When the total added value of India's food sector is expected to reach 1.3 trillion billion US dollars in 2035, this market with a huge population base and consumption upgrading potential is becoming a must for global food and machinery companies. From September 29 to October 1, 2026, two major industry events-India (Cologne) International Food Exhibition (Anuga Select India 2026) and India (Cologne) International Food Machinery and Packaging Exhibition (ANUGA FOOD TECH INDIA 2026), created by Germany's Cologne Exhibition Co., Ltd., will open in Mumbai at the same time. One focused on the demand of the consumer side and the other driven the upgrading of the industrial side. With a total scale of over 43000 square meters, a hard-core lineup of 960 + participating brands and 48000 + professional audiences, the double exhibition linkage has built an accurate bridge for Chinese enterprises to enter the South Asian market.

Why bet on India?

1. Consumption Outbreak: 1.4 billion People Prop up a Billion-Level Demand Market

india's food consumption is ushering in a double outbreak of "rising volume and price + structural upgrading. In the second quarter of 2025, the fast-moving consumer goods industry sales increased by 13.9 percent year-on-year, and the rural sinking market grew by 8.4 percent, far exceeding the urban 4.6 percent. Demand for beverages, ready-to-eat foods and other categories was particularly strong. More importantly, health and facilitation have become the core trend: 84% of consumers are highly concerned about food safety, and sales of low-sugar and low-fat foods will double in 2024; 72% of consumers are used to supermarket purchases, 55% rely on instant distribution, and the penetration rate of convenience categories such as ready-to-eat meals and prepared foods has increased rapidly. At the same time, after 10 years, India's demand for agricultural and fishery products will expand from 13% to 20%, meat consumption growth space is huge, for all kinds of food enterprises to provide a broad incremental market.

2. Industrial gap: mechanical upgrading has created a billion-level demand.

As the world's second largest producer of agricultural products, India's food processing rate is only 10%-15%, far lower than China's 25% and Europe and the United States 90%, the need for industrial upgrading is extremely urgent. The lack of cold chain logistics coverage leads to 20% loss of fruits and vegetables every year, the equipment renewal cycle of small and medium-sized enterprises is as long as 15-20 years, and there is a huge import gap in the fields of automatic processing, intelligent packaging, environmental protection cold chain and so on. With the advantages of high cost performance and strong technical adaptability, China's food machinery has become the best way to fill this gap, and has strong market competitiveness in fruit and vegetable processing, beverage production, packaging equipment and other subdivisions.

Double exhibition linkage: accurate coverage of the whole industry chain of "product + technology"

relying on the global resources of the Cologne exhibition in Germany and the industry influence of the Anuga brand, the two exhibitions have a clear division of labor and synergy:

Anuga Select India 2026: the global docking hub for the food trade

as an important extension of the world-renowned Anuga brand in South Asia, the exhibition has become a key bridge between the global food industry and regional needs, and a core position for industry innovation and collaboration, relying on India's potential as a hub for emerging food markets.

This is not only the link of multi-party dialogue between production, learning, and politics, but also a stage for the integration of culture and taste-through interactive forms such as characteristic tasting and technical demonstrations, traditional ingredients and modern crafts can collide with new values. From the breakthrough of upstream technology to the landing of the downstream market, the exhibition connects the needs and opportunities of the global food industry in an all-round way, highlighting the continuous role of promoting the high-quality development of the industry.

ANUGA FOOD TECH INDIA 2026: Technology Core Platform for Industrial Upgrading

ANUGA FOOD TECH INDIA is an important event for the food industry in South Asia. The exhibition covers the whole industry chain of food processing, packaging technology and automation system, and is an excellent stage for relevant enterprises to display cutting-edge products and technologies. At that time, many food machinery manufacturers and packaging solution suppliers from all over the world will gather together to present the most advanced food processing equipment, efficient packaging machinery, and innovative automation solutions.

It not only provides a broad promotion platform for exhibitors, but also brings opportunities for professional audiences to communicate with top people in the industry, and helps companies to gain insight into market trends and grasp industry development trends. The related activities held at the same time as the exhibition will further enrich the content of the exhibition, inject new vitality into the exchange and cooperation of the entire food industry, and promote the food industry to a new height.

The industry forum and trend seminar held at the same time will deeply interpret India's food industry policy, consumption trend and technology frontier, provide accurate market navigation for exhibitors, and help enterprises to quickly adapt to local demand.