Hong Kong Food Expo, Int’l Tea Fair 2026 set

MANILA, Philippines — Food expos in nearby Asian countries are always a big hit with Filipino travelers, who love to go food-tripping and discover new trends in the international food and beverage industry.

The twin events, Food Expo PRO and Hong Kong International Tea Fair, should be a welcome development to them. Organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the two events are taking place concurrently at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from August 13 to 15. Together, the two events serve as a business platform tailored for industry professionals to launch new products, build connections with influential buyers, and discover fresh market opportunities.

Open exclusively to trade buyers on its first two days, Food Expo PRO welcomes public ticket-holders on the third and last day. On the contrary, Hong Kong International Tea Fair will be open to both trade buyers and public ticket-holders for all three days. Both events are expecting the same buyer profile, consisting mainly of importers, wholesalers, distributors, hotel groups, restaurants, clubhouses and retail leaders like department stores coming not just from Hong Kong itself but also from Mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and ASEAN countries, such as Cambodia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Last year’s records show 18,500 buyers from 64 countries attending the back-to-back events.

New meat zone at the Food Expo

Following its tradition of introducing a new zone every year, Food Expo PRO introduces a new meat product zone this 2026 to spotlight the dynamic meat sector and meet rising demands for premium, diverse, and innovative meat offerings.

The zone will showcase a wide range of high-quality meat products, including chilled and frozen meats, processed meats, specialty items, and value-added solutions from global and regional suppliers. It aims to connect exhibitors with professional buyers seeking opportunities in premium proteins, sustainable sourcing, and market trends in the Greater Bay Area and beyond.

Recognizing the promising landscape of the Halal Market, the Expo introduced a dedicated Halal food and beverage label in 2024 and brought a diverse variety of Halal certified products — ranging from snacks and condiments to seafood — to the food fair. By the time Food Expo PRO was staged in 2025, there were already more than 120 food suppliers showcasing Halal products from around the world.

This year’s edition will feature a seminar aimed to guide event-goers on the importance and the progress of promoting a Halal-friendly environment in Hong Kong. This session will explore the growing demand for Halal products and the standards by which a product can be called Halal.

In its 2025 edition, Food Expo PRO introduced the Coffee zone. It showcased coffee products, accessories, and machines from various origins. Events such as coffee demonstrations and seminars covering the coffee value chain also took place. This was apart from highlighting the Food Science and Technology zone that brought alternative food and future food products to professional buyers visiting the Expo. Updated versions and new products are meant to make their debut this August.

Brewing opportunities in tea business

The other half of the twin events, Hong Kong International Tea Fair, will once again bring the rich culture of tea to a wide audience. The event shall showcase a variety of high-quality specialty teas, delicate tea ware and tea-related products.

Building on the positive feedback from adopting the B2B2C format in 2025, which attracted over 500,000 visits last year, the tea fair aims to capture the evolving trends in the tea industry.

The 2025 edition alone already featured a diverse variety of new-style tea beverages, such as sparkling tea, Kombucha, non-alcoholic wine-tea concoction beverage, herbal tea and yuenyeung in a capsule. A thematic zone "Friends of Tea" also presented tea-related lifestyle products, such as tea-pairing food and tea perfume, which the 2026 edition will strengthen to further enrich the overall visiting experience of public tea lovers.

One of the main attractions of this year’s event is the 2026 Hong Kong International Tea Culture Forum, which aims to provide an international platform for communication, promoting tea culture, and driving the international development of the tea industry.

Another one would be the China and Greater Bay Area KamCha Competition 2026 (Hong Kong Milk Tea) – Hong Kong Finals, which will select the top Hong Kong-style milk tea masters, showcase the skills and unique flavors of Hong Kong-style milk tea production, and promote Hong Kong-style milk tea culture.

Other activities include Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Youth International Tea Art Competition 2026, Youth Tea Ceremony, Tea Tasting Sessions, and Tea Art Performance.

The International Tea Event Space Design Competition 2026 will see participants present their creative tea-serving space designs through the competition. Shortlisted designs will be displayed and judged during the fair.

Another fair highlight is the Hong Kong International Tea Fair Tea Competition. Exhibitors' teas will be judged in six categories: Green Tea, Oolong Tea, Black Tea, Chinese Black Tea, Raw Pu'er, and Others. The entries will also compete for "The Best Aroma Award" and "The Best Taste Award." Visitors can enjoy free tea tasting of the winning teas during the tea fair.

Fully integrated back-to-back events

In this year’s edition, the two fairs will continue to adopt the HKTDC's EXHIBITION+ model that integrates online and offline elements, even as they extend face-to-face interactions from physical events to smart business platform, Click2Match.

This will be open to participants from August 6 to 22. In addition, the International Conference of the Modernization of Chinese Medicine and Health Products (ICMCM) will be held at the Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Centre on August 13 and 14. Organized by the Modernized Chinese Medicine International Association (MCMIA) along with the HKTDC and 10 scientific research institutions and industry associations, the conference has been designed to deliver professional traditional Chinese medicine insights into the industry.

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