EATS 2025 offers expanded experience

The show FKA Process Expo returns with new on-floor demos and programming,

EATS (Equipment, Automation & Technology Show for Food & Beverage), formerly Process Expo, returns to McCormick Place in Chicago, IL from Oct. 28–30, 2025, with expanded on-floor demonstrations and programming. The event will include three operational production lines, a new culinary feature called EATS Kitchen, sector stages, and the Innovation Awards.

More than 300 exhibitors will present solutions across processing, packaging, robotics, inspection, and automation. A new Software Pavilion will highlight digital tools for manufacturing efficiency, traceability, and production intelligence, including MES, ERP, AI-driven quality control, and predictive maintenance.

Three live production lines will operate on the show floor:

A sliced pepperoni line, managed/sponsored by Epstein, will demonstrate high-speed slicing, portioning, and packaging.
A blueberry danish line, managed/sponsored by Dennis Group, will show bakery processes from mixing to wrapping.
A fresh pet food line, managed/sponsored by Gray AES, will focus on processing and packaging in the pet food category.

EATS Kitchen will host culinary demonstrations featuring chefs Jeff Mauro, Rick Bayless, Dominique Leach, and McCullough Kelly-Willis. Sessions will explore how recipes scale from kitchen to commercial production, with discussions on ingredient functionality, texture, and packaging.

The Innovation Awards will take place Oct. 28 at 12:30 PM in Food for Thought Theater 2 (Booth #1848), recognizing advances in processing, packaging, automation, ingredients, and sustainability. Finalists will present their technologies before winners are announced in categories such as Best New Product and Most Sustainable Solution.

Two sector stages—The Sweet Spot and The Beverage Spot—will feature discussions and demos focused on sweet goods, snacks, and beverages. Topics include clean-label reformulation, texture optimization, novel sweeteners, and automation in bottling and packaging.

Additional programming includes Food for Thought presentations on workforce practices, R&D, and business strategies; the FPSA Women’s Alliance Network Breakfast on Oct. 29, honoring industry leaders; and food safety training hosted by Commercial Food Sanitation and the Meat Institute, covering contamination prevention and hygienic design.

Registration is open at www.theeatsshow.com.