More than 70% of sake breweries name cost as the main problem with event stands

More than half of breweries exhibit 10 or more times a year

In Japan, sake events are held all year round in every region: official tastings run by sake brewers’ associations, large-scale tasting events, “kurabiraki” open days when breweries welcome the public, and pub crawls around the restaurants of a town. In July 2026, the sake-focused media outlet SIPORY (operated by Doosin LLC) carried out the “Nationwide Survey of Sake Breweries’ Event Exhibiting 2026” and received responses from 141 breweries in 39 prefectures. Over the past year, 56.0% had exhibited “10 or more times” and 27.0% “5 to 9 times”, meaning that 83.0% in total exhibited at least five times a year. When asked about their aims (up to three choices), “raising awareness” at 85.8% and “winning new fans” at 78.7% stood out well ahead. Only 48.9% of breweries named “boosting sales”.

A “publicity venue” that does not justify the cost

Among the problems (multiple answers allowed), the most common was “exhibiting costs” at 72.3%, followed by “does not lead to sales” at 56.7%, with “shortage of staff” and “difficulty of measuring results” each at 41.8%. In the free-text answers, some said that most events make a loss when viewed on their own, and others said they could not tell whether visitors’ favourable reactions later turned into purchases. There were also comments that the more often an event is held, the more the audience skews towards regulars, making it hard to reach younger generations. SIPORY analyses the situation as a dilemma in which breweries cannot stop exhibiting even when it does not pay. However, the response rate was about 12%, and at the time of the announcement the survey was still ongoing. It should also be read with the caveat that SIPORY, which ran the survey, is itself an event organiser.

The next step: business meetings and overseas expansion

As for the event formats they want to take part in, “business meetings for sake retailers (specialist liquor shops)” scored 53.9% and “business meetings for restaurants” 50.4%. Among the initiatives they want to strengthen, “developing sake retailers” at 55.3% and “overseas expansion” at 54.6% were almost level. This suggests that breweries want connections with sellers who will carry their sake on a continuing basis, rather than a single day of bustle.

Breweries that line up at tastings in Europe also exhibit at considerable cost and effort. If you come across a glass you like, do not let it end with a passing impression. Note down the brand and brewery names, ask which importer or retailer handles it, and actually buy it: that is a major result for the brewery. With more than half of breweries wanting to step up overseas expansion, telling your local retailers and restaurants “I would like you to stock this sake” can also help a new brand reach Europe.