Health Food Expo

Health Food Expo (HFE JAPAN) is a business-meeting trade show specializing in health foods, supplements and functional ingredients. It is held in the same venue and at the same time as ifia JAPAN, the International Food Ingredients & Additives Exhibition, and brings together raw material manufacturers, OEM contract companies and related businesses in packaging and testing. This article covers HFE JAPAN's dates, venue, exhibit categories and how to register as a visitor, as well as how developers of health foods and Foods with Function Claims can prepare to move business meetings forward, and how to use sample novelties made with vegetable powders and plant-based ingredients. It is written for those considering visiting or exhibiting with an eye on the path from ingredient development to prototyping and commercialization.

Health Food Expo (HFE JAPAN): Basic Information

The next show is the 25th edition, held at Tokyo Big Sight in May 2027. As a specialist show for health foods and functional ingredients, it draws many food developers together with the co-located ifia JAPAN. The venue is the South Halls and Conference Tower, and as befits a specialist show, visitors come mainly for technical consultations and business meetings. Dates for the following years are announced on the official website as they are set, so it is best to check the latest information before planning to exhibit or visit.

Item	HFE JAPAN 2027 (25th)	HFE JAPAN 2028 (26th)
Dates	May 19 (Wed) – 21 (Fri), 2027	Not yet announced (check the official website)
Venue	Tokyo Big Sight, South Halls & Conference Tower	Not yet announced
Opening hours	10:00〜17:00	Not yet announced
Concurrent shows	ifia JAPAN 2027 (32nd)	ifia JAPAN 2028
Organizer	Shokuhin Kagaku Shimbun Co., Ltd.	Shokuhin Kagaku Shimbun Co., Ltd.

Because HFE JAPAN shares its venue with ifia JAPAN, a distinctive feature is being able to compare an ingredient's raw material form and its final form as a health food in a single visit. Both staff looking for raw materials and staff looking for OEM for finished products pass through, so you can move seamlessly from ingredient proposals to commercialization discussions. Admission is generally by advance registration; check the registration method and handling of invitation tickets according to the guidance on the official website.

What companies and products does it attract?

Health Food and Functional Ingredient Categories Covered by Exhibitors

Exhibits center on food categories built around health, such as health foods, supplements, dietary supplements including vitamins and minerals, herbs and plant-derived ingredients, beauty and diet-related foods, sports nutrition, and ingredients for Foods with Function Claims. Vegetable-derived powders such as aojiru (green juice) and plant-based ingredients using plant proteins also fall into categories that suit this show. Companies at every stage of development exhibit, from raw material forms such as powders, extracts and granules to OEM firms that turn them into capsules or powdered drinks.

In addition to companies selling a single raw material, exhibitors include companies that propose formulation designs combining several ingredients and related companies handling packaging, filling and quality testing. The layout lets you visit booths according to your purpose, from searching for raw materials early in development to finding partners for prototyping and mass production.

The Developers and Buyers Who Attend

Visitors are mainly product developers at health food and supplement manufacturers, PB developers at mail-order companies and drugstores, staff planning Foods with Function Claims, and staff looking for contract manufacturing or packaging. Because it is a specialist show, meetings tend not to end with a card exchange but to go into formulation direction, lot sizes and raw material supply on the spot. Setting up your booth so you can make proposals while asking what health needs the visitor's product is aimed at helps you make the most of limited meeting time.

With growing health consciousness, more developers are also looking for ingredients of clear origin, such as vegetables and fruit, rather than chemically synthesized components. Preparing a presentation that helps them picture not only the raw material itself but also the final products that can be made with it makes meetings more concrete.

Component Shows Held Together as ifia JAPAN

HFE JAPAN is held in the same venue and at the same time as ifia JAPAN, the International Food Ingredients & Additives Exhibition. While ifia JAPAN broadly covers the raw material side such as food ingredients and additives, HFE JAPAN is positioned as a zone focused on health foods, supplements and functional ingredients. Because you can visit both at once, you can look widely at candidate ingredients and then discuss turning them into a final health food product, all within the same venue.

In health food development, a product only comes together once you have sorted out not just the function of the raw material but also taste, solubility, ease of packaging and labeling rules. With the ingredients show and the health food show side by side, this event can also be used as a place to find partners for the processes your company is missing, all at once.

Highlights for visitors and exhibitors

Discovering the Latest Functional Ingredients

The show introduces a large number of new functional ingredients and plant-derived raw materials that are about to make their way into products. The advantage of a specialist trade show is that you can check the color, solubility and aroma of a powder on the spot, which is hard to convey in a catalog. If developers walk the floor with a clear idea of the health food they want to make, they can narrow down formulation candidates efficiently.

Comparing OEM and Contract Manufacturing Partners

When commercializing health foods or supplements, which contract manufacturer you work with, and how, has a big impact on the finished product. The show brings together OEM companies with different specialties, such as powdered drinks, granules and capsules, so you can quickly compare the lot sizes and formats they can handle. Finding a company that supports small-lot prototypes lets you move to the next step without stalling the project.

Seminars and Regulatory Information

During the show, seminars cover trends in the health food market and the rules on Foods with Function Claims and advertising expressions. Health foods face many restrictions on labeling and on how claims are worded, so understanding the key points of the rules early in planning helps you avoid backtracking. Reserve seats in advance for topics you are interested in.

