West Japan Food Industry Creation Show '27

"West Japan Food Industry Creation Expo" is one of the largest comprehensive commercial food shows in western Japan, held at Marine Messe Fukuoka in Fukuoka. Food manufacturers, wholesalers and trading companies, and purchasing staff from restaurants and ready-meal businesses in Kyushu and western Japan gather there, and you can see everything from raw materials and ingredients to processing technology, packaging and kitchen equipment in one visit. This article summarizes the dates, venue, admission and exhibitor categories for the upcoming 37th edition (2027), then covers how visitors can prepare for meetings and how to think about food novelties to hand out at your booth.

West Japan Food Industry Creation Expo at a glance

The next edition is the 37th, held in May 2027. The venue is Marine Messe Fukuoka, and industry professionals can enter free of charge with advance visitor registration or an invitation ticket. The 36th edition already ended in May 2026, so if you are now considering attending, the 37th is the one to focus on. The dates for the following edition (38th) had not been announced at the time of writing.

Item	37th ’27	38th ’28
Dates	May 12 (Wed) to 14 (Fri), 2027	Not yet announced
Time	10:00–17:00 (until 16:00 on the final day)	Not yet announced
Venue	Marine Messe Fukuoka Halls A and B	Not yet announced
Admission	5,000 yen (tax included) / Free with advance visitor registration or invitation ticket (industry professionals)	Not yet announced
Organizer	Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, Ltd.	Not yet announced

The 37th edition runs for three days: May 12 and 13 are business days, and the final day, the 14th, is also open to the general public and students. As a business meeting show that gathers Kyushu's food industry, visiting on the weekday business days lets you spend time calmly on purchasing and joint development discussions. If you are coming from afar, arranging accommodation and travel early makes things easier.

What companies and products does it attract?

Eligible categories

Exhibits cover a wide range, from food itself, such as processed foods, seasonings, frozen foods, prepared foods and confectionery and baking ingredients, to raw materials and ingredients, food machinery and kitchen equipment, packaging materials, hygiene and inspection equipment, and food DX and food tech. With everything from primary processors handling western Japan's regional ingredients to manufacturers supplying finished commercial products, the show is worth walking whether your goal is purchasing, joint development or equipment upgrades.

Kyushu is home to many agricultural and marine production regions, and a distinctive feature is how easy it is to find proposals for processed foods using local ingredients and primary processed products that meet commercial needs. Regional ingredients that tend to come in small lots on their own can more easily meet the volumes restaurants and ready-meal businesses need when several producers and processors exhibit together. At the venue, exhibitors in the same category are often located near each other, so you can compare price, lot size and supply stability side by side and narrow down suppliers that fit how you'll use them.

Companies and staff who attend

Visitors are mainly development and purchasing staff at food manufacturers, buyers at wholesalers and trading companies, menu development and purchasing staff at restaurant and ready-meal chains, and commercial customers such as institutional catering and hospital food services. Given the location, many visitors are businesses whose sales territory is Kyushu and western Japan, making it easy to have specific discussions premised on local transactions and logistics.

Each person is looking for something different, with goals split among "purchasing staff wanting to keep costs down," "developers searching for ingredients for new menus," "retailers wanting to create PB products for their shelves" and more. Setting up your booth so you can make proposals while asking about each person's role and goals keeps you from wasting limited meeting time.

Co-located and related events

During the show, related seminars, special exhibits and related events covering food trends and technology developments are planned. The advantage of a comprehensive show is that besides walking the exhibitor booths, you can get an overview of industry movements through these seminars. Popular topics can fill up, so checking the content and times of programs you're interested in on the official website is the surest approach. Specific names and details of co-located shows are published on the official website as the show approaches.

Highlights for visitors and exhibitors

Meet ingredients and makers from Kyushu and western Japan

The biggest draw is being able to compare western Japan's regional ingredients and their processing technologies while talking directly with the people who make them. Even the same vegetable or fruit differs in usability and cost depending on the processed form, such as dried, powder or paste. Beyond tastings and samples, confirming minimum lots, unit prices and shipping periods on the spot makes it easier to follow up with quote or prototype requests later.

Compare purchasing, equipment and packaging all at once

Along with food itself, food machinery, packaging materials and hygiene equipment are exhibited at the same venue, so you can consider everything in one flow, from "sourcing ingredients to how to process them and how to pack them." When launching a new product, being spared the trouble of handling ingredient selection and manufacturing and packaging consultations at separate places is a big advantage of attending.

Ideas for PB and menu development come together

For restaurant menu development and retail PB planning, simply being able to see at once which ingredients and technologies other companies are promoting is itself material for ideas. For ingredients that catch your interest, take samples on the spot, try them in your own kitchen or prototype line, and then move to the next meeting to speed up planning. If you check "rehydration time," "how flavor is absorbed" and "yield" in the kitchen before prototyping, internal agreement is easier to reach and adoption talks start moving concretely.

For companies considering exhibiting

Exhibitors include food manufacturers, ingredient makers and processors looking to expand sales channels in Kyushu and western Japan, as well as suppliers of food machinery and packaging. Details on exhibition formats and booth fees are available from the organizer, Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, or through the contact desk on the official website. To make the most of limited meeting time, narrow down your target visitors and summarize the "minimum lot, unit price and lead time" they want to know on one page, so you can move straight into discussing terms on the spot.

