Catalan food and cuisine gain ground in Japan

Catalan food culture will take the spotlight in Japan on the weekend of 16 and 17 March, with the 2nd Catalan Food Street Show, a showcase of Catalan products aimed at Japanese consumers. The event will take place at Daikanyama T Site, a complex in one of Tokyo's most central and sophisticated neighbourhoods, known for its delicatessens, cafés and select restaurants.

Prodeca is organising the event, with the aim of commercially boosting the Catalan products and companies present in the Japanese market and positioning Catalan cuisine in a country that has shown clear interest in Catalan food. Twenty-five Catalan companies from various food sectors will show more than a hundred products, including olive oils, vinegars, wines and cavas, snacks, cured meats, beer, sweets and chocolates. 

Catalan companies taking part in the 2nd Catalan Food Street Show:

• OLIS SOLÉ – Olive oil
• AVGVSTVS FORVM - Vinegar
• CLOS MONTBLANC - Wines
• GIRÓ RIBOT - Wines
• BLAI PERIS - Wines
• CELLER PASANAU - Wines
• MASTINELL - Wines
• BUBÓ BARCELONA - Sweets
• VICHY CATALAN CORPORATION – Water
• CELLER JORDI MIRÓ - Wines
• CELLER KRIPTA - AGUSTÍ TORELLÓ MATA - Wines
• VINYES DELS ASPRES - Wines
• CELLER EUDALD MASSANA - Wines
• PATATAS TORRES - Snacks
• ESTEBAN ESPUÑA - Cured meats
• ANETO - Broths
• COLA CAO - Chocolate
• GRANJA SAN FRANCISCO - Honey
• CERVEZA OLIBA - Beer
• VALLISER - Quince paste
• LA MOIANESA - Galets pasta
• MARIA OLIVER PORTÍ – Cava 
• SERRA I BARCELÓ - Wines
• CELLER COOPERATIU D'ESPOLLA - Wines

More than 3,000 Japanese consumers are expected to visit the food showcase, , repeating the success of the first Catalan Food Street Show, held last November, where visitors sold out the products on offer. Several Japanese influencers are expected to attend over the two days, to spread the word and make the event go viral among local audiences. 

As last time, the event will have tasting areas, a food truck and a bar space where visitors can try various typical Catalan dishes and tapas. In addition, there will be a pa amb tomàquet workshop led by chef Josep Barahona, a Lleida-born cook who has lived in Japan for 30 years and pioneered Catalan cooking there, introducing Japanese consumers to the most iconic dish of Catalan cuisine. Throughout his career Josep Barahona has focused on spreading Catalan cuisine in the Japanese market, running several restaurants. He currently leads L'Estudi, a single-table restaurant where he creates a private atmosphere and enjoys cooking directly for his guests, attending to every detail. 

Japan discovers pa amb tomàquet, ambassador of Catalan cuisine

Indeed, pa amb tomàquet was the star of the two workshops held the week before the food showcase, on 7 and 13 March in Tokyo and Kyoto respectively. These culinary workshops, led by chef Josep Barahona and sommelier Óscar Salmerón, were aimed mainly at trade audiences from Japan's retail and restaurant sectors, as well as various opinion leaders and some ten Japanese influencers with close to 800,000 followers between them:

Influencers taking part in the Catalan Food Street Show project:

• Tomoky Take – 120,000 followers
• Naoko Tanijiri – 24,000 followers
• Mitsuki Shiina – 44,000 followers
• Rikopin- 29,000 followers
• Mao Nishioka – 60,000 followers
• Aya Fukazawa – 274,000 followers
• Nichi Recipe – 32,000 followers
• Megumi Suzuki – 67,000 followers
• Takuma Tamefusa – 56,000 followers
• Nakamaki Recipe – 88,000 followers

The first workshop was held on Wednesday 7 March at the Musashino Culinary School and drew some 80 people, who tasted dishes such as pa amb tomàquet with cured meat and allioli, Hokkaido scallop with Iberian pork belly, calçots (in their local shimonitanegi variety) with romesco and quince panellets, all paired with a selection of Catalan wines and cavas. 

The second workshop was held on Wednesday 13 March at Daidokoro in Kyoto. This was a smaller-format session with a group of 20 retail and restaurant professionals who cooked Catalan dishes following chef Josep Barahona's instructions. Some ten Catalan companies were present at both events through their products. 

Japan, a strategic market for Catalan products

Japan is a market firmly engaged with international consumption trends. Catalan food has strong commercial prospects there and Catalan companies have an excellent opportunity to consolidate their presence, thanks to renewed culinary interest in Catalan cuisine. 

Today, Japan is one of the main markets for Catalan products (currently the 10th destination market and the 4th outside the EU) and one of the fastest-growing in recent years. In 2023 Catalan food and drink companies exported €445.25 million and 134,185.35 tonnes, and over the past 10 years Catalan food and drink exports have grown 108.25% in value. 

The main Catalan product exported to Japan is meat, specifically pork, accounting for 76% of total exports, followed by wine, Fine Food products (6.5%) (led by bakery and pastry products, vegetable juices, drinks and smoothies, sweets, cocoa and confectionery and coffee), and vegetable oils (6.6%), mainly olive oil (3.6%), which accounts for 54% of this category, and wine at 5.4%.

More than 220 companies currently export to Japan on a regular basis (uninterruptedly over the past 4 years) and total exporters to the market have risen by around 9% in recent years.

Catalan Food, a project to position Catalan produce in strategic markets

This initiative forms part of Prodeca's Catalan Food commercial outreach project, an international promotion strategy across several markets, including Japan. The project began in late 2023 and continues this year, with activities planned in the United States, China, Mexico, Germany, the United Kingdom and Nigeria, among others. It aims to increase the perceived value of Catalan food by giving visibility and momentum to the Catalan companies and products present in these markets. 

Most activities target opinion leaders and trade audiences in retail and food service in order to raise the profile and positioning of Catalan products in these markets, but actions aimed at end consumers have also been organised, such as the Catalan Food Street Shows and point-of-sale promotions (PPV) — product displays in retail outlets — to encourage purchases and introduce the products to consumers in these markets.