One of Japan’s largest food expos, “Premium Food Show 2024”, was held at Tokyo Big Sight from Wednesday, April 10th to Friday, April 12th.
This exhibition focuses on food-related topics such as vegan/plant-based, halal, organic, and gluten-free. The same as in previous years, this year’s event was also held jointly with six other food and beverage-related exhibitions, including “FABEX 2024,” the largest specialized exhibition for the food service industry in Japan. The event attracted over 55,000 attendees.
Our organization, VegeProject Japan, collaborated with the organizers of this exhibition to set up the “Vegan Selection” area, dedicated to vegan food products. On the first day, we also conducted a seminar about the development of vegan menus.
In the “Vegan Selection” area, various companies with our vegan certification showcased vegan products ranging from household to commercial, including meat, fish, and dairy alternatives, as well as instant and frozen food products.
At our booth, we introduced our initiatives to expand vegan and plant-based options as well as products that are currently labeled by our organization.
On the first day, April 10th, a seminar titled “Learning from Case Studies: Vegan and Plant-Based Menu Adaptation Know-How” was held. The seminar consisted of two parts: a lecture by our founder, Haruko Kawano, and a case study presentation by Takuya Narimatsu, Executive Sous Chef at Tokyo Marriott Hotel.
During the first part, Kawano explained the significance and benefits of vegan adaptation, showcasing various examples from franchise restaurants, government offices, company cafeterias, and hotels that are currently serving vegan-friendly menus.
As one example, she introduced our 10th Anniversary event held at Hotel Gajoen Tokyo at the end of last year, where we collaborated to serve the hotel’s first all-vegan buffet. Within the span of only a month, we were able to assemble a fourteen-dish buffet, showcasing how businesses new to the vegan industry can prepare to accommodate vegan guests in a short period of time.
Additionally, Kawano introduced various ingredients to support a smooth transition to implement vegan menus and important points to consider when serving vegan guests.
In the second part, Narimatsu shared initiatives related to vegan and plant-based-friendly services at Tokyo Marriott Hotel, covering breakfast buffets, restaurant menus, afternoon tea, and takeout menus. He discussed the background, approach, and methods of the hotel’s involvement in vegan and plant-based offerings.
Narimatsu highlighted the development of their vegan mont blanc dessert, emphasizing aspects such as ingredient selection, presentation, taste replication, and customer feedback.
We are confident that Chef Narimatsu’s insight as an experienced professional in the field will serve as an inspiration for business owners who attended the seminar.
We hope this exhibition and seminar provided many businesses with opportunities to advance in the development of vegan and plant-based products and menus in the future.
We extend our sincere gratitude to the organizers of Premium Food Show, all exhibitors at the “Vegan Selection” area, and the those who visited our booth and seminar.
Together with the event organizers and our fellow certified-vegan manufacturers
List of companies with our vegan certification that partook in the “Vegan Selection” expo (alphabetical order):
・Azuma Foods Co., Ltd.
・C&G Miyazaki Co., Ltd.
・Japan Food Science Co., Ltd.
・Misohan Co., Ltd.
・Saniku Foods Co., Ltd.
・Yamagataya Co., Ltd.
・Mise Shoji Co., Ltd.
・Miyoshi Oil & Fat Co., Ltd.
・Infinivalue Co., Ltd.
・Joint Farm Co., Ltd.
・Tsukishima Foods Industry Co., Ltd.
・Kaze to Hikari Co., Ltd.
・WINCUBE INTERNATIONAL Co., Ltd.