Gastia - The trade and experience fair for hospitality

Attendees, exhibitors & solutions

Who this event is for

Industry trends

Key trends shaping this market and its wider industry.

Hotel tiers

A range of accommodation options near the venue and across key areas.

Local transport

Get around the city with these convenient transport options.

Frequently asked

Glossary

1

Gastro (Swiss shorthand)

In Swiss German business usage 'Gastro' means the restaurant and food-service trade as a whole: restaurants, bars, cafeterias, take-aways and the suppliers that equip and provision them. GASTIA is organised around this buyer base, which is why kitchen technology, food, beverages and service systems appear under one roof.

2

GV / Gemeinschaftsverpflegung

Communal or institutional catering - staff restaurants, hospital and care-home kitchens, school and university canteens, prison and military catering. GV buyers source in larger volumes and care about portion costing, cook-and-hold equipment and hygiene documentation, all of which are relevant lines at GASTIA.

3

HACCP

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points - the food-safety management system that Swiss cantonal food inspectors expect restaurant and hotel kitchens to document. At a gastronomy fair it drives interest in temperature logging, cold-storage monitoring, hygiene stations and cleaning chemistry.

4

Mise en place

The pre-service preparation of ingredients, sauces and station set-up before a restaurant opens. Equipment that shortens mise en place - vacuum sealers, blast chillers, prep tables, portioning tools - is a recurring theme for professional-kitchen buyers.

5

Combi steamer (Kombidämpfer)

A combination oven that can steam, convection-bake or combine both modes. It is the core cooking appliance in most professional Swiss kitchens, so combi-steamer demonstrations and connected cooking-data features are usually a focal point on the equipment side of the hall.

6

Cold chain

The unbroken refrigerated path from supplier to plate - delivery, storage, prep and display. Blast chillers, refrigerated counters, walk-in cold rooms and temperature monitoring are bought together because cantonal inspectors audit the whole chain.

7

Convenience products

Pre-prepared or part-prepared food items (sauces, doughs, portioned proteins, sous-vide components) used to control labour cost and consistency. Their positioning at a Swiss gastro fair usually centres on provenance, allergen labelling and price per portion.

8

Front of house / Back of house

Front of house is everything the guest sees - service, bar, dining room, payment; back of house is the kitchen, storage, dishwash and staff areas. GASTIA exhibitors split roughly along this line, which helps visitors plan a route through the halls.

9

POS and Kassen system

Point-of-sale hardware and software used for ordering, table management, fiscal reporting and Swiss VAT handling. Swiss restaurants increasingly expect integration with reservations, delivery platforms and staff scheduling, so POS is a software-evaluation stop rather than a hardware purchase.

10

Beverage dispensing and tap systems

Draught beer and soft-drink dispense, coffee machines and water systems, together with the line cleaning and gas supply they need. They matter most to bars, hotel F&B and high-volume event caterers and are usually shown working, not just as static equipment.

11

Banquet and event catering

Volume service for hotels, congress centres and event venues: cook-and-hold trolleys, plate warmers, mobile bars and transport boxes. St. Gallen's own hotel and congress scene makes this a natural buyer group at the Olma Messen site.

12

Swissness / regional sourcing

The commercial value Swiss hospitality places on declared Swiss or regional origin - dairy, meat, bakery, beer and wine. Suppliers use origin labelling and short transport routes as a selling argument, so provenance is usually stated on the stand rather than left to the data sheet.

13

Dishwash and Spültechnik

Rack and flight-type dishwashing machines, glasswashers, water treatment and the chemicals and racks around them. It is a back-of-house purchase driven by labour availability, energy cost and cantonal water rules rather than by design.