Korean product showcase held Sept. 24-25 in Mexico City

59 K-beauty, food and culture goods companies take part

123 Latin American buyers attend for purchase consultations

$1 million seasoned seaweed export MOU signed on site

Event tied to joint K-expo promoting consumer goods and content

KOTRA's headquarters in Yangjae, Seoul [KOTRA]
KOTRA's headquarters in Yangjae, Seoul [KOTRA]

Fifty-nine Korean companies in K-beauty, food and culture goods took their push into Latin America to Mexico, where a $1 million export MOU for Korean seasoned seaweed was signed on the sidelines. The showcase coincided with President Lee Jae Myung's state visit to Mexico, giving Korean consumer goods and content a joint platform.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency announced Monday that they held the "2026 Mexico City Korean Excellent Products Show" in Mexico City on Thursday and Friday.

The event drew 59 domestic companies dealing in K-beauty, food and culture goods. A total of 123 buyers attended for purchase consultations with Korean firms, including 22 from Latin American countries neighboring Mexico.

Major retail buyers participated, including representatives from Palacio de Hierro — Mexico's largest department store chain — as well as MercadoLibre, a major Latin American e-commerce platform, and Amazon Mexico. Consultations were arranged based on company and product information KOTRA had provided in advance, allowing buyers to select firms of interest beforehand.

The event was tied to a joint government K-expo involving six ministries, including the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. By running business-to-business consultations alongside K-culture events, organizers aimed to reach both local consumers and distributors at the same time.

KOTRA's focus on Mexico reflects the country's market size and geographic advantages. With a population of about 130 million and a median age of 29, Mexico has a large and young consumer base. Its shared border with the United States also makes it a strategic gateway to both North American and Latin American markets.

Trade with South Korea is growing. About 500 Korean companies operate in Mexico, and South Korea's exports to the country reached $8 billion in the first half of this year, up 33 percent from the same period last year.

While industrial goods and intermediate materials have traditionally dominated the export mix, consumer goods such as K-beauty and K-food products are increasingly gaining ground. Demand for Korean cosmetics — particularly sunscreens and moisturizers suited to Mexico's intense UV exposure and dry climate — has been rising.

Concrete export deals also emerged at the event. Korean food company B signed a $1 million MOU with Mexican distributor A, which specializes in Korean and Asian food products, covering exports of seasoned seaweed.

An official from company B said demand from Latin America has been growing, adding that the firm recently built the region's first Korean seasoned seaweed factory in Monterrey, Mexico, to expand sales. "Through this partnership with company A, we will work to broaden our export reach across Mexico and the rest of Latin America," the official said.

Mexico also serves as a key production hub in the North American supply chain under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. KOTRA said it plans to use Mexico as a base for entering Latin American markets by expanding its export lineup beyond consumer goods to include industrial goods and intermediate materials as well.

KOTRA President Kang Gyeong-seong said Mexico is an emerging strategic market drawing attention as a hub for spreading K-culture and Korean consumer goods across Latin America. "KOTRA has been working to expand business cooperation between the two countries, adding a new trade office in Monterrey in February this year on top of our existing Mexico City office," he said. "We will do our utmost to use this Korean products show as an opportunity to forge substantive partnerships between companies from both countries and diversify our exports to Latin America, including consumer goods."


kwater@heraldcorp.com