Hong Kong Food Expo 2019, China

The 30th Hong Kong Food Expo, is Hong Kong’s annual gourmet event. The food fair held together with Hong Kong International Tea Fair, Hong Kong Beauty & Wellness Expo, Hong Kong Home Delights Expo and the International Conference of the Modernization of Chinese Medicine & Health Products (ICMCM), from August 15 to 19, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC).

With a rich showcase of gourmet food, fine teas, household goods and beauty products, the HKTDC August events are serving up the modern lifestyle experience. Global exhibitors and buyers view these trade fairs as important one-stop trading platforms for sourcing and business promotion. The four fairs feature a total of more than 2,100 international exhibitors, presenting a huge range of delicacies and lifestyle products from around the globe.

The 30th Food Expo has brought together more than 1,570 exhibitors from 21 countries and regions. This year, the fair receive continued support from Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, which has convened about 270 Japanese exhibitors to showcase a range of Japanese delicacies that Hong Kong people enjoy so much.

The Food Expo’s Trade Hall features more than 900 exhibitors and includes 23 group pavilions, with Vietnam, Saudi Arabia and Xinjiang joining the expo for the first time. This highlights Hong Kong’s continued standing as a premier trading platform for the global catering industry.

Cultures change from border to border, but great food is truly a universal language. To connect more exhibitors and buyers, the fair enhanced the business-matching service at the Trade Hall of the Food Expo and at the Hong Kong International Tea Fair, both of which targeted trade professionals. The Trade Hall attracted nearly 18,000 buyers, including significant numbers from Mainland China and emerging markets such as Cambodia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Poland and Thailand.

Theme zones
The Food Expo comprise three sections − the Gourmet Zone, the Public Hall and the Trade Hall. The highly anticipated Gourmet Zone was open to public ticket-holders for four days (15-18 August). Gathering more than 90 exhibitors.

The ever-popular Gourmet Zone features five thematic zones: Asian Cuisine, Western Delicacy, Sweet Delight, Green Palate and Coffee Avenue, where an assortment of specialty coffees is on display. The new thematic zone, Coffee Avenue, featuring specialty coffees and related products. Highlighted products include a local craft coffee beer, a truffle ice-cream with truffle flakes and a Japanese plum wine sorbet that takes only a night in the freezer to make.

The zone also featured products include coffee adorned with 3D cartoon latte art created by local baristas and freshly brewed Italian coffee (Booth: 3B-E16), Panama geisha coffee prepared by a champion barista (3B-E12), and artisanal ice drip coffees, such as the Chengdu Pepper Ice Drip Coffee, the refreshing Lemon Honey Ice Drip Coffee with Whiskey, and a favourite among local people, the Hong Kong-style Yuen Yang Ice Drip Coffee (3B-E14). Additionally, Coffeeder, a coffee magazine, will organise a Latte Art Workshop and the Coffee x Chocolate – Find the Perfect Match workshop for coffee lovers.

The California State Trade Expansion Program (California STEP) brought 12 food companies from the United States to exhibit at this year’s Food Expo, a stronger presence than in previous years. The exhibitors showcased a variety of specialty foods and beverages such as avocado oils, wines, nuts and chocolate.

This year the Japan Pavilion with close to 300 top-tier exhibitors as they promote fine agri-foods and meats, stimulating beverages, top-quality snacks, seasonings, seafood items, confections and more.

Highlight events
The Trade Hall, meanwhile, open to trade buyers during the first two days of the fair (15-16 August) and to public ticket-holders on the final day (17 August). More than 900 exhibitors including 22 group pavilions showcase their products at the hall, along with two themed product zones, Chinese Medicine and Halal Food. Featured products include black wagyu beef from Arita, Japan, a Normandy apple cider and Thai low-calorie salad dressings with various flavours.

