Why You Should Visit Trade Fairs When Importing or Buying Japanese Sake
Attending sake trade fairs is essential for lead generation and business development. These events offer a prime opportunity to discover new sake breweries and explore wholesale opportunities that could enhance your business.
Additionally, trade fairs provide a unique chance to stay updated on the latest industry trends and innovations. You might uncover new products or services that could add significant value to your offerings.
Moreover, trade fairs are an excellent venue for reconnecting with existing contacts. Taking the time to greet acquaintances and check in with industry peers helps to strengthen business relationships, laying the groundwork for future collaborations.
Points to Consider When Choosing a Trade Fair
Before participating in a trade fair, it's crucial to clarify your objectives. Decide whether to attend as an exhibitor or a visitor. If you're a visitor, it's advisable to schedule meetings with key exhibitors in advance to maximize your time at the event.
For exhibitors, consider whether the cost of participation is justified by the potential return on investment. Booth fees can easily run into the thousands of dollars, not to mention the additional expenses for travel and accommodation.
If you're in the business of importing or selling sake, it's worth considering not just traditional food and drink trade fairs like ProWein, one of the world’s largest wine trade fairs, or Drink JAPAN, Japan’s leading beverage-focused event, but also adjacent trade shows targeting the hotel and restaurant industries. Given the growing interest in Japanese culture, Japan-focused tourism or food and culture events might also be relevant to your sake business.
Sake festivals and events, though primarily consumer-focused, can also be valuable for finding potential buyers or suppliers. Events like Niigata Sake No Jin, one of Japan's largest sake festivals, often feature B2B sessions, making them an excellent platform for networking with sake breweries and enthusiasts.
For a comprehensive overview of trade fairs, especially if you're importing Japanese goods like sake, the “Online Trade Fair Database (J-messe)” by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) is an invaluable resource. It lists over 1,500 trade fairs across various industries and regions, helping you find the perfect event to meet your business needs. In 2024 there were 13 registered trade fairs related to Japanese sake.
International Sake Trade Fairs
The list below includes relevant trade fairs that are relevant to people who want to import and buy Japanese sake. The trade fairs are ordered by region and exhibition date.
ASEAN Region
SIAL CHINA is one of the largest food and beverage trade fairs in China, featuring over 6,500 global exhibitors across a 260,000 m² exhibition area. The event is held in two locations: Shenzhen and Shanghai.
Location: Shanghai/Shenzen, China
Date: Late May (May 19-21, 2025 @Shanghai New International Expo Center); Early September (September 2-4, 2024 @Shenzhen Convention & Exhibition Center)
THAIFEX – Anuga Asia is Asia's largest international food trade fair, featuring over 3,000 exhibitors and attracting 85,000 visitors.
Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Date: Late May (May 27-31, 2025 @IMPACT MUANG THONG THANI)
Vinexpo Asia is a wine-focused expo featuring over 1,000 producers from 35 countries and attracting 14,000 visitors. It is held in both Singapore and Hong Kong.
Location: Singapore/Hong Kong
Date: Late May (May 27-29, 2025 @Singapore Marina Bay Sands)
FOOD TAIPEI is Taiwan's largest food trade fair, featuring the highest number of Japanese exhibitors among international participants. The event also hosts joint exhibitions for related industries such as packaging, biotechnology, food processing, and catering equipment.
Location: Taipei, Taiwan
Date: Late June (June 25-28, 2025 @Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center)
The HKTDC Food Expo, organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, attracted over 700 exhibitors and nearly 480,000 attendees in 2023. It stands as Hong Kong's largest international food trade fair, with the highest number of Japanese exhibitors among participating countries.
Location: Hong Kong
Date: Mid August (August 14-18, 2025 @Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center)
International Wine & Spirits Fair
The International Wine & Spirits Fair, organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, featured over 500 exhibitors and attracted 7,600 buyers in 2023. It is one of Asia's largest trade fairs specializing in alcoholic beverages, mainly focusing on wine and premium spirits.
Location: Hong Kong
Date: Early November (November 7-9, 2024 @Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center)
FHC Shanghai Global Food Trade Show
The FHC Shanghai Global Food Trade Show, now in its 27th year, is a major platform for multinational companies to enter the Chinese food and catering market. In 2023, the show featured 2,500 exhibitors from over 30 countries, showcasing 100,000 unique exhibits across 170,000 m².
Location: Shanghai, China
Date: Mid November (November 12-14, 2024 @Shanghai New International Expo Center)
Taipei Int'l Wine & Spirits Festival
The Taipei Int'l Wine & Spirits Festival in 2023 featured over 254 exhibitors and 531 booths, focusing on sake, whiskey, spirits, wine, and beer in a smaller-scale expo.
