Vietnam is using Hong Kong’s 2026 Food Expo PRO to push a more premium, wellness-aligned image for its coffee, as the show’s expanded Coffee Zone brings together origins from across Asia and the Americas from 13 August at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
According to VietnamPlus, the five-day expo opened with more than 1,850 exhibitors from over 30 countries and territories and was expected to draw over 500,000 visitors, running alongside the Hong Kong International Tea Fair and Home Delights Expo.
Vietnam’s Consulate General and Trade Office in Hong Kong coordinated a joint pavilion featuring coffee alongside bird’s nest, dried fruits, rice and rice-based products, VietnamPlus reported. Vietnamese coffee also took center stage at an ASEAN-themed seminar, where Consul General Le Duc Hanh delivered a keynote and joined roasting demonstrations and tastings aimed at importers and international partners.
In advance of the event, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) framed its August fairs under the theme “Live Well. Stay Well,” highlighting growing market interest in wellness, quality living and holistic wellbeing. HKTDC Associate Executive Director Smilely Lam said the fairs “reflect growing market interest in wellness, quality living and holistic wellbeing” and described Hong Kong as “an international food trading hub” that gives food companies “an ideal gateway to the Chinese Mainland and global markets.”
Within this positioning, the 2026 Coffee Zone at Food Expo PRO became more international, with exhibitors from Yunnan, the largest coffee-producing region in the Chinese mainland, joined by new exhibitors from Colombia, Macao, Myanmar, Thailand and the United States, according to HKTDC Newsbites. NewMediaWire reported that, for the first time, the August trade fairs brought together exhibitors from all ASEAN member states, including debut participations from Brunei and Timor-Leste, alongside first-time exhibitors from Colombia and Greece.
Vietnam entered this increasingly crowded field as the world’s second-largest coffee exporter, holding roughly 19–21% of the global market and leading global Robusta production, VietnamPlus noted. The same report stated that Vietnamese coffee has been exported for nearly 200 years, supports about 2.6 million jobs, and reached an export value of 8.92 billion USD in 2025, when Vietnam became the second-largest coffee supplier to China.
To align more closely with specialty and wellness-focused demand, VietnamPlus reported that Vietnam is expanding premium Arabica growing areas in Dien Bien, Son La and Lam Dong provinces. At the same time, a new generation of producers specialising in premium Fine Robusta has emerged, using processing techniques such as anaerobic fermentation and honey processing and obtaining certifications including 4C, Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade.
Vietnam’s 2026 showcase in Hong Kong builds on momentum from the 35th Hong Kong International Food Expo in 2025, where the Vietnamese Consulate General and Trade Office organized a pavilion with six companies presenting rice, coffee, macadamia nuts, premium bird’s nest, dried seafood and health-oriented dried garlic, according to a separate VietnamPlus report. That 2025 pavilion emphasized tastings to engage visitors, and the same article noted that Vietnam’s food and foodstuff exports to Hong Kong reached 372.7 million USD in 2024 and 212.9 million USD in the first half of 2025, up 19.1% year-on-year.
While the 2026 Food Expo PRO added Meat, Food Science and Technology, and Pet Food Products zones, HKTDC Newsbites highlighted the Coffee Zone’s growing international scope as part of a broader focus on alternative and future foods, food-service technologies and wellness. Against that backdrop, VietnamPlus described Vietnamese coffee as a key draw at the ASEAN-themed seminar, with roasting demonstrations and tastings used to introduce Vietnamese coffee to potential buyers and partners.
Beyond exports, VietnamPlus quoted Consul General Le Duc Hanh citing the Michelin Guide to describe coffee in Vietnam as “not merely a beverage but a social ritual,” pointing to traditional iced milk coffee and creative drinks such as salted, egg and coconut coffees; the same report stated that Vietnam now has more than 500,000 coffee shops nationwide.
Food Expo PRO and the Hong Kong International Tea Fair were scheduled to run through 15 August 2026, with the public expo continuing to 17 August, according to HKTDC Newsbites and VietnamPlus, underscoring Hong Kong’s role as an extended platform for coffee origins such as Vietnam seeking to position themselves within wellness and quality-focused trade flows.
