Bakery China 2026 spotlights global integration and AI manufacturing
The event brought together manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, equipment providers, retailers, foodservice operators, and industry experts from around the globe, creating a platform for innovation, collaboration, and international business development.
CHINA – The 28th edition of Bakery China concluded its four-day run at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (NECC) in Shanghai, solidifying its standing as the premier global platform for the baking and confectionery industries.
Co-organized by the China Association of Bakery and Confectionery Industry and Bakery China Exhibitions Co., Ltd., the massive trade show operated under the forward-looking theme “Innovate Beyond, Premiere Fusion, Link Future.”
The sheer scale of the event underscored the rapid post-pandemic recovery and transformation of the global food industrial chain.
Spanning an unprecedented 330,000 square meters, the mega-exhibition gathered 2,267 brands and corporate exhibitors hailing from 79 distinct countries and territories.
Over the course of the event, participants showcased more than 10,000 unique products, drawing nearly 400,000 professional buyers and trade visitors from 144 nations.
International collaboration emerged as a core focus, with foreign enterprises comprising more than 20% of the total exhibitor pool.
Major culinary and manufacturing hubs, including Germany, France, Japan, Italy, South Korea, and the United States, maintained high-profile pavilions.
A dedicated “Belt and Road Bakery Theme Zone” highlighted unique raw materials and cross-cultural flavor profiles, yielding distinct market trends such as fusing traditional Chinese medicinal ingredients into Western pastries and applying European pastry techniques to classic regional Chinese baked goods.
Organizers noted that the volume of registered overseas buyers surged by more than 60% compared to previous cycles.
“Bakery China will continue empowering high-quality development of the bakery industry, facilitating business matchmaking, trend insights, resource integration, skills enhancement, brand exposure, and global exchanges,” said Zhang Jiukui, President of the China Association of Bakery & Confectionery Industry.
“Bakery China is a world-leading bakery exhibition and an excellent platform for understanding industry trends, finding inspiration, and sourcing products,” added Cai Yi Cheng, President of the Taiwan Bakery Association.
Technological disruption and public health trends dominated the innovation forums.
This iteration witnessed the debut of Chocolate China 2026, a specialized 30,000-square-meter ecosystem hosting over 150 global cocoa entities.
Across the main showroom floor, standard manual practices were visibly superseded by automation.
Exhibitors demonstrated fully operational, end-to-end artificial intelligence baking lines alongside automated AI vision quality-control mechanisms to optimize supply chain traceability and yield consistency.
Concurrently, product developers emphasized clean-label emulsifiers, sugar alternatives, and low-glycemic index formulations tailored to conscious consumer choices.
Looking forward, the trade group plans to aggressively scale its geographic footprint to capture surrounding emerging growth corridors. Organization leaders announced the impending launch of the inaugural Bakery ASEAN exhibition, scheduled to take place in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Additionally, the industrial community will gather again for the upcoming 11th Bakery China Autumn and the 9th China Home Baking Show at the Wuhan International Expo Center.
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