ProWine Asia 2017: Outstanding Results at Hong Kong Debut

On May 11th, the Hong Kong debut of ProWine Asia, international trade fair for wines and spirits successfully concluded. As the newest of ProWein Düsseldorf’s family of international trade fairs, ProWine Asia’s foremost Hong Kong exhibition, held as part of HOFEX 2017, brought a truly prolific expo highlighted by diversity and quality in its attendees and participating exhibitors.

•   310 exhibitors featuring wines and spirits producers and suppliers from 21 countries & regions
•   12,184 trade visitors from 67 countries and regions complimenting high-quality international participation
•   Food, Wine & Hospitality synergy net prolific business sourcing opportunities across multiple industries

ProWine Asia now spans across the premier trading hubs of Asia-Pacific - held in Hong Kong and Singapore in biennial fashion. Strong regional and international participation were present in Hong Kong from both exhibitors and high-quality trade visitors, bringing a wealth of wines, spirits and solutions from around the world to the premier trading-hub of the Asia-Pacific region.

Top Figures from ProWine Asia 2017

ProWine Asia’s Hong Kong debut featured 310 exhibitors from 21 countries and regions showcasing the newest and most popular wines, spirits and solutions to an enthusiastic and professional audience. Among the individual exhibitors were national and regional group pavilions including France, Portugal, Italy & Chianti, Spain, Germany, Greece, Austria, South Africa, Cyprus and United States. The trade-show was strongly supported by local and regional importers and distributors who welcomed a world of wines in Hong Kong.

35% of the total 12,184 trade visitors came from outside Hong Kong - predominantly from Southern China, Macau, Taiwan and Philippines. A total of 67 countries and regions visited the inaugural edition of ProWine Asia in Hong Kong.

ProWine Asia 2017 was held as the specialized wines and spirits section as part of HOFEX 2017, Asia’s leading food & hospitality trade-show. The exhibition is jointly organised by Messe Düsseldorf China, a member of Messe Düsseldorf Group, organisers of the industry-leading ProWein Düsseldorf and UBM HKES LTD, organiser of HOFEX.

When asked about ProWein World’s Asia expansion, Mr. Marius Berlemann, Global Head Wines & Spirits - ProWein, expressed: “Many exhibitors from our international trade networks have placed expansion in Asia-Pacific as priority. ProWine Asia’s development across both major trading centres of Hong Kong and Singapore offer pivotal connections to generate new business for our exhibitors. We are very pleased with initial feedback from participants at the Hong Kong debut this year.”

Daniel Cheung, General Manager, UBM HKES – organiser of HOFEX commented: “HOFEX 2017 received widespread and significant support from both international exhibitors and hospitality industry leaders from around Asia.  ProWine Asia made a successful and seamless debut in Hong Kong at HOFEX and has contributed to draw noticeable increases in buyers from Macao, Taiwan, Philippines and Korea. This has again marked a major milestone for the industry and has further enhanced HOFEX as one of the most prestigious international Food & Hospitality events in the Asia-Pacific region."
 
Product Sourcing during ProWine Asia 2017

Organisers saw significant business activity and sourcing during or directly following the 4-day trade-show, commending the organisation and layout of the event to offer resources and tools to facilitate business development and procurement onsite. Location was also a key factor for this trend, with Hong Kong being the leading free-trading port of the region.

A number of exhibitors expressed great satisfaction during the second and third days of ProWine Asia. Zantho Austrian Fine Wines was among many exhibitors at who found momentous business opportunities, receiving large orders on-site by Chinese importers, confirming great satisfaction. Les Grand Chais De France spoke fervently about the results just after two days, commending the organisation of ProWine Asia’s separate exhibition area and enthusiastically stated that they did not expect to find so many opportunities during ProWine Asia first edition in Hong Kong.

BC Wine and Food, suppliers of Germany wine and spirits commended ProWine Asia trade visitors for their professionalism and interest in new products. Likewise, trade visitors showed great enthusiasm when asked about trade-show organisation, programme content and an inspiring selection for product sourcing in addition to the enthralling atmosphere offered by the show’s first edition in Hong Kong.
 
Well Attended On-site Events at ProWine Asia

A first-class event programme spanned all 4-days of the show, incorporating wine-forums in both Halls 5D and 5E of HKCEC to offer trade-focused content throughout the entirety of the exhibition. The industry’s top opinion-leaders and experts from international and regional markets offered a wealth of insight and knowledge at ProWine Asia.  Highlights of the show programme include seminars and guided tastings by Jancis Robinson OBE, MW sharing her expertise on topics of “How do I judge wine quality” and choice selections of wines under the category of “Under-appreciated grape varieties.”

Debra Meiburg, MW hosted a series of Asia Wine Summit seminars covering E-commerce, Marketing by Gender, and improving sales through wine-education to along with other trade developments and industry trends throughout the Asia-Pacific

Other event highlights include wine, spirits, whisky and sake master-classes by Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET), Jennie Mack & Asia Wine and Service Education Centre (AWSEC), Highland Park & Edrington, and exclusive tastings at the ProWine Asia Champagne Lounge.  Additionally, international seminars of wine were offered by Austria, Israeli, Italy, Portugal and Spain.

Trade visitors to ProWine Asia’s were greatly satisfied by quality and industry-focus of the on-site programme of seminars with well-attended events at both wine-forums starting from the first day and throughout the entirety of the trade-show.

 
Trade Development Through ProWein World

The next ProWine China will be held on 14-16 November 2017 at Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC) while the biennial ProWine Asia goes to Singapore on 24-27 April 2018. ProWein Düsseldorf is held annually, taking place on 18-20 March 2018. The next edition of ProWine Asia Hong Kong returns to Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) with additional hall space in Halls 3F-G on 7-10 May 2019.

For information on ProWine Asia and ProWein World:

www.prowein-world.com