strengthen a network capable of transforming surpluses into resources and food support into an opportunity for people to become independent. This is the challenge that the IBVA Foundation takes forward every day with the Solidando System." [Gerolamo Caccia Dominioni - President of the IBVA Foundation]

Milan is a laboratory of food innovation, where institutions, businesses, research, and civil society collaborate to make the food system increasingly sustainable, healthy, and accessible. In over ten years of Food Policy, we have transformed this vision into concrete projects, from school cafeterias to farmers' markets, from combating food waste to educating new generations. Milan Food Week is an opportunity to share this transformation, enhance the city's energy, and engage more and more citizens in building the future of food. [Anna Scavuzzo, Deputy Mayor of Milan, responsible for Food Policy]

The little ones will be treated to the "Inside Food" workshop, scheduled for October 17th from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm at the Identità Golose Food Hub, in collaboration with the University of Milan-Bicocca, NBFC and Best4Food: an opportunity to introduce children and families to the knowledge of food and its relationship with the natural world through interactive experiments.

Sponsors and organizers

Andriani, with its Felicia brand, is a Food Partner of Milan Food Week 2026 and contributes to activities dedicated to research, biodiversity, food innovation, and the recovery of surplus products.

For the food industry, biodiversity is a fundamental resource: it means being able to count on a variety of raw materials, each with different nutritional characteristics, qualities, and potential uses. Our task with Felicia is to understand this wealth, enhance it through research, and make it part of the daily diet. It's a work that connects what is grown, how we process it, and the choices people bring to the table every day. [Rossella Labarbuta, Nutrition & Wellbeing Manager, Andriani/Felicia]

The 2026 edition inaugurates a journey that organizers SG Company, Società Benefit, and GoodGuys intend to develop over the years, expanding collaborations and engaging the city. The starting point is food as a shared daily experience, through which to understand the economic, social, and cultural changes of our time.

Milan has changed, and with it the way we experience food, consumption, and habits. That's why we envisioned Milan Food Week not as a simple event, but as an integrated communications platform, capable of capturing new trends and creating interesting connections between different worlds. With GoodGuys and SG Company, we want to unite industry and creativity, digital and local, institutions and Creators, transforming these connections into concrete experiences, content, and opportunities. The goal is to generate conversations, experiences, and meeting places that go beyond algorithms. With the ambition of building an event that continues to grow over time. [Mauri Valente, CEO and Founder of GoodGuys, Founder and Vice President of ACE (Creator Economy Association)]