Dynamic visitor and exhibitor increase at ProWine Asia 2019 (Hong Kong)

ProWine Asia - the international trade fair for wines and spirits - returned to Hong Kong on 7 - 10th May 2019 after a greatly successful inaugural debut in 2017 in Hong Kong and another strong edition in 2018 in Singapore. China, including Hong Kong, is the world’s 5th largest wine-consuming market, in value and volume. Hong Kong remains an essential hub for the Asia Pacific wines and spirits markets. With its re-export trade to mainland China and North-East Asia, Hong Kong is also an important business location.

ProWine Asia 2019 (Hong Kong) offered global producers an international business expansion gateway to Asia while regional importers could source from the latest and best-selling wines, spirits, and solutions from around the globe. This year, the exhibit space increased by 20% compared with the previous edition. More than 340 leading exhibitors from 28 countries and regions (including 13 national pavilions and industry associations) participated in ProWine Asia 2019 in Hong Kong (2017: 310 exhibitors). Gobierno de la Rioja made its first appearance in ProWine Asia 2019 (Hong Kong), along with PRODECA (Region of Catalonia), which showcased some of the more boutique and premium brands within its portfolio. Other participants included the California Wine Institute, Business France and Wines of Germany (DWI). The exclusive club of Italian fine wines ISWA (Italian Signature Wines Academy) was represented with prestigious Italian wine producers like Allegrini, Fontanafredda and Planeta.

12,716 trade visitors (12,184 in 2017) from 62 countries and regions praised the high-quality international participation. A total 36% of the visitors came from outside Hong Kong - predominantly from Southern China, Macau, Taiwan and Korean, which is an 8.4% increase compared to 2017.

“As one of the most open and economically vibrant regions, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is definitely the buzzword in 2019, Hong Kong plays an important role in this initiative. Four days of business opportunities and rewarding interactions between producers, importers, distributors, key buyers and industry experts proved again that ProWine Asia 2019 in Hong Kong is well positioned as the strategic gateway to tap into the Asian wine boom", said Bastian Mingers, Global Head Wine & Spirits and Director of ProWein, Messe Düsseldorf GmbH.

ProWine Asia (Hong Kong) was held as part of HOFEX 2019, Asia’s leading food & hospitality trade-show. The exhibition is jointly organized by Messe Düsseldorf China and UBM Asia, organizer of HOFEX. Paul March, Managing Director of UBM ISO, notes, “In 2017, ProWine Asia switched to an Annual Cycle alternating between Singapore and Hong Kong. We are glad to see this year's exhibition area has increased 20%. This reflects the strength and development of wine and spirits market in Asia. ProWine Asia (Hong Kong) is entering a new dynamic phase as it becomes more integrated and interactive with trade operators. Many participants are reporting strong orders and deals during the show.”

First rate ancillary program

A top-class event programme held on all 4-days of the show, consisted of specialized masterclasses and seminars by renowned industry speakers such as Debra Meiburg MW, Sarah Heller MW, Jennifer Docherty MW, Darius Allyn MS and China’s first master of Sommelier Yang Lv.

Debra Meiburg MW hosted a series of Asia Wine Summit seminars covering the latest wine consumption trends, food and wine pairing, and wine drinking habits throughout the Asia-Pacific. An important seminar called “Key Elements for upgrading your wine business in the Greater Bay Area” was organized by several key opinion leaders in the Hong Kong wine circle.

Other event highlights included wine, spirits, whisky and sake master-classes by WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) Jennie Mack and AWSEC (Asia Wine and Service Education Centre). Additionally, international masterclass of wine was offered by Business France, the California Wine Institute, the Hungary Tourism Agency and Deutschland Sommelier Association.

Trade visitors to ProWine Asia 2019 (Hong Kong) were greatly satisfied by the 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.

Christopher Beros, Asia Director of California Wine Institute, stated: “The fair has been great. This is the first time we are doing ProWine Asia, and I must say it has been terrific. We have been seeing good traffic and meeting with many prospective Asian customers. In terms of engagement, in terms of having our presence known, and in terms of letting people in the trade here know that Californian wines is committed to the Asian market, I am pleased to share that the trade fair has fulfilled our participation and business objectives on those levels.”

Khatuna Lagazidze, Co-founder and Director from KART-VALLEY commented: “In general, I would say Asian market is getting very popular for Georgian wines, we are a Georgian company, we also want to get a place in the Asian market. It’s our first time to attend ProWine Asia and a great experience for us to be here. We have met some interesting people, for example, wine importers from Taiwan, Thailand and mainland China.”

“Nowadays is the Asian market is the most important market for Italian wines. This is our first time in Hong Kong, but there’re quite a few interesting buyers coming to the booth, we have very good impressions of the quality of the trade visitors. No doubt ProWine Asia (Hong Kong) is such a positive platform to expand in Asian market,” said Sofia Biancolin, DE.S.A. Deutschland Sommelier Association and  Representative of some well-known wineries. “During the exhibition, we organized two masterclasses and had the opportunity to see how big the interest is about our wines.”

“This is a very good opportunity to taste wines from many different wine producing countries and what excites me the most are the many high-quality masterclasses hosted on-site. Whether it is a well-known winery from aboard, or the local traditional wine importer companies, this exhibition is a very good channel for understanding the wine market. It is very important for visitors from different regions and cities to participate in such a large international exhibition at an international port. I will definitely come back next time.” Liang Junjie, General Manager Assistant of K&D Culture Communication Co., Ltd., wine trader from Zhuhai Province.

Orson Chen, Managing Director of Yibai Vintage from Taiwan ROC, said: “It’s my third time visiting ProWine, last time was ProWine China in Shanghai, November 2018. I’m a big fan of the ProWine trade shows. I’ve met some interesting Champagne and wine producers at ProWine Asia 2019. The Asian market is important for my business, and ProWine Asia is a good place where we can source everything in one place. So we don’t need to visit different countries.”

The next editions of the ProWein family fairs are already scheduled, with ProWine China 2019 slated for 12-14 November in Shanghai. The next ProWein will be opening its doors from 15-17 March 2020 in Düsseldorf. And the next edition of ProWine Asia will return to Singapore on the 31 March, to 3 April 2020, and be back to Hong Kong again from 18 - 21 May 2021.

For more information, please visit www.prowineasia.com

Press Contact ProWein:
Messe Düsseldorf GmbH
Christiane Schorn, Monika Kissing, Brigitte Küppers (Assistenz)
Tel: +49 211 4560 991 / -543 / -929
SchornC@messe-duesseldorf.de; KissingM@messe-duesseldorf.de; KueppersB@messe-duesseldorf.de

Press Contact ProWine China:
Messe Düsseldorf (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
Aki Cao
Tel.: +86 21 6169 8350
aki.cao@mdc.com.cn

Press Contact ProWine China & FHC:   
China International Exhibitions Ltd.
Nieve Zhang
Tel.: +86 21 3339 2152
Nieve.Zhang@ubmsinoexpo.com