Here is “Wine to Asia”, the VeronaFiere start up fair, tomorrow and November 21st, in Shenzhen

Two hundred exhibitors, eight countries represented, twelve master classes, two forums and buyers from all major cities in the Chinese Greater Bay Area. Here is “Wine to Asia”, the VeronaFiere start up fair, on stage tomorrow and Saturday November 21st, in Shenzhen, the first event in attendance after months of waiting, on the most difficult market to conquer, but also the one that promises the most in the future.
Good news for wine, which has been looking towards the East for years, to a market that, on closer inspection, is struggling enormously to grow. Consumption is still steady at 1.2 liters per capita per year - compared to 37 in Italy - and the wine of the Belpaese, despite the rapid growth rates of recent years, does not move away from the 7% share of total wine imports. The “Covid semester” (March-August 2020) has recorded, for Italian shipments, a drop in value of 38%, and then going back to running becomes even more important, however, correcting the course, both in terms of promotion and marketing, finally learning to put themselves “in the shoes” of the Chinese consumer, its culture and its relationship with what they eat and drink.
A real challenge, especially now that China has promoted the largest free trade agreement the world has ever seen: the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, involving 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, where 2.2 billion people live, generating 30% of world GDP. This agreement also includes Australia and New Zealand, which have already enjoyed very favorable conditions (zero duties) for the Chinese market for some years now.
Organized by the company Shenzhen Baina International Ltd, a VeronaFiere subsidiary in partnership with Pacco Communication, “Wine to Asia” has chosen Shenzhen, where in addition to the well-known big tech companies, 30% of Chinese wine importers are based, and the liveliness of the city is able to influence trends in the area from Hong Kong to Guangzhou. Also exhibiting at “Wine to Asia” are several group shows, including the Italian one organized by Ice Agency, the most represented with over 70 exhibitors, Wines of Chile, Rioja and one of the emerging regions of wine production in China, Huailai. “A particular merit goes to the producers who have observed the quarantine imposed by the Chinese government on passengers arriving from abroad to be present in person”, comments the Director General of VeronaFiere, Giovanni Mantovani. “This first edition, which risked more than any other event not to be held, presents itself at the starting tapes with numbers beyond all expectations with more than half the companies from Italy. Not only that, all the scheduled events are sold out and this says a lot about the expectation of an event in presence also on a market strongly oriented to digital and online”.
As Simone Incontro, head of VeronaFiere for Asia, explains, “the Chinese market is constantly evolving with consumer tastes that are gradually being refined. Certainly the Coronavirus pandemic has had an impact on the market and many distributors have closed down or have seen a drastic reduction in sales, however we are seeing an evolution in consumption with the demand for new products. This is the case of natural wines, which are appearing more and more in the portfolios of importers and distributors and that we will see exhibited in the Living Wine area, the largest ever seen on natural wines in an international fair, with 100 labels and 30 companies”. Online initiatives, then, flank the physical business event thanks to live streaming and flash sale with the online giant PinDuoDuo, in collaboration with Ice. Exhibitors and visitors can also count on the features of Wine to Asia’s Wechat mini-app. Finally, restaurants, wine bistros and clubs in the area, in the “Greater Bay Area Wine Week”, offer special menus in combination with wine.