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27 April 2015 – Wine and Gourmet Japan 2015 reinforced its solid standing as Japan’s leading trade fair when it wrapped up its three-day exhibition on 17 April with resounding success. The sixth edition of the show showcased the best of the world’s wine, beer, spirits and gourmet food at the Tokyo Big Sight, drawing a stellar crowd of quality professionals from the food & beverage industry from around Japan and Asia.
Says Mr. Michael Dreyer, Vice President Asia Pacific, Koelnmesse Pte Ltd, “The number of exhibitors and visitors has grown steadily over the years. For us, this is a clear sign that this exhibition has gained the confidence of the food and beverage professionals in Japan and the world. The fact that this is now a must-visit event for F&B professionals in Japan is a huge encouragement to our team.”
In 2015, Wine & Gourmet Japan, together with the partner fairs welcomed a total of 75,129 visitors. There has also been a spectacular growth in international exhibitors, with an increase of 18% to 117. This includes exhibitors from Italy, Thailand, South Africa, Germany, Portugal and Slovakia. Group participation leapt by 22%, from 9 group pavilions to 11 this year.
The show, catering for trade professionals, also presented partner fairs – FABEX for Food and Beverage Exhibition, Desserts Sweets Bakery and Drink Festival, PB-OEM for Private Labeling, Japan Meat Industry Fair, Noodle Industry Fair and the newly-launched Halal Market Fair.
Other than a wide selection of country and product pavilions, Wine and Gourmet Japan 2015 also rolled out wine and food focused programmes to foster industry education and networking opportunities.
The wine programmes have received national and international association support by The German Wine Institute (DWI), Wines of South Africa, Georgian Wine Association, Japan Sommelier Association, Wine Importers Association of Japan, Association of Nippon's Wine Lovers, Japan Wines & Spirits Importers' Association and Japan Beer Sommelier Association.
A record of 24 professional seminars were held across the three trade days, with more than 700 attendees across all seminars.
Journalist Wine Magazine Japan (Ms Watabiki) noted, “Both visitors and exhibitors felt that the exhibition size was appropriate and easy to navigate around, and they could focus on what they were looking for. Exhibitors reviewed highly of the quality of visitors, especially when they (trade visitors) come to the show with clear objectives. ”
The highlight was the Night of Wines, helmed by four of Japan’s most famous sommeliers, wine bar and restaurant owners – Mr Makoto Endo (Owner of ENDO RISABURO SHORTEN), Mr Makoto Fujimori (Owner of VINOSITY), Mr Daisuke Nakashima Marunouchi (Area Manager of MARUGO) and Mr Hiroto Maruyama (President of AUXAMIS WORLD). Japanese Wine Professionals were invited for the closed-door panel discussion with the panelists, followed by an exclusive evening of networking amongst 150 international exhibitors, importers, sommeliers, wine media and wine shop owners, as well as international wine producers.
A Gastronomic Discovery
Visitors also discovered many new products and experiences, which were launched for the first time at Wine & Gourmet Japan. Says visiting importer for European food from Sapporo (Hokkaido), “Japan is a country celebrated for its gastronomy but we are also very open-minded and constantly in search for interesting food products to discover. The highlight has to be the horse salami from Italy, which took our understanding of charcuterie to another level. It was also very helpful to speak to the exhibitors, who also gave suggestions on how we can pair horse salami with different styles of wines, or even experiment with sake pairing.”
The Georgian Wine Association also made its debut at Wine and Gourmet Japan with 6 wineries. Says Elene Kiknadze, Chief Specialist of the Marketing and PR Department, National Wine Agency of Georgia. “It is the first time for us, to bring a group of Georgian wineries to Wine and Gourmet Japan. It is a great opportunity to find new importers and distributors”
Jessilyn Harper (trade visitor) said, “Wine and Gourmet Japan was a great opportunity to not only enjoy wines from unique places like Georgia, but to meet the people behind the products. Seeing the passion of the producers and hearing the stories behind the wine was a rare and wonderful insight into the industry.”
About Wine & Gourmet Japan
Wine & Gourmet Japan is one of Asia’s most relevant trade fair for conducting business with Japan’s fine wine, food and beverage industry. Organised by Koelnmesse Pte Ltd and co-located with FABEX, Dessert, Sweets, Bakery & Drink Festival, PB-OEM, Japan Meat Industry Fair, Japan Noodles Industry Fair and Halal Market Fair. The fair serves as a dedicated food networking business platform in Japan and reaches out to various cross segments of visitors.
Wine & Gourmet Japan 2016 will be held in Tokyo, Japan at Tokyo Big Sight from 13 – 15 April 2016.
For more information about Wine & Gourmet Japan 2015, please visit www.wineandgourmetjapan.com.
