Smokeless stoves to smart kitchens: Kerala’s food industry gets tech upgrade at Manorama Quickerala Food & Bake Tech Expo

Kochi: The approaching monsoon in Kerala brings a familiar dread to many households and hoteliers alike: the struggle to find dry firewood, coupled with the ever-looming threat of LPG shortages and price hikes. But what if you could cook for eight straight hours using just one litre of diesel, palm oil, or even inflammable oil with absolutely no smoke, no smell, and zero reliance on gas cylinders? At a current cost of around ₹98, a single litre of diesel in these newly engineered stoves can comfortably power a standard household's cooking needs for up to two weeks and can replace the traditional cooking methods.

This incredible, highly efficient diesel stove is just one of the show-stopping innovations drawing massive crowds to the Manorama Quickerala ‘Food & Bake Tech Expo 2026’.

Kicking off on Friday and running until Sunday, at the Kinfra International Exhibition Centre in Kakkanad, the expo is a 154-stall powerhouse of culinary and industrial innovation. Open from 10 am to 7 pm with absolutely free entry, the event seamlessly integrates the entire food production, bakery, restaurant, home-baking, and hospitality ecosystem.

The exhibition floor is ablaze with innovation, featuring a spectacular array of these ‘alternative stoves’ under its Energy & Sustainability Solutions banner. Alongside the smokeless diesel wonders, visitors are marvelling at heavy-duty commercial cooktops powered entirely by even waste oil. Right beside them sit eco-friendly stoves burning highly efficient bricks or pellets crafted from sawdust, coffee bean husks, dried water hyacinth, and moss. For those looking to step away from combustion entirely, the expo features electric roasters, induction kadai machines, and renewable energy hardware. The exhibits also feature the critically acclaimed Rocket Stoves, renowned for delivering powerful, high-heat flames while using a fraction of the usual fuel.

Organised in collaboration with Bake One, the Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association (KHRA), the All Kerala Distributors Association, and the All Kerala Catering Association, the expo leaves no stone unturned. Top-tier partners back the initiative, including Excel Refrigeration (Bakery & Kitchen), Seha Garden International Hospital (Health), Paragon Restaurant (Food), Brooks School of Hotel Management (Hospitality), and Kochi Metro Rail Limited (Travel). Scores of brands and companies, from all these sectors, are exhibiting their best products at the expo.

Automation: Say goodbye to hard kitchen work
The sheer scale of automation on display is staggering. Take the mammoth vegetable processing machines capable of peeling and chopping up to 400 kg of vegetables per hour. Whether it is onions, potatoes, or tapioca, these machines handle everything in various sizes. The expo also introduces everything from 10 kg capacity small mills to massive commercial grain processing mills, industrial mixers, fruit mill equipment, and high-capacity pulverisers.

For caterers and restaurants, the automated flatbread setups are a major attraction. A standalone machine capable of rolling and baking 600 chapatis per hour is available for just ₹2.65 lakhs. For ₹4.5 lakhs, entrepreneurs can walk away with a complete, live-chapati manufacturing setup, complete with specialised dough kneaders and complementary equipment. But commercial giants aren't the only ones benefiting. Home-use chapati makers are drawing huge crowds; simply place the kneaded dough inside, and the machine automatically rolls and bakes hot chapatis effortlessly.

“It uses just one unit of electricity for 2 hours. You can simultaneously make and cook chapatis in under one minute using our product without using oil. You can also fry chicken and fish easily,” said a staff member at a stall showcasing a product called ‘multi-maker’.

Traditional tastes, high-tech execution
The expo proves that traditional Kerala snacks and modern tech are a perfect match. Specialised machinery for traditional confectionery takes centre stage. Crowds are flocking to see the world’s smallest murukku-making machine, alongside fully automated systems churning out achappam, kuzhalappam, idiyappam, veeshappam, and medu vadas (uzhunnu vada).

The machinery spectrum covers every culinary niche. Stalls feature samosa and momos machines, halwa and malt makers, shawarma and beef brisket equipment, chicken marinating machines, chocolate makers, ice cube and snowflake machines, sugarcane juice extractors, and industrial blowers. There is also a wide array of industrial ovens, baking equipment, and home appliances.

Preservation, packaging, and hygiene
Producing food is only half the battle. The exhibition features massive industrial chillers, advanced cryogenic cooling technology, blast freezers, walk-in coolers, cold storage units, and specialised ripening chambers.

For post-production, entrepreneurs can explore solar dryers and end-to-end packaging machinery. This includes food-grade containers, retail sealing solutions, industrial coding, barcode printers, labelling tech, adhesives, and secondary packaging materials.

Equally critical is the Hygiene & Safety section. Dedicated stalls showcase commercial dishwashing systems, industrial cleaning equipment, industrial gas safety tech, fire prevention, waste management, and advanced water treatment and purification systems.

A complete business launchpad
Beyond steel and motors, the expo serves as a comprehensive business incubator. Visitors can secure vital raw materials from specialised dough premixes, edible oils, health-centric fats, spices, seasonings, and coffee beans for roasting, to finished products like curry powders, ice cream, dairy, pudding cakes, value-added coconut products, cookies, ready-to-cook items, and frozen foods.

The expo also offers an extensive suite of business services. Entrepreneurs can test billing software, digital menus, ERP, and IT solutions for retail. Professional food photography, digital marketing consultancy, banking, insurance, and business loan assistance are all readily available. There is even a dedicated hospitality training app and resources highlighting Government/Institutional support and seafood sector opportunities.

For those looking to hit the road, customised food trucks, mobile food solutions, and cafe equipment are on display, with direct ordering available at the venue. Crucially, subsidies and discounts are available for most of the products, making this the perfect time to invest. Furthermore, purchasing directly from manufacturers at the expo guarantees prices lower than the open market.

To ensure maximum accessibility, visitors can utilise a free pick-and-drop shuttle service running every hour from 9 am to 5 pm, connecting the Kalamassery Metro Station and the Kakkanad Private Stand directly to the venue.

Whether you are a home baker tired of wet firewood, an investor eyeing a high-tech food truck, or an established restaurateur battling overhead costs, the Food & Bake Tech Expo 2026 is an unmissable blueprint for the future of Kerala’s food industry.