AAHAR

AAHAR is India's big food and hospitality show, run by ITPO at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. The name means "food", so importers assume it's the place to buy Indian food. It mostly isn't. It's a domestic show for hotels, restaurants and caterers, and about half the floor is kitchen and hotel equipment.

So here's our honest take - if you import packaged food, spices or ingredients then put your trip budget into Indusfood instead. AAHAR is worth a day only if you're in Delhi anyway, or you buy hotel and kitchen supplies.

Next edition

• Dates: Dates not yet announced for the 41st edition. ITPO's event calendar lists AAHAR 2027 against 25 February to 7 March 2027, but that's the hall booking window with build-up and teardown, not the show days. Trade press and listing sites have printed both, so don't book flights off either until ITPO publishes the show days.
• Venue: Bharat Mandapam
• City: New Delhi
• Buyer registration: not open yet (Unknown). The 2026 edition took visitor registration on ITPO's own event page (opens in a new tab), so watch itpo.gov.in (opens in a new tab) for the 2027 page.

Who exhibits

ITPO, the government's trade promotion body, organises AAHAR, and ran the 2026 edition with the Ministry of Food Processing Industries. The 2025 edition had over 1,700 exhibitors, about 140 of them from overseas (ITPO). Most of them sell into India's hotel, restaurant and catering trade.

There's no exporter filter on the exhibitor side. A stand may or may not export, and may or may not make what it shows. Both are normal, and plenty of good food suppliers are traders. Just ask who makes it and whether they ship abroad today before you spend an hour at the stand.

Hosted-buyer terms

We found no hosted-buyer programme for AAHAR, as at September 2026, so you'd pay your own way. Indusfood runs a screened hosted-buyer programme for food importers.

Visa

The e-Business Visa is the usual route. Apply at least two weeks ahead and ask the organiser for an invitation letter.

Getting there

Bharat Mandapam is at Pragati Maidan in central New Delhi. ITPO says the 123-acre complex has metro connectivity and underground parking, so check which gate serves your hall before you set off (ITPO, read September 2026).

What to expect

A huge, busy domestic show. You'll walk past combi ovens, packaging lines and hotel linen to find the food stands, and few of those are set up to talk export terms, proof of origin or your country's food rules. That isn't a knock on AAHAR. It's doing its job for its real audience, which is Indian hospitality.

If you do go, treat it as a scouting day. Collect names, then check each firm before any samples move, using how to check an Indian supplier.

Past editions

• 2026: 40th edition, 10 to 14 March 2026, Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, organised by ITPO with the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (ITPO event page).
• 2025: over 1,700 exhibitors, about 140 from overseas, with roughly half the halls given to equipment (ITPO).

Sources

• ITPO, AAHAR 2026 event page (opens in a new tab), read September 2026
• ITPO event calendar (opens in a new tab), AAHAR 2027 hall booking, read 25 September 2026
• ITPO venue facts for Bharat Mandapam (opens in a new tab), read 25 September 2026
• Exhibition Showcase, "ITPO announced dates for next edition of AAHAR", 16 March 2026 (opens in a new tab), trade press (not used for the dates above)

Where SourcingSync helps

If you want food exhibitors checked against their public records and export-ready meetings lined up before you fly, SourcingSync (opens in a new tab) does that.

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