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NIIGATA Discovery Japan — Business Meeting in Sao Paulo 2026

JP

About This Guide

“DISCOVERY JAPAN | NIIGATA EM SÃO PAULO 2026” is a business meeting held on August 22, 2026, at the Nikkey Palace Hotel in São Paulo, Brazil, bringing together seven exhibitors from Niigata Prefecture — makers of rice, sake, wagyu beef, and kitchenware — to meet buyers, importers, and restaurant representatives from São Paulo.

The original event guide is bilingual in Portuguese and Japanese, prepared in advance so that Brazilian buyers could review each company and product before the meeting. Below is an English-language summary of the event and exhibitors; for full product details, please see the original PT-BR / Japanese guide.

Event Overview

  • Date: August 22, 2026 (Saturday), 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
  • Venue: Hotel Nikkey Palace, 2nd floor — R. Galvão Bueno, 425, Liberdade, São Paulo
  • Exhibitors: 7 companies, 9 partner brands
  • Program: Reception & tastings from 1:00 PM, remarks by the Governor of Niigata Prefecture at 1:30 PM, followed by business meetings at each of the 7 Niigata booths

Exhibitors

Seven companies from Niigata Prefecture took part, spanning wagyu beef, rice, sake, and kitchenware:

  1. Uoshoku Co., Ltd. (Wagyu) — Specialist in “Yukimuro Jukusei Wagyu,” beef aged in natural snow chambers, already exported to the US, Singapore, and Vietnam.
  2. Kitoku Shinryo Co., Ltd. (Rice) — A rice trading company founded in 1950, offering Niigata’s signature Koshihikari rice and pre-washed (musenmai) rice, with an established logistics and sales base in Brazil.
  3. Eco-Rice Niigata Ltd. (Rice) — A pioneer in low-protein rice and emergency food, producing about 90% of Japan’s Shunyo low-protein rice, used by dialysis patients, along with multilingual emergency rice products.
  4. Kikusui Shuzo Co., Ltd. (Sake) — A sake brewery founded in 1881, known for its canned Funaguchi unpasteurized sake and Junmai Ginjo line, with an established distribution network in the US.
  5. Yoshikawa Co., Ltd. (Kitchenware) — A Tsubame-Sanjo maker of iron and stainless-steel cookware, including its signature yukihira pan, with PFAS-free product development and sales experience in North America.
  6. Maruto Hasegawa Kousakusho Co., Ltd. (Precision Tools) — A Tsubame-Sanjo maker of pliers, scissors, and precision metal tools, hand-finished by skilled craftspeople, with a Good Design Award-winning pliers line.
  7. Atago Shoji Co., Ltd. (Sake & Trading) — A Niigata trading company representing multiple small and medium-sized sake breweries, food makers, and knife makers, offering full export support from market analysis to logistics and financing.

Full product details, specifications, and awards for each exhibitor are available in the original bilingual guide.

Organized by the Niigata Prefectural Government, operated by WABITABI ARCH PROJECT, with local cooperation from ABRASEL (Brazilian Association of Bars and Restaurants). Parties interested in scheduling a meeting with any exhibitor should contact the event organizers.

Brazil-Sao Paulo Niigata Export Promotion Event: Toward Business in South America’s Largest Market

JP

Overview of “DISCOVERY JAPAN NIIGATA EM SÃO PAULO 2026”

On August 22, 2026, an export promotion event for Niigata Prefecture products, “DISCOVERY JAPAN NIIGATA EM SÃO PAULO 2026,” was held at the Nikkey Palace Hotel in São Paulo, Brazil’s largest city. The event aimed to introduce Niigata products — including sake and rice — to local food-service and distribution industry professionals, and to create business opportunities with Brazil, the largest market in South America. More than 120 people from Brazil’s food-service and distribution industries attended, filling the venue to capacity. For details on the event, please see the advance announcement page.

Announcement poster for "NIIGATA EM SÃO PAULO" displayed at the venue
Announcement poster for “NIIGATA EM SÃO PAULO” displayed at the venue
Event digest video

Governor Hanazumi Speaks — Niigata’s Product Export Value Hits a Record High

Niigata Governor Hideyo Hanazumi attended the event and delivered a speech. Governor Hanazumi stated, “Brazil is a large market with real future potential, and we want to broaden our reach by continuing efforts like this one,” positioning the Brazilian market as a key long-term focus for export growth.

Niigata Governor Hideyo Hanazumi delivering a speech
Niigata Governor Hideyo Hanazumi delivering a speech

According to Niigata Prefecture, exports of agricultural, forestry, and fishery products from the prefecture reached 8.69 billion yen in fiscal 2025, a record high. This business meeting in São Paulo, building on that achievement, is part of a broader effort to strengthen economic ties with Brazil and further expand exports.

Exhibits and Business Meetings

The venue featured several corners showcasing Niigata’s signature products. Alongside a display of Nishikigoi ornamental carp, the sake corner introduced brands from “Kikusui,” and the rice cracker corner displayed processed products made from Niigata’s prized rice. In the cookware corner, the knife and kitchenware brand “YOSHIKAWA” exhibited products including its signature yukihira pans. At the booth of Uoshoku Co., Ltd. (displayed as “UOSHOKU JAPAN”), which handles wagyu beef, “YUKIMURO SNOW AGED WAGYU” was introduced, highlighting the characteristics of wagyu aged using techniques from snow-country Niigata.

An exhibitor explaining sake at a business meeting booth
An exhibitor explaining sake at a business meeting booth
"YUKIMURO SNOW AGED WAGYU" introduced at the Uoshoku Co., Ltd. booth
“YUKIMURO SNOW AGED WAGYU” introduced at the Uoshoku Co., Ltd. booth

Exhibitors gave presentations at the venue, explaining their products’ features and production background directly to visiting buyers. Performers dressed in gold-brocade jinbaori vests also appeared at the booths, weaving in traditional Japanese culture to draw greater interest in the products. The venue remained crowded with visitors throughout, reflecting strong local industry interest in Niigata products.

Outlook

Building on Niigata’s record-high product export performance, this business meeting in São Paulo created concrete opportunities for deals in Brazil. Connections formed with local food-service and distribution professionals across a range of product categories — sake, rice crackers, wagyu, and cookware — provide a foothold for expanding trade going forward. As Governor Hanazumi noted, Niigata Prefecture intends to keep broadening its reach in the Brazilian market by continuing initiatives like this one.

Organizer: Niigata Prefecture　Operated by: WABITABI ARCH PROJECT　Local cooperation: ABRASEL