In March 2025, the Los Angeles Office of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and JTB Hawaii Travel, LLC implemented the Hawaii Japanese Seafood Business Matching & Promotion 2025 project to expand market opportunities and consumer demand for Japanese seafood in Hawaii.

Commissioned by JETRO Los Angeles, JTB Hawaii planned and managed a comprehensive promotional program centered on a business matching event, complemented by limited-time restaurant promotions, consumer workshops, and influencer marketing.

Leveraging the extensive network JTB Hawaii has built through decades of travel and destination management, including relationships with hotels, restaurants, chefs, distributors, and tourism partners across Hawaii, JTB provided end-to-end support—from creating business opportunities between Japanese exporters and the Hawaii market to increasing product awareness, engaging consumers, and supporting follow-up activities that encourage long-term business relationships.

Project Highlights

This project combined four integrated initiatives to promote both B2B market development and B2C consumer engagement.

1. Business Matching Event with Local Buyers
2. Limited-Time Restaurant Promotion with Hawaii’s Leading Restaurants
3. Consumer Sushi Workshop
4. Influencer Marketing and Official Website Promotion

Beginning with business matching, the project extended into restaurant menu promotions, consumer experiences, and digital marketing, creating an integrated pathway from product awareness to market expansion.

Hawaii Japanese Seafood Business Matching Event

■Date: March 7, 2025 (Fri.) 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Session 1: 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM / Session 2: 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
■Venue: Hawaii Convention Center, Rooms 316A & 316B
■Admission: Free
■Attendance: 194 visitors (including pre-registered attendees and walk-in visitors)
■Exhibitors: 16 Japanese companies
■Organized by: Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), JTB Hawaii Travel, LLC
■Concurrent Event: Sake & Food Expo by Wismettac Asian Foods, Inc.

Sixteen Japanese seafood suppliers seeking to expand into the Hawaii market exhibited their products and met face-to-face with distributors, restaurants, hotels, chefs, and other food industry professionals.

JTB Hawaii managed every aspect of the event, including planning, venue coordination, buyer recruitment, exhibitor coordination, overseas sample shipment support, and on-site operations.

To maximize business outcomes, buyers were carefully selected based on each exhibitor’s products and business objectives, creating highly targeted business matching opportunities.

The event was also held alongside Wismettac Asian Foods’ Sake & Food Expo, allowing attendees to move freely between both venues and generating additional networking and business opportunities.

Photo: Business Matching Event

Photo: Business Matching Event

Following the event, surveys were conducted with both exhibitors and buyers. JTB Hawaii continued post-event follow-up in collaboration with distributors and industry partners to help advance negotiations and facilitate new business transactions.

Japanese Seafood Restaurant Promotion

■Period: February 28 – March 16, 2025
■Venues: 15 restaurants across Hawaii
■Participating Companies: 16 Japanese companies / 3 distributors
■Featured Products: 11 Japanese seafood products, including scallops, yellowtail, squid, and salmon roe
■Organized by: Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), JTB Hawaii Travel, LLC

Restaurants participating in the business matching event sourced Japanese seafood directly from participating suppliers and created original limited-time menu items featuring those ingredients.

Participating restaurants included Roy’s, MW Restaurant, Māze, Miro Kaimuki, The Pig and the Lady, Senia, Nami Kaze, and other well-known restaurants throughout Hawaii.

Utilizing its long-established relationships with local restaurants, hotels, and chefs, JTB Hawaii coordinated restaurant participation, developed promotional strategies, and produced promotional materials.

Each restaurant selected seafood products that best matched its culinary concept and incorporated them into limited-time à la carte or course menus.

By showcasing Japanese seafood through original dishes created by Hawaii’s leading chefs, the promotion increased consumer awareness while creating new business opportunities between Japanese suppliers, local distributors, and restaurants.

Feedback from Participating Restaurants

• More customers visited after learning about the promotion.
• Special menus were created specifically for the campaign.
• Demand for the featured menu items exceeded expectations.
• Restaurants expressed interest in continuing to use Japanese seafood beyond the campaign.

Consumer Promotion at the Honolulu Festival – Sushi Workshop “SUSHI to me!” –

■Date: March 8–9, 2025 (3 sessions)
■Venue: Special Stage, Hall 3, Hawaii Convention Center
■Samples Served: 330
■Featured Products: Tuna, Yellowtail, Shrimp, Salmon Roe, Cod Roe
■Supporting Companies: Sushi Ginza Onodera, HERO USA, Kanefuku, The Cherry
■Media Coverage: 12 media features
■Organized by: Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), JTB Hawaii Travel, LLC

As part of the Honolulu Festival, one of Hawaii’s largest cultural exchange events, JTB Hawaii organized “SUSHI to me!”, an interactive sushi-making workshop introducing consumers to the quality of Japanese seafood.

Professional sushi chefs from Sushi Ginza Onodera Hawaii led authentic hands-on sushi-making sessions.

Over two days, 330 local participants prepared and sampled sushi under the guidance of professional sushi chefs.

To improve visibility for attendees, a robotic camera projected close-up views of the chefs’ hand movements onto a large screen, making each step easy to follow and creating an engaging experience for participants of all skill levels.

The workshop provided an opportunity for participants to experience the quality of Japanese seafood firsthand while deepening their appreciation of Japanese sushi culture.

Photo: “SUSHI to me!” Workshop

Photo: “SUSHI to me!” Workshop

Participant Feedback

• The workshop highlighted the strong interest local consumers have in sushi while increasing awareness of Japanese sushi culture and the Sushi Ginza Onodera brand.
• Many participants visited the restaurant following the event, demonstrating continued consumer engagement.

Influencer Marketing Campaign

■Period: February 28 – March 14, 2025
■Participating Influencers: 11

To amplify the project’s reach, eleven Hawaii-based food influencers promoted the business matching event, restaurant campaign, and “SUSHI to me!” workshop.

Their content showcased the events, featured restaurant menus, behind-the-scenes kitchen activities, and the quality and characteristics of Japanese seafood, helping drive restaurant visits and increase consumer awareness.

Photo: Influencer Social Media Posts

The JTB Hawaii Advantage

By integrating business matching, restaurant promotions, consumer experiences, and influencer marketing into a single project, JTB Hawaii created a comprehensive promotional program that connected Japanese seafood suppliers with buyers while bringing the products directly to consumers.

This project demonstrates JTB Hawaii’s ability to deliver a one-stop solution that supports every stage of market development, from creating business opportunities to driving consumer demand, through its extensive network of distributors, hotels, restaurants, chefs, and tourism partners throughout Hawaii.