The 34th annual Hong Kong Gifts & Premium Fair, organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, featured a record 4,380 exhibitors from 31 countries and regions during its run from April 27-30 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
It ran concurrently with the 14th Hong Kong International Printing & Packaging Fair, jointly organized by the HKTDC and CIEC Exhibition Co., which attracted more than 500 exhibitors at AsiaWorld-Expo to showcase an assortment of printing and packaging products and services.
Debuting at the Gifts & Premium Fair was the World of Beauty, Fitness and Well-being zone in response to this growing trend, gathering nearly 50 exhibitors from Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan, Korea, India and New Zealand to showcase some of the best beauty and well-being products.
“The HKTDC has always strived to assist our industries in opening up new markets,” says Benjamin Chau, HKTDC deputy executive director. “With beauty and well-being products becoming increasingly popular and more diversified in recent years, we are now seeing more companies choosing such products as corporate gifts.”
The Startup Zone featured 35 start-ups from Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan, Indonesia, the Philippines and the Netherlands. Products on display included the Cubiio Portable Laser Engraver, the world’s most compact engraver, developed by Taiwanese start-up Muherz and the winner of a coveted Red Dot Design Award in 2018. To further foster the development of local start-ups, the HKTDCorganized several startup launch sessions during the fair to help start-ups expand their networks and generate more business opportunities.
Demand for branded products among global buyers has always been keen. This year’s Hall of Fine Designs showcased exquisite designs from more than 140 global brands. Century-old Japanese stationery brand Kokuyo, which won a Stationery of the Year Award 2019 in Japan with its square glue stick, featured an array of notebooks and other new stationery products, while another Japanese brand, MARNA, brought the compact Shupatto bag that can be opened or folded up in just a second. This compact bag was the winner of the Red Dot Design Award in 2016 and iF Design Award in 2017. To meet the growing market demand for eco-friendly products, Italian brand Master Italia briought a series of eco-hats made from recycled plastic bottles to the fair. Near-field communication technology is incorporated into the eco-hats that allows the wearer to trace the origins of each product’s materials using a mobile app.
Hong Kong creativity was also highlighted at the Hall of Fine Designs, with several local brands showcasing their outstanding products. They included B.Duck and its iconic yellow plastic duck, Team Green and its 3D eco-puzzles and the innovative Scratch Light presented by OMG-Innovatives.
The Hong Kong Exporters’ Association assembled about 170 local companies to form three zones—Isle of Originality, Brand Oasis and Smart Design HK—helping to demonstrate the design skills and branding excellence of Hong Kong’s product designers. The winning works from the latest Hong Kong Smart Design Awards were also on display to highlight the creativity and flair of Hong Kong brands to global industry players.
This year’s Gifts & Premium Fair featured a total of 19 product zones. Other highlighted zones included the World of Camping & Outdoor Goods, which was introduced at the fair last year, World of Gift Ideas, Advertising Gifts & Premium, Fashion Accessories, Green Gifts, Party & Festive Items, Tech Gifts and Toys & Baby Products.
Various forums and seminars addressed some of the industry’s hottest topics. Xiao Tonghao, business development director of Suning, a renowned e-tailer in Mainland China, hosted a buyer forum to discuss how to use e-commerce channels to unlock the cross-border business potential of the Greater Bay Area markets. Dr Royce Yuen, co-founder of Hong Kong marketing technology company MaLogic, hosted a session to examine big data and brand-building strategies.
New at this year’s Printing Fair was the World of Advertising and Signs zone that featured different signs, advertising light boxes, LED products and point-of-purchase displays that can help enterprises enhance their brand image through creative visual communication and promotional approaches. Other highlighted zones included the De Luxe zone, Innovative Retail Display Solutions, and Printing and Packaging Solutions for Fashion & Accessories.
To help industry professionals get a better understanding of the latest opportunities, a series of thematic seminars and forums were held as part of the Printing Fair, with leading experts invited to examine the industry’s hottest trends and technologies. Seminars this year included “Embrace Opportunities in Greater Bay Area; Certification and Training Services in Hong Kong’s Graphic Arts Industries”; “Superfine Pixel Image Capture and Application for Digital Printing”; and “New Development and Application of Wide Gamut Colour Printing”
Established in 1966, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body dedicated to creating opportunities for Hong Kong’s businesses. With 50 offices globally, including 13 on the Chinese mainland, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a platform for doing business with China, Asia and the world. With more than 50 years of experience, the HKTDC organizes international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to provide companies, particularly SMEs, with business opportunities on the mainland and in international markets, while providing business insights and information via trade publications, research reports and digital channels including the media room. For more info, visit:www.hktdc.com/aboutus.
