On November 6, the Parkovy Congress and Exhibition Center hosted the SALT Restaurant Innovation Conference for the third time. The event brought together restaurateurs, chefs, manufacturers, and representatives of FoodTech companies to analyze the current state of the market, outline future forecasts, and focus on tools and solutions that can help businesses navigate the crisis.
The conference zones on the third floor of the complex became an ideal setting for intimate panel discussions, workshops, and networking. Flexible space zoning made it possible to run several thematic sessions simultaneously, significantly enriching the event program.
The main sessions and keynote presentations took place in the
Convention and Concert Hall — the flagship venue of the complex. This was where leading industry experts spoke and key discussions unfolded. The central theme of the third annual SALT conference was “A Point of Support,” highlighting the key factors that can sustain the restaurant business in the face of potential challenges in 2026.
Key insights from the event included:
- The conference opened with a conversation between Minister of Education and Science Oksen Lisovyi and Metro CEO Olena Vdovychenko on the reform of vocational education.
- Strategist, futurist, founder, and CEO of Advanter Group Andrii Dlihach shared his forecasts on the future of the hospitality industry.
- During a Q&A session, Mykhailo Beilin, co-founder of LaFamiglia Restaurants, announced that Kyiv Food Market is set to open in early December.
- Olena Bebko-Minaieva, co-owner of Rose Family restaurants (Odesa, Spicy NoSpicy, Buty Sofie), delivered an emotional and heartfelt talk about a business run by three generations of women.
- Nastia Varava, together with her husband Sasha Varava, spoke about the evolution of VARFAMILY and their view of hospitality not as a set of rules, but as an embodiment of company culture and the outcome of all business processes.
- Major delivery services operating in Ukraine also presented at the event, including Uklon Delivery, Choice, Milk Bar, Glovo Ukraine, Bolt Food, Servio Soft, GetOrder.Biz, and expirenza by mono, among others.
The event concluded with a panel discussion on the Ukrainian pizza market featuring Serhii Reshetniak (CEO of Domino’s Pizza Ukraine) and Roman Bondar (owner of La Pi’Ets, Pizza HOT, and Pizza ROMANA). The discussion was moderated by Pavlo Kozhukhar (CMO of METRO).
Traditionally, the event included a charitable component — a fundraising initiative in support of SUPERHUMANS.
Thank you to the organizers for consistently choosing Parkovy as the venue for their events!
