Food & Beverage OEM Expo

Food & Beverage OEM Expo is a business-meeting trade show specializing in PB (private brand) and OEM development for food and beverages. Many contract manufacturers exhibit, and development staff from retailers, restaurants, wholesalers and manufacturers looking for new own-brand products attend and can find companies that can make their products on the spot. This article covers the upcoming dates, venues, exhibit categories and how to attend, as well as how to prepare to move PB/OEM business meetings forward and how to use novelties to make your company memorable in meetings. For both those ordering OEM and those taking contracts, it is a show that gathers material for deciding the next move.

Food & Beverage OEM Expo: Basic Information

This show is held in Tokyo and Osaka. The next scheduled shows are the Osaka show in October 2026, followed by the Tokyo show in April 2027. It is run by the Nihon Shokuryo Shimbun Exhibition Office (c/o NEO Kikaku Co., Ltd.), and visitors attend after advance registration. Because it focuses on PB and OEM, you can efficiently visit only candidate contract partners in limited time, which sets it apart from general food shows.

Item	Osaka show	Tokyo show
Dates	October 14 (Wed) – 16 (Fri), 2026	April 13 (Tue) - 15 (Thu), 2027
Venue	Osaka (check the official website for the venue)	Tokyo Big Sight
Admission	Advance visitor registration required	Advance visitor registration required
Organizer / operator	Nihon Shokuryo Shimbun Exhibition Office (c/o NEO Kikaku Co., Ltd.)

Because shows are held in both Tokyo and Osaka, you can choose which to attend based on your market and where your business partners are located. The Osaka show gathers food manufacturers and distributors in the Kansai region, while the Tokyo show gathers development staff from across Japan, so the people you meet differ; choosing the venue closest to the partners you are targeting makes your meetings more productive. You can also attend both in sequence, for example finding candidates in autumn and bringing prototypes in spring.

What companies and products does it attract?

Product Categories Covered by Exhibitors

Exhibitors are mainly companies that undertake contract manufacturing (OEM) and PB development for food and beverages. Factories handling everything from small quantities to mass production gather by processing field, such as confectionery, prepared dishes, seasonings, retort foods, frozen foods, beverages, powder processing and dried goods. For buyers who want to make products in a category but lack the equipment in-house, it is a place to compare contract partners with the right lot sizes and processing methods across categories.

Contract manufacturers set up booths showcasing their strengths in processing methods, lot sizes and filling formats such as small bags and sticks. Even if buyers arrive with only an image of the finished product, they can find a factory already making something similar on the spot. Because you can check whether raw materials can be brought in and discuss best-before dates and packaging all at once, the picture at the planning stage becomes much clearer.

The Development Staff and Buyers Who Attend

Visitors are mainly product development and PB staff and promotion and planning staff at retailers, restaurants, wholesalers and food manufacturers. Many come with concrete goals such as launching a new own-brand product, renewing an existing product or making food novelties for promotions, and it is not unusual for talks to go beyond a card exchange into lot sizes and pricing on the spot.

With a clear theme of PB and OEM, a strength of this show is that visitors have a clear sense of purpose. For contract manufacturers, there is a high chance of talking with people who already know what they want to make rather than casual browsers, which makes the return on exhibiting easier to predict.

Concurrent specialized shows

At the Tokyo show, FABEX, the comprehensive show for commercial food and beverages, runs alongside the Healthcare Food Expo, the Dessert, Sweets & Drink Show, the Cafe & Bakery Expo, the Rice Future Expo and others. With a Food & Beverage OEM Expo visitor badge you can also visit the related shows, so while looking for contract partners you can also check the latest trends in neighboring fields such as commercial ingredients, sweets, products for cafes and health foods.

A PB/OEM plan is not complete with product development alone. How will it be presented on the sales floor or menu, and how will it incorporate outside trends such as health consciousness and cafe demand? With related shows laid out side by side, you can pick up ideas about both the product and how to sell it in a single visit. Check the official website for the latest information on shows co-located with the Osaka show.

Highlights for visitors and exhibitors

Direct Business Meetings with Candidate Contract Partners

The biggest highlight is the chance for makers and buyers to meet face to face. You can check directly with the people involved what they are and are not good at processing, the minimum lot they can handle and how long prototyping takes, none of which a catalog tells you. If buyers bring an image of the product they want and their expected lot size, and contract manufacturers bring their processing strengths and real samples, even a first conversation can get specific.

Check Texture with Real Samples

OEM decisions depend on factors that documents cannot convey, such as taste, texture, aroma and how the packaging feels. Being able to taste and handle real products at booths and compare them is an advantage unique to trade shows. If you take home samples from contract partners that caught your interest and circulate them internally to gather opinions, your decision on a later prototype request is less likely to waver.

Find Factories That Handle Small Lots and Small Bags

New PB/OEM products almost never jump straight into mass production. For buyers who want to make a small quantity first and see the response, the key is finding factories that handle small lots and small-bag or stick filling. Many exhibitors at the venue state their lot sizes clearly, making it easier to find partners you can entrust with test marketing or small-volume production for promotions.

