KITA, COEX hold consumer goods expo in Jakarta from Thursday to Sunday

Food, beauty and living products featured across 300 booths

1,100 export consultations planned with Indonesian, Malaysian buyers

Pop-up store to run at K3 Mart throughout September

Key attendees pose for a photo at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Jakarta K-Premium Consumer Goods Expo at the JICC exhibition hall in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Thursday. From third from left: Cho Sang-hyun, president of COEX; Noh Hee-yeol, chairman of Aurora World; singer Yunho of TVXQ; Koo Ja-yeol, honorary chairman of the Korea International Trade Association; Yoon Soon-gu, South Korea's ambassador to Indonesia; and Lee Kang-hyun, chairman of the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Indonesia. [Korea International Trade Association]
Key attendees pose for a photo at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Jakarta K-Premium Consumer Goods Expo at the JICC exhibition hall in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Thursday. From third from left: Cho Sang-hyun, president of COEX; Noh Hee-yeol, chairman of Aurora World; singer Yunho of TVXQ; Koo Ja-yeol, honorary chairman of the Korea International Trade Association; Yoon Soon-gu, South Korea's ambassador to Indonesia; and Lee Kang-hyun, chairman of the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Indonesia. [Korea International Trade Association]

With Indonesia set to expand its mandatory halal certification requirements in October, more than 200 South Korean consumer goods companies are making a push into the local market. The effort goes beyond product displays, combining export consultations with Southeast Asian buyers and direct sales at local convenience stores to focus on securing tangible distribution channels.

The Korea International Trade Association announced it is co-hosting the 2026 Jakarta K-Premium Consumer Goods Expo with COEX at the JICC exhibition hall in Jakarta, running Thursday through Sunday.

Now in its eighth year, the event is themed around "K-halal and K-consumer goods." Indonesia is home to about 290 million people, roughly 87 percent of whom are Muslim, making it one of the world's largest halal consumer markets.

Domestic companies are paying particularly close attention this year as Indonesia's halal regulations are about to change significantly. According to Indonesia's Halal Product Assurance Organizing Agency, mandatory halal certification will expand from Oct. 18 to cover not only food and beverages but also cosmetics, some pharmaceuticals and daily necessities — and will apply to imported products entering Indonesia from abroad as well.

More than 200 South Korean consumer goods companies in the food, beauty, and living and interior sectors are participating in the expo, filling about 300 booths. KITA is operating a joint pavilion with six local governments, bringing together 49 companies.

Related organizations are also setting up their own joint or sample pavilions — 14 companies through the Gyeonggi Creative Economy Innovation Center, 30 through KOTRA, 15 through the Korea Women Venture Association, five through the Gimpo Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and seven through the Daegu Textile Industry Association.

The scale of buyer consultations has also grown. About 300 Indonesian buyers and 30 Malaysian buyers are expected to participate in roughly 1,100 export consultations with Korean companies. The aim is to move beyond simply showcasing products at the venue and translate the exposure into actual contracts and entry into local distribution networks.

Outside the exhibition hall, a retail event will allow companies to gauge consumer response directly.

KITA is partnering with K3 Mart — a Korean-style convenience store chain with 43 company-owned locations in Indonesia — to run a pop-up store throughout September at the Lippo Mall Puri outlet in Jakarta. Products from 20 South Korean consumer goods companies will be sold on-site to test consumer reaction and explore the possibility of permanent placement.

The business event also incorporates hallyu content. A fan meeting with singer Yunho of TVXQ is scheduled for Thursday, the opening day, and Indonesian musician Adria Khalif will perform on Saturday.

Honorary Korea International Trade Association Chairman Koo Ja-yeol, who attended the event, said Indonesia is "a market with unlimited potential for K-consumer goods, backed by strong economic growth and a large young population." He added that he hopes the event will serve as "a decisive bridgehead for Korean companies to successfully establish themselves in Southeast Asia's vast halal market," describing it as "a complex platform that goes beyond a simple exhibition to encompass export consultations, a local distribution pop-up store and hallyu cultural experiences."

KITA is also broadening the regions it targets for supporting consumer goods companies' overseas expansion this year. Following events in Tokyo in April and in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and Paris, France, in June, the association plans to hold another K-Premium Consumer Goods Expo in Los Angeles in October, after the Jakarta event. In November, it will operate a Korean pavilion at the China International Import Expo.


kwater@heraldcorp.com