August 2017

More than 200 exhibitors and over 20,000 visitors
The 2nd "Organic lifestyle EXPO/OLE" closed with a great success
The 2nd Organic Lifestyle EXPO organized by Organic Forum Japan was held on 29th (Sat) and30th (Sun.) July, 2017 at the Tokyo International Forum in central Tokyo. The OLE theme was"Toward the realization of SDGs for sustainable development and promoting Organic 3.0".
This year, the "Organic Forum Symposium / Organic Buyers Meeting" was held for the first time on
Friday 28th before the opening of the exhibition. The program included specialized seminars,
product displays and business meetings. Thanks to active participation by exhibitors, potential
buyers and other stakeholders this event and the exhibition on the following days which was also
open to the general consumers were successful and attracted many participants and visitors.
Total number of registered visitors

July 28 (Fri)

Cloudy694

Buyers meeting + business matchmaking+ symposium

July 29 (Sat)

Cloudy / rainy

11,787

Exhibition + Seminars

July 30 (Sun)

Cloudy10,511

Exhibition + Seminars

Total

22,992Overall Scale
Exhibitors: 204 companies · Organizations · Media
Number of Booths: 246
A detailed analysis will be soon on the website. Following is the approximate proportion ofexhibitors in several theme zones based on data immediately after closing: 50% food andbeverages, 13% body care and cosmetics, 26% living goods including textiles, 11% otherproducts.
The ratio of visitors – pre-registration via the Internet, invitation tickets and day tickets – was about
70% from the general public and 30% business people on both days.
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■ First Organic buyers' and business meetings
The buyers meeting on the 28th before the opening of the exhibition was held from 10:30 to 20:30.
Several seminars covered various topics, such as sales promotion strategies, learning fromadvanced organic countries like the USA, selling organic agricultural products, creation andknowledge of attractive sales floors, ethical cosmetics, fair trade etc. Practical business seminars,
such as product development and the concept for SDGs were also held. All participants wereinvited in the evening to 2 hours of exhibition preview and talking with exhibitors and other guests
in the exhibition hall.
For the event described above over 300 business people registered in advance, and the numberof actual participants was much higher. This event was very successful and the OLE organizers
are planning to hold it again next year and thereafter,■ OLE 2017 proved again that a B2B2C concept is well received in Japan by business people andthe general public, even if the event is held on weekends.
The "Organic lifestyle EXPO" was conceived a B2B2C trade fair with an extensive side program
targeting both business people and the general public. For attracting many visitors a good location,such as the Tokyo International Forum in central Tokyo, is also important. Although the exhibition
was on the weekend, especially on Saturday many business people such as retailers andrestaurant operators came, and active business negotiations took place. On Sunday many general
consumers including families with children visited to see, taste and buy natural and organic
products and to learn something about the movement.
OLE 2017 started again with the EXPO theme "Organic 3.0" and "SDGs", followed by international
business seminars and presentations which connect organic to the next generation, content-richseminars and workshops for consumers want to know more about natural and organic food andnon-food products. LAWSON, a major repeat exhibitor, again sponsored a painting exhibition ofschool children.
Over 200 exhibitors presented a wide range of products from organic vegetables, fruits andprocessed foods to cosmetics, textiles, ethical accessories, daily goods such as dishes anddetergents and houses built with natural material without chemicals.
In conclusion: The exhibition and side program pleased both business people and the generalpublic and contributed to the progress of the organic movement and market in Japan.
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The 3rd "Organic Lifestyle EXPO" will be held again at the Tokyo International Forum on 22 and23 September 2018 with an extensive side-program. The organizers will have more time forpreparations and expect further growth in size, number of exhibitors and visitors.
Welcome to OLE 2018 on 22 and 23 September 2018 at the Tokyo International Forum.
Organizers: Food Trust Project - LOHAS World - GON (Global Organic Network)https://ofj.or.jp./en/

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