For companies considering exhibiting

Exhibitors are companies that undertake contract manufacturing or PB development for food and beverages. Details on exhibit formats and booths can be confirmed with the operator, the Nihon Shokuryo Shimbun Exhibition Office, or through the inquiry contact on the official website. Visitors walk the floor with a product they want to make, so making the processing, lot sizes and filling formats you can handle clear at a glance at your booth gets the right partners to stop.

If you prepare real samples along with a one-page sheet summarizing price, minimum lot and prototyping period, you can move into negotiating terms on the spot. Making booth samples easy to carry home and shelf-stable helps people remember your company during internal discussions back at the office. Jotting down a brief note on the product each contact is aiming for when you exchange cards keeps later follow-up on target.

Visitor registration and how to participate

Admission requires advance registration on the official website. After registering, you receive your entry badge data, which lets you avoid reception crowds on the day. Checking the exhibitor list before the show and narrowing down the booths you want to meet with lets you get around the venue efficiently. Dates, venue, access and admission conditions may change, so always check the latest information on the official website before attending. If you are coming from afar for several days, it is safest to book accommodation early.

Tips for Staff Planning PB/OEM Products

PB/OEM planning moves faster when you find a similar real product and say "something close to this" rather than explaining in words what you want to make. If you take home photos and notes of processing methods and filling formats that caught your interest at the venue and work them into your internal plan, you can make a concrete request at the next meeting. Agriture processes dried products from off-spec vegetables, vegetable powders, dried vegetable soups, tea and dried fruit, and can consult with you from the early planning stage, from raw material selection to designing small-bag filling.

The samples and visitor reactions gathered at the show become material for your next product. If you take home insights such as "I'd like this flavor a little lighter" or "I want to split this packaging into smaller portions," make small-lot prototypes and then move on to a full order, your plan will have fewer failures.

The Small Bags You Hand Out Become Your First OEM Prototype

PB/OEM development staff visit dozens of booths in one or two days of the show. By the time they get back to the office, they are left with a stack of business cards and catalogs, and which booth had what they liked tends to become vague. What makes the difference here is a small sample bag they can taste on the spot. Because the taste and texture stay with them, your company is more likely to come up at a later internal meeting as "the company with that small bag."

Get the Taste Carried All the Way to the Internal Meeting

The small bags you hand out can be taken home and passed around to the development team and managers. Dried vegetables, vegetable powders, dried vegetable soups, tea bags and dried pear made from Nijisseiki pears grown in Kyotango are light, hard to break and can be carried at room temperature, so their quality holds even after a few days in a bag. With individual wrapping there are no hygiene concerns, and you can even expect them to be handed out to everyone at a meeting to agree on a flavor.

Hand Out Two or Three Variations to Find What Developers Are After

Agriture handles small lots from 50 bags and small-bag filling, so the small bags prepared for the show can be treated directly as early PB/OEM prototypes. If you hand out two or three variations of seasoning or blend, you can grasp in conversation which direction the developers want. Using off-spec vegetables as raw material keeps raw material costs down even for pre-production prototypes, so you can proceed comfortably in this order: hand them out first, then keep only the flavors that got a good response for full-order discussions.

FAQ: Food & Beverage OEM Expo

When and where is the next show?

The next shows are the Osaka show on October 14–16, 2026, followed by the Tokyo show on April 13–15, 2027. Check the official website for venues and the latest dates.

Can we attend even if it's our first time ordering OEM?

Yes. Many visitors come saying they want to make a new own-brand product but don't know who to contract, and you can discuss lot sizes and processing methods directly at booths. Attending first to compare candidates is an effective approach.

Can we discuss OEM in small lots?

Some exhibitors at the venue handle small lots and small-bag or stick filling. If you want to start with test marketing or small-volume production for promotions, focusing on booths that clearly state their lot sizes makes them easier to find.

How do the Tokyo and Osaka shows differ?

Their basic purpose is the same. The Tokyo show runs alongside comprehensive shows for commercial food and has a broader visitor base, while the Osaka show tends to make it easier to meet food manufacturers and distributors in Kansai. Choosing the venue closest to your business partners makes meetings easier to advance.

Can food novelties for booth handouts be made in small quantities?

Agriture can prepare dried vegetables, tea, dried fruit and more in small lots from 50 bags with small-bag filling. You can use show novelties directly as prototypes for PB/OEM products and move on to a full order after seeing the response.

Summary: Finding PB/OEM Contract Partners at Food & Beverage OEM Expo

Food & Beverage OEM Expo is a business-meeting trade show focused on PB and OEM, held at two venues: the Osaka show (October 14–16, 2026) and the Tokyo show (April 13–15, 2027, Tokyo Big Sight). Developers with products they want to make meet contract manufacturers showcasing their processing strengths, and can choose contract partners while checking texture with real samples. As an entry point for finding contract partners, an easy approach is to treat the small bags handed out at booths as early prototypes and keep only the flavors that got a good response for full orders. Check the official website for the latest dates and venues, and complete visitor registration before going to make the day easier.

Official information: Food & Beverage OEM Expo official website

Official information: Food & Beverage OEM Expo official website

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Commercial dried vegetables / Original vegetable novelties / Drink Japan / ifia JAPAN 2026

Last updated: August 12, 2026