ProWine China ends on a high note

Amid lockdowns in Europe and the US, drinks trade show ProWine China ended on a high note last week.

A total of 22,542 visitors attended the three-day event between 10-12 November, an increase of almost 10% compared to last year’s edition.

Many attendees were domestic trade professionals coming from Beijing, Guangdong, Sichuan, Hainan, Shandong, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia and Macau. In fact, this year saw the largest number of Chinese wine exhibitors among all ProWine China editions, according to the organisers.

However, more than 17 countries and regions were represented at the event, with official pavilions from France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Australia, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, California and Japan set up to tap into the growing Asian market.

The show was jointly organised by Messe Düsseldorf and Informa Markets, which carried out continuous communication with overseas pavilions and exhibitors in order to mitigate the challenges thrown up by travel restrictions to China. Overseas producers were largely represented by local importers in order to make ensure they could reach domestic attendees.

LI Muyang, director of media relations of COFCO-Great Wall, said her group ensured that lectures and masterclasses were live-streamed to allow those who could not make it to the event were still involved, as well as hosting physical activities exclusively for attendees.

“Despite the disastrous pandemic, we have made every effort to minimise its impact on us….In the meantime, we carry on with our pursuit of brand and quality. This is our third year exhibiting here and we are very confident in ProWine China. It serves as a bridge, bringing Chinese wines to the world and other regions, whilst offering many overseas exhibitors the opportunity to reach out to Chinese distributors and trade buyers.”

ProWine China will be renamed ProWine in Shanghai next year and return to the Shanghai New International Expo Center during 9-11 November 2021.