Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light, though wise men at their end know dark is right, because their words had forked no lightning they, do not go gentle into that good night.
Korean consumer brands head to Jakarta to tap growing halal market
Visitors talk with company representatives at a booth during the 2024 Jakarta International Premium Consumer Goods Fair at the JCC exhibition center in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sept. 5, 2024. Joint Press Corps
By Jhoo Dong-chan
The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) and Coex will host the 2026 Jakarta K-Premium Consumer Goods Fair from Thursday through Sunday at the JICC exhibition center in Jakarta, bringing together about 200 Korean consumer goods companies as they target Indonesia's halal market.
Now in its eighth year, the fair is themed around "K-halal" and Korean consumer products, aimed at helping Korean firms enter Indonesia's halal market — one of the world's largest, given that roughly 87 percent of the country's 290 million people are Muslim.
Organizers timed the event with Indonesia's mandatory halal certification rules set to take effect in October. The rules have driven strong interest among Korean companies looking to establish an early foothold.
The event combines an exhibition with a buyer-matching program and a pop-up store. About 300 Indonesian buyers and 30 buyers from neighboring Malaysia are expected to hold roughly 1,100 export consultations with Korean companies during the fair.
The exhibition itself will feature roughly 200 Korean food, beauty and home goods companies across 300 booths, including pavilions organized with six provincial governments and organizations such as the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.
Beyond the exhibition hall, KITA will run a monthlong pop-up promotion in September at K3 Mart, a Korean-style convenience store chain in Indonesia, inside the Lippo Mall Puri shopping center in Jakarta. Products from 20 Korean consumer goods companies seeking to enter Southeast Asia's halal market will be displayed and sold there to gauge local consumer response.
The fair will also include cultural exchange programs, opening Thursday with an event featuring Yunho of the K-pop group TVXQ, and closing Saturday with a performance by Indonesian musician Adrian Khalif.
Koo Ja-yeol, KITA's honorary chairman, said at the opening ceremony that Indonesia's strong economic growth and large young population give Korean consumer goods "limitless potential for expansion," calling the fair "a comprehensive platform" combining exhibitions, export consultations, retail pop-ups and Korean cultural experiences.
KITA said the Jakarta fair follows earlier K-Premium Consumer Goods fairs this year in Tokyo, Ho Chi Minh City and Paris, with a Los Angeles edition planned for October and a Korea pavilion at the China International Import Expo in November.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.