ICEX opens grants to take eight agri-food companies to Marca 2027

The Castilla-La Mancha Foreign Promotion Institute (IPEX) has opened the call for grants for the grouped participation of food sector companies in the Marca 2027 trade fair, which will be held in Bologna (Italy) from January 11 to 16, 2027. The call is published in the Official Gazette of Castilla-La Mancha (DOCM) number 211, dated November 4, 2026, section III, by means of the Resolution of 10/28/2026 by the director of IPEX, Paloma Sánchez Garrido, with official reference [2026/7892] and identification BDNS 938721. The application period extends from the day following publication until November 27, 2026.

The grants are supported by Order 152/2022, of July 29, of the Ministry of Economy, Business and Employment, which establishes the regulatory bases for grouped participation in internationalization actions convened by IPEX, and are processed under a competitive bidding regime. They are de minimis in nature according to Commission Regulation (EU) No 2023/2831, meaning that the total accumulated amount per company cannot exceed 300,000 euros in any three-year period.

The event is the main European gathering for distributor brand products (white label or private label). According to the text of the resolution, its last edition brought together more than 1,500 exhibiting companies, nearly 25,000 professional visitors, and more than 5,000 qualified buyers, with representatives from around thirty countries. Italy is one of the most dynamic markets in the segment, which already exceeds a 30% share and reaches a value of 31.5 billion euros.

Eight spots and 4,680 euros per company

The call sets a maximum of 8 beneficiary companies and a single eligible expense: the rental and preparation of the exhibition space. The maximum eligible cost is 7,200.00 euros, with a grant percentage of 65%, placing the IPEX contribution at 4,680.00 euros per participant.

• Total planned credit: 37,440.00 euros, charged to the IPEX 2027 budget, program 751B, item 47573, PEP OOAA/1000000498.
• Advance processing: the aid is subject to the existence of adequate and sufficient credit in 2027.
• Possible extension: up to an additional 40% of the total amount if credit from previous calls is released, without a new call or reopening of the deadline.
• Reservation of 30% of the credit for applicants from sparsely populated areas or areas at risk of depopulation, in accordance with the Government Council Agreement of October 19, 2021, and Law 2/2021, of May 7.
• If applications exceed the available spots, selection will be applied based on evaluation criteria.

Deadline, processing, and resolution

Applications are submitted electronically with an electronic signature via the form available on the electronic office of the Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha, within procedure 037090. The processing is handled by the IPEX administration department and the evaluation by a technical commission consisting of two technicians from the promotion department; the maximum period for resolution and notification is three months from the day following publication, with negative administrative silence.

The period for correcting defective applications is ten non-extendable days, and the justification must be submitted within a maximum period of one month from the completion of the action. The resolution does not exhaust administrative remedies: an appeal for reversal (recurso de alzada) may be filed before the head of the Ministry of Economy, Business and Employment within the month following its publication.

Evaluation criteria and participation conditions

The evaluation is based on a maximum of 100 points:

• Export department: 15 points if external and 30 if internal.
• Website in multiple languages: 15 points for Spanish and English; 30 if it includes other languages.
• Previous editions in the action: 10 points for more than three; 20 between one and three; 30 if they have never participated.
• Activity in priority areas of Law 5/2017, of November 30: 10 points.

Eligible beneficiaries may include companies, natural persons registered in the RETA (Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers), clusters, cooperatives, communities of assets, for-profit business groupings and associations, and management bodies for protected geographical indications and designations of origin; foundations, public companies and bodies, and administrations are excluded. It is a requirement to carry out economic activity in Castilla-La Mancha and to have a previously contracted stand in the Spanish pavilion managed by the trade fair organization; the person responsible for the stand must be present during setup on January 12 before 1:00 PM, the same day on which B2B business meetings are held.

The call arrives with a tight schedule: interested companies have less than a month to prepare the application and prove the stand, multilingual website, and export structure. For the regional agri-food sector, which is highly dependent on distribution and private labels, the Bologna event is one of the few direct routes of access to international buyers with public support, and the 30% credit reserve for depopulated areas introduces a territorial cohesion criterion that may prove decisive when applications exceed the eight available spots.

Source: Official Gazette of Castilla-La Mancha, no. 211, November 4, 2026, section III, pp. 39016-39027 (official reference: 2026/7892).