ProWine Shanghai, the leading trade fair for the wine and spirits industry in mainland China, was again held concurrently with Food & Hospitality China (FHC) this year from 8 to 10 November. And ProWine Shanghai not only celebrated its tenth anniversary – the trade fair was also a clear statement for the successful return of global exhibitors to the Chinese market after the pandemic.
Great interest made for full halls
27,363 trade visitors in total attended ProWine Shanghai 2023 – a clear 81.7% increase over the previous event. 51.8% of the professionals came from cities outside Shanghai, in particular including buyers from the hospitality and food service industry as well as numerous importers and dealers. All this underlines the relevance of ProWine Shanghai as the leading trade fair for the industry in mainland China.
Taking stock, Peter Schmitz, Director of ProWein and in charge of all ProWein World events, says: “We are very happy that ProWine Shanghai 2023 was staged with such a high international attendance after the pandemic. I would like to thank all our partners, exhibitors and visitors who have accompanied us over the past ten years and made a decisive contribution to the success of ProWine Shanghai.”
Ian Roberts, Vice President Asia at Informa Markets, adds: “With the 27,363 visitors of ProWine Shanghai 2023 our cooperation benefits from both ProWine Shanghai and the concurrently held FHC, China’s leading trade fair for food and hospitality. We also saw a marked increase in the number of restaurants, bars and hotels using us as a platform.”
Sales market China to move back into focus again
The rising demand on the Chinese wine market has also really given a boost to the anniversary edition of ProWine Shanghai. Many nations and regions were again broadly represented such as Germany, California, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Argentina, Austria, Serbia, Hungary, Slovenia, Cyprus, Chile, Georgia or Japan, for example. In addition, a wide variety of French wine-growing regions were presented under the umbrella of Business France. Altogether, over 660 boutique wine estates and premium vintners from 32 countries and regions were represented. This corresponds to a 45% increase compared to the previous staging and shows that the Chinese sales market is increasingly shifting back into focus again.
Adrien Calatayud, Manager of the French pavilion, explained: “Business France has participated in all ten consecutive editions of ProWine Shanghai. Many French companies have used this professional trading platform to succeed in finding importers and partners in China. We are optimistic in view of the growth of the Chinese wine market and would like to win over Chinese wine lovers to the charms of French wine.”
Gergely Goreczky, CEO of the Hungarian Wine Marketing Agency, explained: “We are very pleased to take part in ProWine Shanghai right after the pandemic, three years after our last participation. Our wineries have launched many new products and we have negotiated with several promising importers at the event. We are delighted with the enthusiasm of our Chinese friends for Hungarian wines.”
Trade visitor Liu Jin, General Manager of Fuzhou Fubaidao Food Co. Ltd., explained: “At ProWine Shanghai 2023 we have witnessed the comeback of many companies from overseas and tasted wines from wine estates from the old and new world. The wines procured at ProWine Shanghai live up to the needs of bistros for their wine selection.”
However, ProWine Shanghai is not only a platform for international producers. 88 wineries based in China also used the opportunity to compete with the international ranges.
Extensive line-up of side events
Like with all ProWein events, the wide range of products on show at this year’s ProWine Shanghai was also complemented by an extensive supporting programme. All three trade fair days saw high-calibre tastings and Masterclasses by renowned industry experts, opinion leaders, trade organisation and associations at the exhibitors’ stands or at the forums. The new ProWine SWEET BAR proved a particular attraction. Dessert (sweet) wines are gaining increasing importance on the market and address above all younger consumers.
“To another great year” – success story to be continued
Over the past ten years ProWine Shanghai has become established as a professional industry platform – and it will also continue fulfilling this claim in future. The next ProWine Shanghai will be held from 12 to 14 November 2024 at SNIEC (Shanghai New International Expo Center). For more information go to www.prowine-shanghai.com
