ShanghaiApril 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On April 2, the 34th Shanghai International Hotel & Catering Industry Expo (2026 HOTELEX Shanghai), part of the 2026 Shanghai Tourism Industry Expo series, concluded successfully at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai Puxi · Hongqiao).
As one of the largest and most influential events in the hotel and catering industry in Asia, this year’s expo was themed “Gathering Global Opportunities, Unveiling Global Premieres.” Spanning 400,000 square meters of exhibition space, it featured over 4,000 high-quality global exhibitors, tens of thousands of new products making their debut, and 303,576 professional visitors, including 18,431 overseas visitors from 189 countries and regions—a 48% increase year-over-year! These key players from the global industry witnessed the explosive transition of the hotel and catering sector’s “new quality productive forces” from concept to implementation, providing clear direction and actionable solutions for countless industry professionals to achieve more efficient and certain growth.
I. The Closed Loop of International Trade: From Going Global to Importing
The wave of Chinese cuisine going global represents only one side (Side A) of the internationalization of the domestic hotel and catering industry. Facing escalating consumer demand and the continuous improvement of the domestic industry’s overall standards, the other side (Side B)—the demand for imported overseas products—is also rising.
Regarding raw material imports, this expo brought together exhibitors from the United States, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Europe, Africa, South America, and other regions, showcasing categories including meat, seafood, coffee, wine, condiments, and fruits. Among the highlights was the debut of the World Coffee Flavor Map, guided by the concept of “Connecting the World Through Beans, Trading for the Future.” It integrated resources, bringing together origin-specific coffee beans from producing regions such as Brazil, Panama, Uganda, Colombia, Ethiopia, Honduras, Vietnam, and Yunnan, China. By inviting renowned global estates, cooperatives, coffee associations, and major exporters, it offered a richer variety of flavors and quality characteristics to China’s growing coffee market.
On the “going global” front, the expo attracted 18,431 overseas professional buyers from 189 countries and regions, a 48% increase year-over-year, generating vast opportunities for product sales and channel connections covering nearly every global market. Additionally, the HOTELEX 2026 Hosted Buyer Program was held on-site, facilitating more precise and efficient resource matching and business matchmaking services.
Simultaneously, a series of thematic forums and international professional competitions, such as the World Coffee Championships and the 2026 World Trendy Drinks Competition, were held. These events invited representatives from companies and institutions with mature experience and deep insights into going global, as well as technical and R&D experts, to actively promote exchange and interaction between domestic and international markets, providing data and methodological support for Chinese cuisine’s global expansion.
II. Efficiency Upgrades and Experience Innovation with Robotics
As a representative of China’s “DeepSeek moment,” robots are capturing widespread attention while permeating the hotel and catering ecosystem at an unprecedented pace.
At this expo, we observed robots extensively integrated into fields like coffee, tea, back-of-house operations, and even central kitchens. However, the bigger highlight was how the expo’s demonstration of robotic applications transcended the conventional perception of robots solely enhancing efficiency. More interactive experiences further expanded the imaginative possibilities for robots in the hotel and catering sector.
For instance, CAYE Technology made a significant appearance with its new commercial coffee solutions. With robust technical capabilities and full-scenario adaptability, it provided the industry with a more tangible understanding of the competitiveness of “Intelligent Manufacturing in China” in the commercial coffee track.
Embodied robots at the Micro-Universe booth transformed into coffee latte art masters at the bar. While crafting exquisite latte art coffee, they interacted with on-site visitors, attracting crowds who stopped to experience it and pulled out their phones to take photos, showcasing the broader possibilities of robotic applications on the consumer experience end.
On the more closely watched back-of-house front, high-quality exhibitors specializing in cooking robots—including Yuanluo Technology, Utec Smart Kitchen, Tianke Smart, Yushan Smart, Pengman Technology, Topband, and Black Pineapple Technology—also showcased their latest products on-site. Their back-of-house solutions, rooted in artificial intelligence, advanced robotics, and proprietary large models, became key targets for many professional visitors. The products, which perfectly replicate the standards of master chefs, drew widespread acclaim.
III. Pain Points and Future Exploration in Product Innovation
From “product iteration” to “ecosystem reconstruction,” innovation has become the core driving force for breaking new ground in the catering industry.
Amidst continuously upgrading consumer demands and increasingly fierce industry competition, innovation is no longer an “option” for hotel and catering enterprises but a “must-answer question” determining survival and development.
At the 2026 HOTELEX Shanghai, innovation was no longer limited to single product appearance improvements or flavor tweaks. Instead, it deeply penetrated the entire chain of ingredient R&D, equipment manufacturing, supply chain integration, and scenario-based experiences. Leveraging technological breakthroughs, business model innovation, and cross-border integration, it tackled industry pain points like homogenization, high costs, and low efficiency, constructing a new logic for industrial growth. The concentrated showcase of products from three major exhibitors precisely interpreted the core connotation of “innovation driving new quality productive forces.”