For companies considering exhibiting

Exhibitors include manufacturers of health foods and functional ingredients, OEM contract manufacturers, and related businesses that handle packaging and testing. Booth formats, booth fees and early-application discounts can be confirmed with the organizer, Shokuhin Kagaku Shimbunsha Co., Ltd., or through the official website. Because a specialist show offers dense business meetings, success depends on being prepared to capture visitors' interest in a short time.

Prepare a one-page sheet summarizing the features of your ingredients and samples visitors can actually handle, so you can move straight into formulation and prototype discussions on the spot. If the samples you hand out at the booth are easy to take home and try and have a long shelf life, visitors are more likely to remember your company during internal reviews after they return to the office.

Visitor registration and how to participate

Admission is generally by advance registration on the official website, and registered visitors receive the information needed for entry. Registering in advance lets you avoid crowds at reception on the day and choose the booths you want to meet from the exhibitor list beforehand. Tokyo Big Sight is within walking distance of both Kokusai-Tenjijo Station on the Rinkai Line and Tokyo Big Sight Station on the Yurikamome Line. Hotels in the area get busy during the show, so book early if you are coming from afar for multiple days. Entry procedures and the handling of invitation tickets may change from year to year, so check the latest information on the official website.

Tips for Health Food and Functional Ingredient Developers

For products built around health, ingredients derived from vegetables with a clear origin can become the core of the concept. Raw vegetables are hard to handle as they are, but once dried or processed into powder, they become easy to blend into powdered drinks, granules, baked goods and more. Agriture dries and powders vegetables, including off-spec produce, and can help design a "blend-friendly form" for health foods, starting from the raw material selection stage.

The feedback you get from developers at the show becomes material for your next prototype. Take home requests such as "I want this vegetable powder to dissolve more easily" or "I want to test a powdered drink with this ingredient in a small lot," produce a small prototype, and then go into the next meeting. This speeds up health food planning.

Vegetable Powder Handed to Health Food Developers as a "Candidate Ingredient"

Visitors to HFE JAPAN want to check solubility, flavor and even aftertaste for themselves before incorporating an ingredient into a formulation. Brochures picked up at a booth are not enough for them to decide whether an ingredient belongs on the list of formulation candidates. If you hand out small sachets of vegetable powder or dried vegetable soup, health-conscious visitors can dissolve them in hot or cold water after they get home and check the taste and solubility firsthand.

Sachets to Dissolve, Drink and Evaluate

Vegetable powder is light and keeps well, and packing it in sachets makes it hygienic to distribute. Agriture can prepare dried products, vegetable powders and dried vegetable soups upcycled from off-spec vegetables in small lots, so the samples handed to visitors can be proposed directly as candidate ingredients for health foods and supplements. Agriture does not form tablets or capsules itself; its role is to respond to inquiries from the raw material stage, supplying powders and dried ingredients in blend-friendly forms.

Building the Upcycling Background into the Product Story

Making use of vegetables that would otherwise be discarded speaks to visitors who care about both health and the environment. If a powder handed out at the booth moves closer to being adopted as a formulation candidate, the conversation can progress to contract manufacturing of dried products, powders and dried vegetable soups. Since particle size, solubility and ingredient development using off-spec vegetables can all be discussed, the feedback gained at the show can be fed back into your next ingredient proposal.

FAQ | Health Food Expo (HFE JAPAN)

What is the difference between HFE JAPAN and ifia JAPAN?

They are held at the same venue on the same dates. While ifia JAPAN broadly covers food ingredients and additives, HFE JAPAN is a zone focused on health foods, supplements and functional ingredients. You can visit both in one trip.

Is there a fee to attend?

Admission is generally by advance visitor registration. Entry procedures and the handling of invitation tickets may change from year to year, so check the official website for the latest information.

Can I attend even if I have not started developing health foods yet?

Yes. The show is useful at any stage of development, from the early stage of searching for ingredients to finding partners for prototyping and mass production. Simply visiting to see the range of ingredients and OEM companies is also a worthwhile way to use it.

When will the show be held in 2028 and beyond?

The dates had not been announced at the time of writing. Dates are announced on the official website as they are decided, so check the latest announcements before planning to exhibit or attend.

Can vegetable powder sample giveaways be made in small lots?

Yes. Agriture can prepare vegetable powders and dried vegetable soups made from off-spec vegetables in small lots (from 50 bags), which can lead directly to prototypes for health food and supplement OEM.

Summary | Sourcing Health Food Ingredients at the Health Food Expo (HFE JAPAN)

HFE JAPAN (the 25th edition, held May 19–21, 2027 at Tokyo Big Sight) is a specialist trade show for health foods, supplements and functional ingredients. Together with the concurrent ifia JAPAN, it lets you discover new functional ingredients, compare OEM and contract manufacturing partners, and gather regulatory information all at once.

If you are moving a health food project forward, a practical starting point is to pack vegetable powder or dried vegetable soup with a clear origin into sachets, hand them to visitors, and gauge their reactions as they dissolve and taste them. If the response is good, you can propose it as a candidate ingredient and move on to discussing contract manufacturing of dried products and powders.

Official information: ifia JAPAN / HFE JAPAN Official Website

Official information: ifia JAPAN / HFE JAPAN Official Website

Recommended reading

Commercial Dried Vegetables and Vegetable Powder OEM / Original vegetable novelties / ifia JAPAN / FOODEX JAPAN

Last updated: August 12, 2026