Foodpro 2026 Draws 10,468 Visitors Across Four Days In Melbourne As Organisers Launch Sydney Event For 2027

Food and beverage manufacturing trade show foodpro drew 10,468 unique visitors and 519 exhibitors across four days at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, with AI-driven quality inspection, automation, robotics and digital manufacturing technology featuring alongside traditional processing and packaging equipment.

The event, which ran from 26 to 29 July, recorded repeat attendance from one in five visitors who returned across multiple days. Organisers used the Melbourne show to launch FoodTech Sydney 2027, a new event to be held at ICC Sydney on 17 and 18 August 2027.

What was on the floor

The 519 exhibitors spanned processing equipment, packaging solutions, ingredients, digital factory technology, logistics and sustainability. Global and national brands on the floor included Tetra Pak, GEA Australia, Sealed Air, Endress+Hauser, MULTIVAC Australia, TOMRA Food, JBT Marel, Heat and Control, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Kikkoman Australia, BOC and Air Liquide Australia, alongside more than 400 additional suppliers from across the food and beverage value chain.

Visitors included manufacturers, processors, packaging specialists, R&D teams and decision-makers from across the sector.

Event Director, Louise Brooks, pointed to the repeat attendance rate as evidence of how attendees were using the event.

“This year’s growth reflects the appetite for innovation across Australian food and beverage manufacturing, and the trust the industry continues to place in foodpro,” Brooks remarked. “The scale of the show, and the quality of the conversations happening on the floor, tell us this is more than an event – it’s a platform the industry relies on to move forward together.”

The technology themes

The free-to-attend Innovation Stage ran across all four days, with multiple presentations each day covering the technology trends and practical challenges facing Australian food and beverage manufacturers.

Sessions covered automation, robotics and predictive maintenance for plant floors, sustainable and circular packaging solutions, food safety and traceability technology and innovation in ingredients and alternative proteins. The digital manufacturing sessions addressed AI-driven quality inspection, IoT-enabled monitoring and the broader digital transformation of food manufacturing operations. Presenters also covered export opportunities and the evolving regulatory landscape facing Australian manufacturers.

The Demo Exchange area hosted live equipment demonstrations throughout the event, while the Business Lounge and Industry Hub provided spaces for commercial discussions.

Co-located events

Several industry events ran alongside foodpro. The Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology hosted its AIFST26 Conference, while the Australasian Institute of Packaging ran training courses and seminars during the show. The inaugural Packaging and Processing Innovation and Design Awards (PIDA) Gala Dinner was held alongside the event, and an Industry Connect Evening at Melbourne Public on the Yarra brought exhibitors and visitors together for opening-night networking.

FoodTech Sydney 2027

The launch of FoodTech Sydney 2027 was the notable announcement of the week. The new event will be held at ICC Sydney on 17 and 18 August 2027, extending the Australian food manufacturing events calendar to the eastern seaboard’s other major convention venue.

Organisers reported early interest from both exhibitors and visitors, with many using their time at foodpro to learn more about the Sydney event and register interest.

The new event is intended to complement rather than replace the Melbourne show, giving the industry a second annual opportunity to connect with technology suppliers and evaluate equipment. Whether it generates comparable attendance to the established Melbourne event will depend on how the industry responds to a two-city model.

Further information on foodpro is available at www.foodproexpo.com.

Last Updated on August 13, 2026 by Nick Ross