Hostex - Food & Hospitality Africa

About this event

Hostex - Food & Hospitality Africa (Hostex 2028)

Hostex 2028 | Africa's Food, Drink & Hospitality Expo is scheduled for 12–14 March 2028 at the Sandon Convention Centre in Sandton, South Africa. The event is positioned as Africa’s leading expo for the food, drink, and hospitality sectors, bringing together exhibitors, industry buyers, and hospitality decision-makers in one concentrated marketplace.

1) Who attends (BUYERS / ATTENDEES)

We expect a blended audience made up of hospitality and food-service decision-makers, operational leaders, and industry professionals who attend to source products, evaluate suppliers, and build partnerships. Typical attendee groups for an expo of this type generally include:

• Buyers and procurement decision-makers from hotels, restaurants, caterers, and hospitality groups
• Food & beverage managers focused on menu development, beverage programs, and vendor selection
• Chefs and kitchen leadership teams engaging with product innovation, ingredients, and equipment
• Hospitality operations leaders such as general managers, hotel operations managers, and franchise operators
• Industry suppliers and exhibitors representing food and drink brands, hospitality service providers, and trade partners
• Training and engagement participants linked to hosted stages and specialty areas (where applicable)

2) Where the show is happening + attendee geographic origin

The expo is held at the Sandon Convention Centre in Sandton, South Africa. Given the event positioning as an Africa-focused food, drink & hospitality expo, the audience is typically drawn from:

• Local origin from South Africa’s major metro areas, especially the Gauteng region (Sandton/Johannesburg corridor)
• Regional origin from across Southern Africa for foodservice and hospitality procurement cycles
• International brand presence via exhibitors and suppliers seeking commercial opportunities into Africa

If we need precise attendee origin percentages (local vs. national vs. regional vs. international), we will align them to the event’s official “Visitor Profile & Event Statistics” published materials once provided by the client or retrieved from the organiser’s most current visitor statistics page.

3) Audience reach (Local / National / Global)

We position Hostex primarily as an Africa-centric hospitality marketplace with both:

• Strong national reach within South Africa (driven by major hospitality operators and supplier coverage)
• Regional reach across neighbouring markets where hotels, restaurants, and food-service providers source locally and regionally
• Selected global exposure through international suppliers and brands exhibiting into Africa

Final reach classification (and whether the event is “mostly South Africa” or “mostly Southern Africa” in attendee mix) should be confirmed using the organiser’s Visitor Profile & Event Statistics resource mentioned on the site.

4) Sample buyer company names (BUYERS ONLY) + Websites

Below is a buyer-first sample structure we can use for outreach and Apollo-style targeting. Because the official website content provided here does not include a verified list of specific attending buyer companies, we will treat these as starter examples for buyer targeting in the food, beverage, and hospitality industry. Once the client shares the website and product requirements, we will refine these to the best-fit buyers.

Next step for accuracy: we need the client’s product link and what exactly we provide (category, use-case, customer type). Then we will return a refined buyer list that matches Hostex buyer intent more tightly (e.g., hotels vs. restaurants vs. catering vs. beverage program operators).

5) Job profiles, industries & event type

Hostex is a hospitality and food sourcing expo, so the strongest buyer job families are typically decision-makers who influence procurement, supplier selection, menu and beverage strategy, and operational execution.

Best job profiles to target

• Food & Beverage Manager / Beverage Manager / Bar Manager

• Procurement Manager / Supply Chain Manager / Category Manager

• Head Chef / Executive Chef / Kitchen Manager

• Hospitality Operations Manager / General Manager

• Commercial Director / Sourcing & Partnerships Lead

Event type

This is best categorized as a trade expo focused on food, drink, and hospitality, with industry engagement that can include stages, specialty villages, and exhibitor-led product demonstrations.

6) Estimated attendance (expected total footfall)

The provided official website excerpt includes multiple visitor resources (such as “Visitor Profile & Event Statistics” and “Student Attendance”), but it does not show a reliable numeric attendance figure in the text we received. To avoid guessing, we will return the attendance estimate once the organiser’s official statistics are shared or accessible to us. For now, we will leave this field unfilled rather than providing an inaccurate value.

7) Key focus areas & buyer engagement

Based on the expo positioning as Africa’s food, drink & hospitality showcase, the key focus areas usually center on sourcing and upgrading offerings across hospitality operations. Buyer engagement is typically driven by:

• Supplier discovery for food and beverage categories used across hotels, restaurants, and catering
• Menu and beverage innovation (new brands, ingredients, and beverage programs)
• Operational improvement through equipment or hospitality service solutions (when exhibitors cover these)
• Networking between hospitality groups and brands/suppliers seeking commercial relationships
• Stage-led engagement (for example, specialty competition-style or knowledge-based programming referenced on the site)

We will tailor the engagement angle to the client’s product so the outreach messaging matches what decision-makers attend for at Hostex.

8) Always ask and give answer based on our client product review (buyer fit request)

We can identify the best buyers for Hostex based on the client’s product requirements, but we need the following from the client:

• Client website URL
• What the product is (food ingredient? beverage brand? hospitality service? equipment? packaging?)
• Who the product is for (hotels, restaurants, caterers, distributors, procurement teams, chefs, etc.)
• Target regions (South Africa only vs. Southern Africa vs. wider African footprint)

Please share the client website and product summary, and we will: (a) map the best-fit job titles, (b) refine industries using the provided Apollo industry list, (c) return an updated prioritized buyer set tailored to the right decision-makers for Hostex.

9) Suggested industry targeting (from the provided Apollo industry list)

For Hostex - Food & Hospitality Africa, we suggest the following Apollo-style industry filters as a starting point. We will refine this based on the client product type after reviewing the client website.

• Food & Beverages
• Food Production
• Hospitality
• Restaurants
• Retail (only if the product is sold through retail channels alongside hospitality)
• Logistics & Supply Chain (if the client provides supply, warehousing, or distribution solutions)
• Packaging & Containers (if applicable)
• Packaging & Containers and Wholesale (if the client is a supplier/distributor brand)
• Events Services (if the client sells catering/event services or hospitality event solutions)
• Wine & Spirits (if the client is a beverage category provider)
• Oil & Energy (only for limited cases where hospitality/fuel forecourt foodservice is relevant; otherwise we skip this)

Required to finalize “Best Buyers” for our attendee-list targeting

Please provide the client’s website and a short product description. After we review, we will return: priority-ranked buyer companies, the exact best titles to target, and the most accurate Apollo industry filters for the client’s category.