More than 60,000 visitors attended a large-scale K-consumer goods promotional event held in Qingdao, China. Korean companies had the opportunity to meet local consumers directly, showcasing their products and gauging the purchasing tendencies and reactions of the Chinese market.
The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) announced that it hosted '2026 K-Lifestyle Week in Qingdao' from August 14 to 16 in Shandong Province.
This event was strategically timed to coincide with the Qingdao International Beer Festival, one of the world's top three beer festivals, enhancing its promotional impact. Approximately 60,000 attendees, including local business representatives and consumers, visited the event, demonstrating significant interest in K-consumer goods.
A total of 72 Korean consumer goods companies participated in the promotion, presenting over 210 products, including food, cosmetics, household items, fashion, and baby products. Participants not only displayed and sold their products but also conducted tastings and consumer experience programs to observe local purchasing criteria and market responses.
Interactive content, such as tastings of rice cooked in Korean electric rice cookers and instant noodles prepared with a Han River noodle cooker, received positive feedback from visitors. Health products, including red ginseng, as well as pet supplies and baby products, attracted the attention of family visitors.
The fashion exhibition area, featuring cosmetics, clothing, bags, and accessories, also drew a young consumer demographic. A Korean tourism promotion booth, screenings of Korean animations, and family experience programs were also held, effectively promoting both Korean culture and consumer goods.
A representative from a domestic company producing sensitive skin care balms stated, "Chinese consumers are highly concerned about skin health and safety, so we focused our on-site promotions on product ingredients, safety, and ease of use, which garnered significant interest from consumers. We plan to actively utilize the insights gained about local consumers' purchasing criteria and preferences in our future marketing strategies."
Now in its third year, this event was jointly organized by KOTRA and Qingdao Lida Group, with participation from the Central Fisheries Cooperative's Qingdao Trade Support Center, the Korea Tourism Organization, and the Daegu Metropolitan City Shanghai Representative Office.
Lida Group is a leading local retail company with over 20 offline stores, including 10 comprehensive shopping malls, five large supermarkets, and five small supermarkets in major cities like Qingdao and Yantai. KOTRA's Qingdao office has closely collaborated with Lida Group over the past two years to support 90 domestic companies with over 400 items in promotional activities and local distribution network entry in China.
Sun Baohua, Deputy General Manager of Lida Group, remarked at the event, "Korean consumer goods have high quality and design competitiveness, leading to very favorable consumer responses. By continuing to monitor consumer reactions in collaboration with local distribution networks and enhancing tailored promotions and experiential marketing, we can further increase competitiveness in the Chinese market."
Shandong Province, with a population of over 100 million, serves as a key consumer market for Korean goods due to its geographical proximity to Korea. KOTRA plans to expand cooperation with local large distribution networks to broaden the foundation for domestic consumer goods companies entering the Chinese market.
Jang Sang-hae, head of KOTRA's China Regional Headquarters, stated, "In the first half of this year, exports of the five major K-consumer goods categories (cosmetics, food, fashion apparel, household goods, and pharmaceuticals) to China reached $3.4 billion, an 8.7% increase compared to the same period last year. We will continue to expand collaboration with leading Chinese distribution companies to create opportunities for our companies to meet local buyers and consumers directly, contributing to the expansion of consumer goods exports."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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