Location: Taipei, Taiwan
Date: Mid November (November 15-18, 2024 @Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center)
In its 19th edition, Coex Food Week has become a key business platform for the Korean F&B industry. The event, held alongside the World FoodTech Expo and Bakery Fair, features over 1,500 booths, 900 exhibitors, and attracts 50,000 buyers.
Location: Seoul, South Korea
Date: Late November (November 20-23, 2024 @Coex Hall Seoul)
Americas
One of the largest comprehensive food fairs on the U.S. East Coast, this event is organized by the Specialty Food Association and has been held for over 68 years. It includes a summer expo in New York and also features a winter version.
Location: New York, USA
Date: Late June (June 29-July 1, 2025 @JAVITS CENTER)
EQUIPOTEL is one of South America's largest hotel and restaurant trade fairs, boasting a 50-year history. The event's website is available only in Portuguese.
Location: Sao Paulo, Brasil
Date: Mid September (September 17-20, 2024 @Expo Center Norte)
Organized by the Japanese Food Culture Association, this smaller-sized expo focuses on Japanese food and beverages such as sake, beer, and tea. In 2023, it attracted 2,315 visitors and featured 55 exhibitors, with an expected floor size of 2,000 m².
Location: Los Angeles, USA
Date: Early November (November 2-3, 2024 @Loews Hollywood Hotel)
Europe
SIRHA Lyon is Europe's largest food service trade show, bringing together hotels, restaurants, catering, and gastronomy professionals.
Location: Lyon, France
Date: Late January (January 23-27, 2025 @EUREXPO)
For 30 years, ProWein has been the largest international trade fair for wines and spirits. The 2024 event featured around 5,400 exhibitors from 65 countries.
Location: Duesseldorf, Germany
Date: Mid March (March 16-18, 2025 @Messe Duesseldorf)
International Food & Drink Event (IFE) is the largest general food trade fair in the U.K., part of the Food Drink & Hospitality Week in London. It attracts over 30,000 visitors and features 1,500 exhibitors.
Location: London, UK
Date: Mid March (March 17-19, 2025 @ExCeL London)
The Salon du Sake, Europe's largest sake event outside Japan, attracted 4,897 visitors and featured 50 exhibitors in 2022. This trade show focuses on Japanese sake and beverages, including Japanese food, craft arts, tourism, and cosmetics, with workshops, lectures, and tastings over three days.
Location: Paris, France
Date: Late September (September 28-30, 2024 @NEW CAP EVENT CENTER)
SIAL is one of the largest food and beverage trade fairs in Europe, featuring Japanese exhibitors who primarily showcase beverages, seasonings, and rice. The event hosts over 7,500 exhibitors and 8,000 top buyers.
Location: Paris, France
Date: Late October (October 19-23, 2024 @PARIS NORD VILLEPINTE)
Sake Trade Fairs in Japan
There are numerous trade fairs in Japan, mostly held at Tokyo Big Sight in Tokyo, with a focus primarily on Japanese food and beverages.
FOODEX Japan
FOODEX Japan, Asia's largest food and beverage exhibition held annually since 1976, will celebrate its 50th edition in 2025. The event features over 3,000 exhibitors and attracts 73,000 visitors, offering business expansion support and showcasing the latest industry trends.
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Date: Early March (March 5-8, 2024 @Tokyo Big Sight)
The World Food & Beverage Great Expo (FABEX) attracts over 600 exhibitors and 50,000 visitors. Concurrently, the Japan version of ProWein, "ProWine Tokyo 2024," was also held.
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Date: Mid April (April 15-17, 2025 @Tokyo Big Sight)
The Japanese Food Export EXPO is an exclusive trade show for importers, wholesalers, and international buyers focused on Japanese food and beverage products, with strong support from the Japanese government. In 2024, it featured over 652 exhibitors and attracted 18,984 visitors.
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Date: Late June (June 19-21, 2024 @Tokyo Big Sight)
The fermentation food and brewed beverage industry fair features over 400 exhibitors and attracts more than 30,000 visitors.
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Date: Mid July (July 16-18, 2025 @Tokyo Big Sight)
Agrifood EXPO Tokyo, now in its 17th edition, showcased agricultural food products from across Japan. This year’s event attracted around 9,000 visitors and featured 465 exhibitors, organized by the Japan Finance Corporation (JFC).
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Date: Late August (August 21-22, 2024 @Tokyo Big Sight)
Drink Japan, Japan's largest B2B trade show for beverage technologies, focuses on beverage, alcoholic beverage, and liquid food development and manufacturing. The 9th edition is set to feature around 400 exhibitors and attract 28,000 visitors.
Location: Chiba, Japan
Date: Late November (November 20-22, 2024 @Makuhari Messe)
Sake Exhibitions and Trade Fairs List
Below is a comprehensive list of sake-related trade fairs and expos worldwide. If you plan to attend any trade shows in Tokyo, feel free to reach out to us to explore potential opportunities for Japanese sake and other alcoholic beverages.
