Jakarta event to help Korean SMEs explore export markets

Korean small and medium enterprise is conducting export consultations at the “Korea Brand Expo” in Jakarta B2B export-import consultation meeting held by Lotte with the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) on Sep. 5 (local). [Courtesy of Lotte Group]

“Korea Brand Expo,” led by Lotte Group and Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), took place in Jakarta, Indonesia on September 5 with the aim of broadening export opportunities for Korean small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

This event is now in its 17th edition since its inception in 2016 and is held twice a year. As of the 16th expo held in Australia in May, the event has recorded 8,513 business consultations, with those for export deals worth $976.19 million. The expo has been held in various locations over the years based on feedback from Korean SMEs and spanning different regions such as Southeast Asia, the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.

Six Lotte affiliates, including Lotte Corporation, Lotte Home Shopping, Lotte Department Store, Lotte Mart, Lotte Duty-Free, and Lotte Hi-Mart, took part in the expo in Indonesia, which runs until September 8. KOTRA, which has been collaborating with Lotte since 2017, will arrange local buyers and provide support for export consultations.

A hundred Korean SMEs preparing for overseas expansion and 105 local Indonesian distributors also congregated at a B2B (business-to-business) export-import consultation meeting took place on Tuesday at the Sheraton Grand Jakarta Gandaria City Hotel. The companies were matched one-on-one based on pre-surveyed demand, which also facilitated discussions on product localization, market entry strategies, and other business-related topics.

At the event venue, Korean companies showcased products in the food, fashion, lifestyle, and beauty categories, drawing the attention of local business representatives. Korean companies offering household appliances such as dehumidifiers and humidifiers, cosmetics, and food products garnered particular interest from local buyers, while the Korean companies had high praise for the event. Given that Lotte covered all participation costs and provided an opportunity to meet carefully vetted local partners, the event was a unique chance for Korean SMEs that would otherwise find it challenging to establish such connections independently.

“At the consultation meeting, we met a local partner who has distribution networks from Indonesia to Vietnam and we will we continue our positive discussions about exports,” an official from Agneau, which produces children’s shoes, said.

Sung Gyung Food, known for its seasoned laver among Korean consumers, participated in the expo and held discussions with eight local companies. Although the company already entered the Indonesian market in 2021, it attended the expo to find additional reputable partners.

“For SMEs, market research itself can be challenging. By meeting local companies at the Brand Expo, we can gauge the mood in the local market, which is valuable regardless of whether contracts are finalized,” a company official said.

ROSA.K, a handbag brand that gained fame when South Korea’s First Lady Kim Keon-hee toted its products during her visits to France and Vietnam, has already expanded to eight countries, including the United States, Canada, China, Japan, and Taiwan but joined the event to further solidify its foothold in Southeast Asia. A company official expressed satisfaction, saying, “We met more than eight local companies, with some of them offered favorable conditions to the point that we are considering contract negotiations.”

A noteworthy aspect of this event is that it not only featured export consultations for the Korean companies but import consultations for Indonesian companies as well. Since the May expo in Australia, the Brand Expo has been supporting Korean SMEs’ entry into the Indonesian market while also opening doors for Indonesian SMEs that aspire to enter the Korean market, serving as a form of private diplomacy.

The import consultation event was divided into seminars where Lotte’s retail affiliates explained their distribution channels and shared the characteristics of the Korean market, followed by one-on-one consultations. The offline seminar attracted over 100 companies, including around 40 local Indonesian companies. While Korean companies specializing in consumer electronics drew the most attention at the export consultation event, Indonesian food and beverage companies were the focus of interest at the import consultation event.