The Era When Food Trade Shows Cannot Be Won by "Product Quality" Alone: The Reality of the Attention Economy [Cuisine Kingdom 100 Selection] Newsletter, January 15th Issue

The Era When Food Trade Shows Cannot Be Won by "Product Quality" Alone: The Reality of the Attention Economy

<What is the Attention Economy?>

Whenever I visit the judging sessions for the Cuisine Kingdom 100 Selection or trade show floors, I feel the same thing every time.
There are so many products that are "good, but fail to reach the buyers."
With the trade show season upon us, I would like to organize how to handle this from a slightly different perspective.
The attention economy is the idea that as a result of being flooded with products and information, "attention" itself becomes a scarce resource and creates value. (Reference: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications ICT Literacy Improvement Project, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications 2023 White Paper)

The easiest way to understand this is through the world of social media and short-form videos.

Countless posts flow through our timelines, and we only pay attention for a split second to things we find "interesting," swiping away immediately if they don't resonate.
Here, before the content of the information even matters, if you cannot capture attention, you effectively do not exist.
Moreover, social media is not just about having a lot of information.
The platform's design restricts the "visible information" and guides behavior. (Filter Bubble)
・What is displayed is not just posts from people you follow, but what the algorithm prioritizes as "things you might want to see"
(On platforms like Facebook, the posts that appear are not necessarily just from "friends")
・Long explanations are rarely read, while short, definitive statements or strong headlines are more likely to stick
・The next video appears automatically, causing reflexes to move faster than thought. (Continuous viewing without awareness → scattered concentration)

In other words, in the modern age, sales promotion (market development) requires not just making good products, but also capturing attention, ensuring understanding, and connecting to action.
I believe this applies directly to how food is sold as well.
You may have heard of the AIDMA or AISAS laws, but in any case, the weight of A (Attention = making people interested) is increasing in the modern era.

<Food Trade Shows Cannot Be Won by "Product Quality" Alone>

Food trade shows are a microcosm of the attention economy.

The venue is packed with information—products, business card exchanges, tastings, POP displays, explanations, piles of catalogs, poorly made FCP sheets, and confusing tasting samples—yet it is crowded with visitors, and buyers have limited concentration, stamina, and time.
Even in individual matching trade shows, there is only 15 to 25 minutes of time, and buyers are in back-to-back meetings.

What is happening at such trade show venues is not a competition of "product quality" (taste, product, wholesale price, passion for the product, etc.), but first and foremost, a battle for attention.
The point here is not to deny the importance of quality.
The problem is that the order and format used to convey that high quality do not match the environment of a trade show.

Buyers at the venue are running this kind of screening process in their heads at high speed:
・Should I stop? (Is this a necessary business from a distance? Is there any point in talking?)
・Should I talk? (Do I want to exchange business cards for now? Is it worth listening to right now: usage, price range, difficulty of introduction?)
・Should I take the information back? (Are there enough materials to explain it within the company: supply volume, purchasing conditions, transaction terms, handling of similar products, shelf allocation, etc.?)

A very common scenario here is that you "explained it" and "handed over FCP sheets or project proposals," but it never turns into a deal.
While product materials and quotes are certainly important, without a design that leads to future [memory and action], you will have only exhibited at the trade show. Based on my field experience, I personally think the deal closing rate is only about 1-2% of the number of business cards exchanged.
・It was good at the venue, but I can't remember it when I get back to the office (or worse, I forget it before I even leave).
・I can't explain it internally, so it doesn't make it to the approval process.
・The next action isn't decided, and only the number of business cards increases.
Food trade shows are being held intensively across the country from January to March, but this is not the actual consideration period for many food buyers. (In the case of retail: spring is already decided, summer is mostly decided, and autumn to winter is still a little further off.)

<Concrete Measures: 5 "Blueprints for Trade Shows" to Win Attention>

So, what should you do? From here on, it's about practical matters.
The point is to treat the trade show not as a place for explanation, but as a place for attention and memory, and to use follow-ups afterward to transform product understanding into deep memory and action.
I personally feel that what trade show operators often say about "designing for order achievement during the event (→ it's impossible to decide immediately)" and "immediate follow-up after the event (→ January-February is the trade show season, so it's not effective)" is a bit off-target.
1. Create words that can explain your company or product in 3 seconds: Clarify what kind of business you are and what your strengths are.
2. Make tastings about "usage proposals" rather than just "tasting": The purpose of a tasting is to provide an image of introduction rather than proof of taste.
3. Design the entry point for questions (a flow that makes it easy for buyers to talk): Example (Is this for prepared foods? Dining out? Mail order?)
4. Prepare product materials that can be saved and reviewed internally (memory design): Send materials via PDF email later instead of paper materials.
5. Decide the next action on the spot (extending the life of attention): Example: Promise to send samples, next meeting date.

<It Doesn't End with Attention>

Quality is a major prerequisite and is becoming increasingly important, but it is a great waste for products to disappear due to a lack of promotional power.
At trade shows, quality only "becomes value once it is conveyed." To achieve that, you need a design for attention.
To change the stop rate at the venue and the conversion rate into business negotiations after the event, it is important to think deeply about how to appeal your company's products to buyers.