Make the samples you hand out easy to carry and shelf-stable, so people remember you during reviews back at the office. Don't let it end with a tasting: record each person's interests and contact details, and your follow-up after the show leads directly to the next meeting.

Visitor registration and how to participate

Admission is 5,000 yen (tax included), but industry professionals enter free with advance visitor registration on the official website or an invitation ticket. Registering in advance lets you avoid crowds at reception on the day and research exhibitors before the show to choose which booths to visit. The business days (May 12 and 13) offer a calm environment suited to meetings, and on the final day, the 14th, the general public and students can also enter.

A free shuttle bus runs between Hakata Station and the venue, Marine Messe Fukuoka. Please check the official website and Marine Messe Fukuoka's information for details on the nearest stations, bus routes and operating hours on the day. If you are coming from afar for several days, nearby hotels get crowded during the show, so book early.

How food businesses in western Japan can make the most of the show

Kyushu and western Japan have many regional ingredients sitting unused. Vegetables that are irregular in shape and hard to distribute fresh become commercial ingredients that are light, shelf-stable and can be rehydrated in just the amount needed once dried or powdered. Agriture dries and powders off-spec vegetables, and can help design local ingredients into "a form that is easy to handle commercially," starting from raw material selection.

Reactions from restaurants and wholesalers at the show become material for your next product. Take home requests such as "We want to make this vegetable into a soup that can be rehydrated" or "We want this ingredient in small commercial portions," make small-lot prototypes, and go into your next meeting with them, and the path to adoption can become shorter.

Samples that let visitors take Kyushu's regional ingredients home "in a usable form"

Many ingredients from Kyushu's growing regions line the venue of the West Japan Food Industry Creation Expo. But even if you offer tastings of fresh produce, it is hard for wholesale and restaurant staff from afar to take it back and try it in their kitchens, so it often ends with an on-the-spot impression. What really shows its strengths at this comprehensive show is a small-pouch sample of dried vegetables made from Kyushu vegetables. Show how they rehydrate in water at the venue and hand over a pouch to take home, and visitors can evaluate them, along with the story of their origin, while actually using them in their kitchens or prototype lines back at the office.

How to hand over regional ingredients so the real thing does the talking

This show draws wholesale buyers, purchasing staff from restaurants and ready-meal businesses, and retailers planning PB products. Hand over a small-pouch sample made from Kyushu vegetables, and you can convey the proposal of "local ingredients in a form you can rehydrate and use" through the real thing rather than words. Light and shelf-stable, it fits in the bags of visitors who go from booth to booth and travel home long distances, and they will remember your company during reviews back at the office.

Carrying it over into joint development and PB prototypes

Kyushu is close to agricultural and marine production regions, making it easy to discuss PB products and joint development using local ingredients. The samples you hand out can be carried straight over into prototypes of commercial ingredients or PB products. Agriture processes off-spec vegetables into dried products and powders and can supply them in small lots (from 50 bags), so we can help from the stage of designing regional ingredients into "a form that is easy to handle commercially." By refining rehydration times and portion sizes to match how the other party will use them, you can turn the positive response at the venue into a first step toward joint development.

FAQ: West Japan Food Industry Creation Expo

Is there an admission fee?

Admission is 5,000 yen (tax included), but industry professionals enter free with advance visitor registration or an invitation ticket. We recommend registering in advance on the official website.

When and where is the 37th edition held?

It will be held May 12 (Wed) to 14 (Fri), 2027, in Halls A and B of Marine Messe Fukuoka. May 12 and 13 are business days, and on the 14th the general public and students can also enter.

How do I get to the venue?

A free shuttle bus runs between Hakata Station and the venue, Marine Messe Fukuoka. Please check the official website and Marine Messe Fukuoka's information for details such as the nearest stations and bus routes.

What kinds of staff typically attend?

Mainly development and purchasing staff at food manufacturers, buyers at wholesalers and trading companies, and purchasing staff at restaurants and ready-meal businesses. Many are businesses whose sales territory is Kyushu and western Japan, making it a show where specific discussions premised on local transactions are easy to have.

Can booth novelties be made in small lots?

Yes. Agriture can supply dried vegetables, vegetable powders and dried vegetable soups in small lots (from 50 bags), and the samples for handing out can be designed directly as prototypes of commercial ingredients or PB products.

Summary: Expanding your Kyushu food business at the West Japan Food Industry Creation Expo

The West Japan Food Industry Creation Expo is one of the largest comprehensive commercial food shows in western Japan, with its 37th edition held May 12 (Wed) to 14 (Fri), 2027, at Marine Messe Fukuoka. You can meet regional ingredients from Kyushu and western Japan and the people who make them, compare everything from purchasing to processing and packaging in one flow, and gather ideas for PB and menu development. If you aim to commercialize local ingredients in a commercial form, starting with small-pouch samples of dried vegetables that can be rehydrated and looking for joint development partners while gauging the reactions of wholesalers and restaurants makes it easier to map out a path to products that make the most of regional ingredients.

Official information: West Japan Food Industry Creation Expo official website

Official information: West Japan Food Industry Creation Expo official website

Recommended reading

Commercial dried vegetables / Original vegetable novelties / FOOD Exhibition 2026 / FABEX 2026

Last updated: August 12, 2026