In addition, during the first four nights of the expo, a Night Bazaar open from 7pm to 10pm with more than 30 exhibitors offering further discounts. And a series of exciting activities was staged throughout the fair, including cooking demonstrations by 17 celebrity chefs. They include popular TV cooking show hosts Steve Lee and Helen Tam, plus four leading chefs – Takashi Tamura, the 3rd generation Chef of Tsukiji Tamura, Ming Leung, Executive Chef of Ah Yat Harbour View Restaurant, Jacky Chung, Executive Chef of J & T Restaurant Ltd, and Lai Wai-hung, founder of Hung’s Delicacies and Master Hung – who will demonstrate various “less salt, less sugar” recipes.

Other highlighted activities at the Food Expo include the launch of the 2019-2020 Wan Chai à La Carte food map, the Coffee X Chocolate – Find the Perfect Match seminar, which helps coffee lovers find the ideal chocolates to go with their brew, and a seminar on table manners.

Green Exhibition
The HKTDC, together with social enterprise BottLess and health insurance company Bupa, has decided to offer the reusable cups from the Food Expo again at various trade fairs in the coming year, helping to promote waste reduction at source and set an example for other large-scale events in Hong Kong.

The on-site response was encouraging with more than 22,000 reusable utensils, including food containers, forks and cups, loaned out to visitors over the five-day expo period. Furthermore, numerous visitors heeded the HKTDC’s call to bring their own utensils for food tasting, highlighting the effectiveness of measures to reduce the use of disposable utensils at the expo.

Hong Kong Tea Fair 2019
The 11th Tea Fair has attracted more than 250 exhibitors from nine countries and regions to present fine teas, tea ware and tea products from around the world, including companies from Laos making their debut at the fair. The fair is open exclusively to trade buyers on the first two days and will welcome public ticket-holders on the last day.

A range of beautifully packaged and high-quality teas targeting young consumers is on show at the fair. They include Taiwanese Gift Tea (5F-B24), a gift set that comprises five types of teas that are emblematic of Taiwan, including high-mountain oolong, Oriental Beauty Tea and jasmine green tea. With flower teas gaining popularity in recent years, an exhibitor is presenting Korean Red Balloon Flower Root Tea (Dolaji)(5F-A21). For tea ware, the exquisitely painted Ten Longevity Enamel Paint Silver Tea Set (5F-A11) is one of a kind.

Other highlighted events include the inaugural Greater Bay Area KamCha Competition 2019 (Hong Kong Milk Tea); the International KamCha Competition 2019 (Hong Kong Style Milk Tea) Final, an annual signature event of the fair.

A seminar entitled “Kombucha: Why is it the Next Big Thing?”; and a seminar on Japanese sado (tea ceremony) and wagashi (confection) pairing. In addition, industry events such as international tea-tasting sessions, international tea arts performances and a seminar entitled “Convert Tea Knowledge into Dollars: Tea Science and Branding Strategies” will help to promote trade and cultural exchange.

International Conference of the Modernization of Chinese Medicine & Health Products 2019
The International Conference of the Modernization of Chinese Medicine & Health Products (ICMCM) is a platform for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) professionals to obtain the latest industry insights.

This year, 14 heavyweight speakers from five countries and regions are joining the two-day event (15-16 August) with the theme “TCM Modernisation & Internationalisation: Start from the Greater Bay Area”. Speakers include Prof Xu Hong Xi, Dean & Professor, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine; Dr Kevin Chu, Senior Vice President − Chinese Medicine, Jacobson Pharma Corporation Limited; and Janis Chan, Marketing Director, China Market, Nin Jiom Medicine Mfy HK Ltd.

On 17 August, public ticket-holders can join the “Chinese Medicine Health Public Forum- Treatment and Dietary Therapy for Common Urban Disease” and listen to TCM practitioners discuss a range of health topics including breast diseases, eczema, knee care, diets and acupressure massage for pain relief.

HKTDC
Established in 1966, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body dedicated to creating opportunities for Hong Kong’s businesses. With more than 40 offices globally, including 13 on the Chinese mainland, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a platform for doing business with China, Asia and the world. With 50 years of experience, the HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to provide companies, particularly SMEs, with business opportunities on the mainland and in international markets, while providing information via trade publications, research reports and digital channels including the media room.