Shanghai Bohua International Exhibition Co.

What Shanghai Bohua International Exhibition Co. does

Shanghai Bohua International Exhibition Co., Ltd. (上海博华国际展览有限公司) is a Shanghai-based private exhibition organizer, founded in 1992 and operating since 2023 as a subsidiary of the London-listed global events conglomerate Informa plc. The company owns and operates the HOTELEX expo series — a portfolio of annual B2B trade shows serving the hotel and catering industry across four Chinese cities: Shanghai (flagship), Chengdu (since 2014), Shenzhen (since 2022, scaling rapidly), and Guangzhou. Each edition aggregates thousands of exhibitors and hundreds of thousands of professional visitors across verticals including coffee and tea, beverages, food ingredients, catering and kitchen equipment, tableware, bakery, packaging, refrigeration, and chain franchise. Beyond trade shows, the company runs the HOTELEX Coffee and Food Festival consumer event, a stable of 20+ professional competitions (including China selections for the World Barista Championship, World Coffee Latte Art, World Coffee Brewing, World Coffee Roasting, WorldChefs-certified culinary events, and bartending/pizza/gelato competitions), and parallel exhibitions such as Hotel & Shop Plus, Tourism Plus, SFE Franchise, and CIBS Boat Show.

The underlying 'technology' is conventional exhibition infrastructure rather than proprietary software: physical venue rentals (e.g., SNIEC in Pudong, Shenzhen World Exhibition Center, Chengdu Century City), booth construction services, online registration and booth reservation portals (booth.hotelex.cn), and the year-round jiagle.com / 餐饮在线 B2B directory platform that supports the '展网融合' (exhibition-network integration) model linking physical shows with continuous online trade matching. International competition IP (WCE, WorldChefs, SCA) and dual-language (Chinese/English) operations are critical infrastructure layers.

The business model is B2B and event-driven. Revenue is generated primarily through quote-based booth space sales to exhibitors (priced by size, location, and package), supplemented by professional visitor registration, competition entry fees, forum attendance, and ancillary services such as booth construction and the online B2B platform. Customer segments are two-sided: (1) exhibitors and suppliers — global and domestic brands across coffee, tea, F&B ingredients, equipment, and franchise (logos include Luckin Coffee, Seesaw, MONIN, Scotsman, Haic, among thousands of others); and (2) professional buyers — roasters, café owners, chain buyers, hotel managers, restaurant operators, and import traders. Geographic exposure is concentrated in mainland China across the four host cities, with international exhibitor outreach via Informa's global network.

Name

Shanghai Bohua International Exhibition Co.

Legal name

Shanghai Bohua International Exhibition Co., Ltd. (上海博华国际展览有限公司)

Website

https://hotelex.cn

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Shanghai Bohua International Exhibition Co. (HOTELEX) is a Shanghai-based subsidiary of Informa plc that operates a four-city portfolio of B2B trade shows serving China's hotel and catering industry, alongside professional competitions and the jiagle.com B2B platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trade Exhibition Services

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Industry-Specific B2B Trade Show Organizers (THAHABAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Consumer & Public Shows (B2C) Organizers (THAHABAC), General Consumer Expos & Trade Shows (MPAGAFAA)

Keywords

• B2B trade exhibitions
• Hotel catering industry
• Trade show management
• Convention services
• Exhibition booth sales

Headquarters

HQ city

Shanghai

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Exhibition Booth Sales: HOTELEX generates revenue primarily through charging exhibitors for booth space at its trade shows. The exhibitions span categories including coffee and tea, food and beverage, catering equipment, tableware, bakery, franchising, and more.
2. Event Registration and Participation Fees: Revenue is earned from professional visitor registration and participation fees for competitive events and forums held during the exhibitions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Shanghai Bohua International Exhibition Co. (HOTELEX) organizes large-scale B2B trade exhibitions for the hotel and catering industry in China, held in Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou. The company sells exhibition booth space to suppliers and provides professional visitor access to buyers, alongside concurrent competitions, forums, and a year-round B2B online platform (jiagle.com) for trade matching.

Product overview

HOTELEX (Shanghai Bohua International Exhibition Co.) operates a series of major B2B trade exhibitions and professional competition events for the hotel and catering industry in China. The core product portfolio includes four regional flagship exhibitions held in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu, and Guangzhou, each covering sectors such as coffee & tea, beverages, food ingredients, catering equipment, tableware, bakery, and wine & spirits. In addition to the exhibitions, the company runs the HOTELEX Coffee & Food Festival consumer event and organizes 20+ professional competitions including the World Barista Championship China Selection, World Coffee Roasting Championship, Trendy Drink Competition, and Bartending Masters Competition. The company also operates the Food and Beverage Online (食饮在线) B2B platform providing online-offline integrated services. Concurrent exhibitions include the Shanghai Tourism Industry Expo, Hotel & Commercial Space Expo, Boat Exhibition, and SFE Franchise Exhibition, creating a comprehensive cross-industry trade ecosystem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HOTELEX Coffee Festival (咖啡美食节): A dedicated coffee and gourmet food culture festival held alongside the main HOTELEX exhibitions, featuring over 120 coffee brands and specialty food vendors.
• Connexion ShenZhen (博华深圳联展)
• 上海旅游产业博览会主题馆 (Tourism Plus)

Products and services

• HOTELEX Chengdu International Hotel and Catering Expo (成都国际酒店用品及餐饮博览会) Annual flagship hotel and catering industry exhibition for Southwest China, held at Chengdu Century City New International Convention and Exhibition Center, covering hotel supplies, catering, bakery, chain franchise, and lifestyle sectors.
• HOTELEX Shenzhen International Hotel and Catering Expo (深圳国际酒店及餐饮业博览会) South China flagship exhibition held at Shenzhen World Exhibition Center, covering 9 core sectors including coffee and tea, beverages, food ingredients, catering equipment, tableware, bakery, wine and spirits, gifts and lifestyle, and group meal supply chain.
• HOTELEX Shanghai International Hotel and Catering Expo (上海国际酒店及餐饮业博览会)

Quantifiable outcome

• China's coffee market projected to reach RMB 313 billion in 2024, growing at 18% YoY with a 17.1% CAGR — positioning the expo as a gateway for specialty coffee producers.

