More than 460,000 public visitors attended the 25th edition of the HKTDC Food Expo and the inaugural Home Delights Expo, which ended today at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Attendance at the five-day fairs (14-18 August), organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), represents a 12 per cent increase compared to last year’s Food Expo.
“The Food Expo is hugely popular with the general public and it also provides an ideal trading platform for exhibitors to promote their products and collect feedback from international buyers and consumers, helping to raise public awareness about their brands,” said Benjamin Chau, Deputy Executive Director of the HKTDC.
Trio of New Group Pavilions
This year’s Food Expo attracted more than 1,180 exhibitors from 26 countries and regions to the fairground. The fair’s Trade Hall (14-16 August) featured 14 group pavilions including new pavilions from the Australian state of New South Wales, the Chinese mainland province of Gansu and Thailand. More than 20,000 trade buyers attended the Trade Hall, up 2 per cent compared to last year.
Trish Pascuzzo, Manager of Business Mission and Events, Investment and Export Services for New South Wales Trade & Investment, said their debut group pavilion at the Food Expo featured nine companies from New South Wales and displayed a broad range of products from the Australian state. “The Hong Kong market is a major focus as we are keen to introduce our products and technologies to consumers here. This is such an international exhibition that we expect to grow our presence extensively through Hong Kong industry players as well as international buyers. We will continue to support Food Expo and hope to bring more companies to join this event in the future.”
Bulk buyers
The HKTDC organised over 70 buying missions consisting of more than 2,200 trade buyers to visit the Food Expo, increasing trade opportunities for exhibitors. Fourteen key trade buyers such as 759 Store, Dah Chong Hong, Ng Fung Hong and ParknShop were invited to set up buyer booths, where pre-arranged business-matching sessions facilitated efficient connections between the buyers and quality exhibitors.
S.H. Au Yeung, Deputy General Manager of 759 Store, a Hong Kong grocery chain, said: “The Food Expo provides a valuable platform for our sourcing. We can meet with a select group of exhibitors at our buyer booth. This proves to be very rewarding as it saves us a lot of time walking around to find suppliers.”
Mr Au Yeung added, “We have met with a total of 13 exhibitors from different places including New Zealand, Australia and Japan through HKTDC’s Business Matching service. We are very pleased with the results. Further negotiations will get underway with at least four to five of them for the supply of meat, wine, beverages and frozen food. 759 Store will further expand the retail network in Hong Kong. There is always a need to source new items to enhance our product lines. We will definitely participate in the Expo again next year.”
New Delights
The first staging of the HKTDC Home Delights Expo proved a great success. With over 140 brand names featured, visitors were able to find new and innovative quality electrical appliances and household products to complement their culinary adventure at the fair. Kai Cutlery (H.K.) Ltd was among the exhibitors, showcasing its cutlery and kitchen products. The company’s Sales Manager, Gareth Chan, said the Home Delights Expo was a good platform to bring together many famous brands which also attracted a lot of consumers. “We can see many visitors coming to our booth and they are very interested in our high-end and functional items which come in innovative designs. In addition, the product demonstration session organised by the HKTDC gave us a good chance to promote our products,” he said.
Crossover Business Opportunities
The HKTDC Food Expo and Home Delights Expo were held concurrently with the 6th HKTDC Hong Kong International Tea Fair and the 13th International Conference & Exhibition of the Modernization of Chinese Medicine & Health Products (ICMCM). Featuring a total of more than 1,600 exhibitors, the four fairs provided abundant trading opportunities and good potential for crossover business activities among the participants from various sectors.
Fair Websites:
HKTDC Food Expo: www.hktdc.com/hkfoodexpo
HKTDC Home Delights Expo: www.hktdc.com/homedelights
HKTDC Hong Kong International Tea Fair: www.hktdc.com/hkteafair
ICMCM: www.hktdc.com/icmcm
Media Enquiries
Please contact the HKTDC’s Corporate Communication Department:
Joe Kainz
Tel: (852) 2584 4216
Email: joe.kainz@hktdc.org
