As a "trade show" in the real sense of the term, SMTS provides you two special programs. Business Matching Program is a total support to set up meetings with you and Japanese buyers and Buyers' "Shoku" Selection is an examination system of your products.

Business Matching Program is a totally free service the organizer provides the exhibitors of SMTS that are willing to enter Japanese market.

Outline

Target:	Suppliers of food and beverage
Buyers:	Retailers, importers and wholesalers (mainly the members of JSSA)
Products to present:	Maximum 3 products per supplier
Meeting length:	About 20 minutes per buyer
Number of meeting:	About 1 to 3 per supplier (expected)
Participation fee:	Free of charge

Advantages of participation

Credible and experienced buyers
JSSA the organizer, the supermarket association, check your application form and introduces suitable buyers for you according to your product category.

Efficient and smooth introduction to the business meeting
As the length of meetings is limited, we support you with your swift introduction to the buyer and try to maximize the time for you to present your product and for the buyers to offer some advices. In order to do so, we prepare all the necessary documents with enough information on your products and company and pass them to the buyers you will be meeting with.

“Consultation Booth” service available
There will be “Consultation Booth” in the meeting venue in order to provide you with effective and specific advices. Experienced ex-buyers will be there to answer to your questions. Please feel free to ask anything to know more about Japanese market.

Free translation and interpretation service available
The translations of the necessary documents and the interpretation service on the day of the meeting are free of charge.

Schedule of Business Matching Program

November 2010	Application deadline
December 2010	All the necessary documents to be submitted (company profile / product sheet / product brochure)
January 2011	Matching schedule to be announced
February 2011	Business Matching (during SMTS 2010)

Buyers'"Shoku*" Selection is an evaluating system to examine your product and give comments from experienced buyers for the purpose of providing information on what kind of products are suitable for the Japanese market.

*"Shoku" means not only food or ingredients of the product but includes the background factors such as food culture and the recipe.

This is a rare opportunity to try out your products and receive a feedback before putting them into the market.

Outline

Examination target	Products aimed at selling in the supermarket-centered food retailers (processed foods only)
Examination fee:	50,400 JPY (tax included) per product (35,000 JPY from the second item)
Application method:	Send the application form in Exhibitor Manual →Overseas Secretariat Office sends the entry sheet →Send back the entry sheet with the product sample
Examination method:	Buyers or experienced ex-buyers examine the product s in light of the following examination category through tasting and documents.
Examination category:	1. product concept, 2. understanding of the trend, 3. competitiveness in price (price setup), 4. freshness, 5. taste, 6. ingredients, 7. state of quality (usage of food additives etc.), 8. design, 9. easiness to handle
Examination place:	Tokyo (planned to be held at the beginning of December 2010)
Result of examination:	Within 1 month after the examination, the result to be notified by e-mail.

Advantages of Participation

• You can obtain honest and instructive opinions from experienced buyers that can be used for product development and sales promotion
• As you can see the trend in Japanese market and what buyers are looking for, it is easy to prepare products to display at SMTS
• Products that gained high marks will be displayed in the organizer booth in SMTS to catch more buyers' attention