Named customers13 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Connexion ShenZhen (博华深圳联展)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConnexion ShenZhen is a cross-industry joint exhibition organized simultaneously with HOTELEX Shenzhen, bringing together four major industry clusters: catering, hotel, furniture, and health & lifestyle. It creates a 200,000 sqm mega exhibition platform to achieve cross-sector resource synergy and market expansion in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
• Shanghai Tourism Industry Expo (Tourism Plus)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHOTELEX is co-located with the Shanghai Tourism Industry Expo (Tourism Plus), which covers tourism destination investment and development, theme project planning and operations, innovation project introduction, intellectual property licensing, and tourism resource trading. The joint event integrates tourism, catering, and hotel resources.
• SFE Shanghai International Franchise Exhibition (SFE成都国际连锁加盟展览会)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSFE Franchise Exhibition is co-located with HOTELEX as a parallel event, focusing on franchise business opportunities and brand expansion in the hotel and catering sector.
• World Coffee Events (WCE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHOTELEX (through its parent company Informa/UBM) holds official authorization from World Coffee Events to operate World Barista Championship (WBC/CBC), World Coffee Latte Art Championship (WLAC), World Coffee Brewing Championship (CBrC), and World Coffee Roasting Championship (WCRC) in China. These are internationally recognized coffee competition events.
• WorldChefs (世界厨师联合会)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe '寻' Chinese Cuisine Heritage and Innovation Cooking Challenge is certified by WorldChefs (World Association of Chefs' Societies), providing international recognition and standards for the Chinese culinary competition.
• SCA (Specialty Coffee Association)majorTechnology or IntegrationHOTELEX partners with SCA for coffee education, certification, and standards. The exhibitions feature SCA-certified judges and SCA-related content, including SCA World Specialty Coffee Association Experience Space.
• Informa Markets / UBMcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHOTELEX is organized by Shanghai Bohua International Exhibition Co., which is part of the Informa Group (global exhibition organizer). The brand leverages Informa's international network of buyers and exhibition resources.
• Green Coffee Bean Zone Partners (Specialty Coffee Producers)majorGTM or Marketing PartnerHOTELEX Shanghai 2026 launched a dedicated Green Coffee Bean Zone within its Coffee and Tea Expo to connect global green coffee suppliers, roasters, and buyers with opportunities in the Chinese market. This zone specifically targets specialty coffee producers seeking market entry into China.
• Shenzhen Cuisine Association (深圳市烹饪协会)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Shenzhen Cuisine Association co-organizes the HOTELEX International Chef Elite Competition (Shenzhen), which is the largest international cooking competition in Shenzhen with the most projects.
• Hotel & Shop Plus (上海国际酒店及商业空间博览会)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHotel & Shop Plus is a sister exhibition to HOTELEX, covering hotel and commercial space design, construction, and procurement. It is held at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (Pudong) covering 210,000 sqm with 2,000+ leading brands and 130,000+ professional visitors.
• CIBS - China International Boat Show (上海国际游艇展)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIBS is part of the lifestyle exhibition cluster co-located with HOTELEX, covering boats, marine equipment, water sports, outdoor sports, and lifestyle products.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Koelnmesse: Global trade show organizer running Anuga and other F&B/hospitality exhibitions; competes with HOTELEX in the same supplier and buyer pool across geographies.
• Reed Exhibitions (RX Global): One of the world's largest exhibition organizers with food, hospitality, and beverage shows globally; represents the same broad incumbent competitive tier as Informa and Koelnmesse.
• Messe Frankfurt: Major global exhibition organizer with overlapping F&B and hospitality portfolios, representing the broader competitive set in the trade show industry.
• dmg events: International exhibition organizer with a significant food and hospitality portfolio (e.g., The Hotel Show), serving as a comparable broad incumbent in the trade show industry.

Direct peers

• Informa Markets (FHC China / Food & Hotel China): Sister exhibition brand under Informa plc for the food and hotel industry in Shanghai, sharing the same 800,000+ professional procurement resources referenced in HOTELEX data. Operates a directly overlapping B2B exhibition in the same vertical, making it the closest head-to-head competitor.
• SIAL China: Major B2B food and beverage trade exhibition in Shenzhen and Shanghai, directly competing for F&B exhibitors and professional buyers in the same category as HOTELEX.
• FHA-Food & Beverage (Singapore): Asia's established B2B F&B and hospitality trade show; comparable event-driven model targeting regional hotel, catering, and food service buyers and suppliers.
• HostMilano: Leading global B2B exhibition for the hospitality industry (host equipment, coffee, food service), serving as the international benchmark for HOTELEX's vertical.
• Anuga Select China: Koelnmesse-organized B2B food trade exhibition in China, serving the same hotel and catering supplier base with a comparable international B2B trade show model.

Emerging players

• Clarion Events: Independent global exhibition organizer expanding into food, beverage, and hospitality verticals; a smaller-scale but increasingly relevant competitor in the trade show industry.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Hotelex
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sinoexpo-hotelex-shanghai

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Shanghai Bohua International Exhibition Co.