For example, Hai Rong Technology’s specialized base for fruit drinks, relying on its independently developed double-layer emulsification anchoring technology, successfully solved the long-standing problem of layering and flocculation in acidic environments within the new tea beverage industry. This ensures stable taste and uniform consistency for products like fruit teas and compound vegetable juices during prolonged storage and cold chain transportation, significantly extending shelf life while adapting to multiple scenarios like freshly made and pre-packaged beverages.
In the coffee machine sector, where domestic equipment substitution is gaining momentum, a series of emerging domestic players—including Buku Coffee, Dazheng Coffee, Haishi Smart, Wendouji, Gemilai, Jienuo, Amafei, and Meilejia—have, according to incomplete statistics, filed nearly a hundred patents over the past three years covering areas like grinding, extraction, control, accessories, water circuits, milk frothing, steam, and cleaning. These profound technical accumulations were brilliantly presented on-site, forming a comprehensive display matrix for Chinese coffee machine “intelligent manufacturing” and a solid foundation for the export of China’s coffee industry.
Jupin Tea Industry, themed “Terroir of Three Regions, Aroma in One Leaf,” constructed three display platforms—”Fujian Pavilion,” “Guangxi Pavilion,” and “Yunnan Pavilion.” Using characteristic origin tea bases from these three regions, it customized rich product innovation solutions, deepening the new commercial value landscape of “origin.”
Dexin Food set up four booths at this expo, focusing on tea beverages, coffee, baking, and new retail & Chinese & Western cuisine segments. Leveraging its deep expertise in the beverage field and empowering from the supply chain foundation, it helped more catering professionals break down category barriers and open up more consumption scenarios. Among its offerings, the featured water chestnut milk gave a fresh twist to this commonly used ingredient in toppings, imparting a differentiated flavor experience to beverages.
IV. Multi-Dimensional Health Exploration and Territory Expansion
From “clean labels” to “precision nutrition,” healthification has become the new standard for the catering industry.
With the awakening of public health awareness and the deepening of consumption upgrades, “healthy catering” has transformed from a differentiating selling point to a basic industry entry standard. At the 2026 HOTELEX Shanghai, healthification was no longer simply about “reducing sugar, salt, and oil.” Instead, it developed in depth towards functionalization, scientification, and transparency—from green cultivation at the ingredient source, to additive-free processing, to precise nutritional adaptation of end products, building a “new health ecosystem” across the entire industry chain. The concentrated display of products from three exhibitors fully presented the depth and breadth of the healthification development in the hotel and catering industry.
OATLY, a leading brand in the plant-based beverage sector, brought several重磅 new products, including High-Fiber Oat Milk, Extra Rich Matcha Oat Milk, Low-GI Oat Milk, Turmeric Oat Milk, Low-GI Oat Cream, and Dongbian Plant-Based Fragrant Pink Coconut Milk, unlocking new taste experiences with diverse flavors and health concepts. Among these, curcumin, a rising star in the fruit and vegetable sector in recent years, combined with OATLY, endowed the plant-based health attributes with new connotations.
Hubao Brand, under the Yangtze River Pharmaceutical Group, is leveraging its unique “medicine-food homology” concept. Using modern techniques, it skillfully removes the beany and herbal tastes, preserving coffee’s energizing function while incorporating the traditional Qi-boosting effects of Astragalus. This fusion of Chinese and Western flavors and the addition of health value precisely target the essential need of young people for “convenient health maintenance.”
Furthermore, the expo launched the SmartEAT Functional Food and Beverage Exhibition for the first time this year. Excellent exhibitors such as Xiangrun Food, Duole Food, Jiuru Food, FFIT8, Chaxian Taibai, VANILLA, Heyun, Zaoxiangcun, Wuxingqiao, DORO, and Chenyuhui showcased products covering organic, healthy, and functional items like chicken breast, beef, dates, chocolate, and vanilla paste, offering more references and possibilities for the next growth direction of healthification.
V. New Quality Productive Forces Leading the Way Towards High-Quality Development in Catering
The successful conclusion of the 2026 HOTELEX Shanghai is not just a summary of an industry event but a concentrated presentation of the comprehensive explosion of new quality productive forces in the hotel and catering industry. The core of new quality productive forces lies not in the application of a single technology or the innovation of a single product, but in reconstructing industrial logic, operational models, and value systems.
Looking ahead, as technology continues to iterate, consumer demands constantly upgrade, and global integration deepens, the new quality productive forces in the hotel and catering industry will further unleash their vitality. For industry enterprises, only by actively embracing change, deeply integrating into the development wave, and using new quality productive forces as the core engine can they achieve stable and long-term success in the fierce market competition, jointly propelling China’s hotel and catering industry towards a new journey of more efficient, higher quality, and more sustainable development.
From March 30 to April 2, 2027, the 2027 HOTELEX Shanghai will once again convene at Shanghai Puxi • Hongqiao @ National Exhibition and Convention Center, joining hands with global hotel and catering professionals to embark on another exciting industry journey, working together to create the future!