Korean companies eye European market via IFA

Yoon Ki-sang, research head of Breathings, poses with the company's lung status check device, Bulo, at the IFA tech fair in Berlin, Friday. Korea Times photo by Baek Byung-yeul

Over 160 Korean firms join Europe's largest consumer electronics fair

By Baek Byung-yeul

BERLIN ― Korean companies are trying to capitalize on the IFA tech fair, currently being held in the German capital city, to meet high-income European consumers and overcome the ongoing business uncertainties and supply chain disruptions that have followed the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, they said Friday (local time).

Other than Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, over 160 Korean companies are represented at the fair, which is taking place as a full offline event ― after being held in a hybrid online-offline format in 2020 and being canceled in 2021 ― to promote their technologies and products.

Given that 39 Korean companies participated in the 2017 event, 58 in 2018 and 91 in 2019, this year's IFA features the largest number of Korean companies ever.

One place where visitors can see how actively Korean companies are running promotional campaigns is the IFA NEXT exhibition hall. At the space, designed for startups from around the world, 183 startups set up their booths, of which Korea had the most with 52 companies, more than host country Germany with 38 firms or France with 26 firms.

In order to help expose more Korean firms to European consumers, state-run firms such as the Korea Innovation Center (KIC), the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), as well as private company Lotte Group provided Korean companies with financial and technical support to take part.

"It is now difficult for Korean companies to enter the Chinese market because most products consumed there are made by domestic companies. In this situation, Korean companies have focused on the Korean and U.S. markets, and they are aiming to meet European consumers with high purchasing power through the IFA," an official of a company that joined the show said on condition of anonymity.

At the consumer electronics and appliances fair, Korean companies unveiled their products based on novel ideas and the latest technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and digital healthcare.

Healthcare startup Breathings has been gaining visitors' attention with Bulo, its lung capacity measuring device.

The portable device offers customized breathing exercise guidance by measuring users' lung capacity, lung endurance and lung muscle strength.

"The lungs are a really vulnerable organ and once a disease occurs in the lungs, it is not easy to recover. We decided to develop the IoT (internet of things)-based device after focusing on the point that only 2 percent of people are checking the status of their lungs regularly," said Yoon Ki-sang, research head of Breathings.

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The company was spun off from C-Lab, Samsung Electronics' in-company startup incubator program. The research head said the company was able to join the IFA with the support of the KIC Europe.

"We have been already selling our devices in Korea and the U.S.," Yoon said. "Through the IFA, we are trying to knock on the doors of the European market."

J_ON Global Director Kim Jun-ho, third from left wearing a face mask, introduces the company's Petmiglia air shower device for pets at the IFA tech fair in Berlin, Friday. Korea Times photo by Baek Byung-yeul

Another startup, J_ON Global, has also been receiving many visitors to its booth curious about the Petmiglia, its pet hair drying device.

The fairly large device is an air shower dry room designed to let cats or dogs dry their fur after a shower or walk.

Kim Jun-ho, director of J_ON Global, said the company made the product because people can't dry their pets' fur enough with a towel.

"The most common disease for dogs and cats is skin disease. The disease is likely to occur if pets' hair is not dried properly. By having their pets take an air shower with our device, pet owners can manage their pets' health properly," Kim said.

The director added that a strength of the product is that both doors can be opened to prevent pets from feeling trapped inside.

The Petmiglia is already a hit in the Korean market and over 4,000 devices have been sold since its launch in May 2020.

"We cooperated with designers in Italy to produce a well-designed device. I know some pet owners prefer not to put their pets inside a drying device, but we believe that many pet owners in Europe really take care of the health status of their pets. Through the IFA tech fair, we want to let more consumers in Europe get familiar with our product," he said.

Park Seul-gyu, chief operating officer of Emocog, poses with the company's smartphone-based Cogthera digital treatment during the IFA tech fair in Berlin, Friday. Korea Times photo by Baek Byung-yeul

Emocog is showcasing its digital treatment for mild cognitive impairment at the fair. The company explained that its Cogthera digital treatment is designed to help prevent dementia in senior citizens and alleviate their symptoms.

"Our product, Cogthera, is a smartphone app-based digital treatment that offers cognitive training for people suffering mild cognitive impairment. Through our service, patients don't have to visit the hospital as they can use it anytime anywhere they want," said Park Seul-gyu, the chief operating officer of Emocog.

Established in January 2021, Emocog is a startup cofounded with medical professors who have spent decades in the field, according to Park.

The Cogthera treatment targets patients who have been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment by a doctor. Park added the company is in the process of conducting clinical trials of the digital treatment in Korea and plans to launch clinical trials in Europe and the U.S. in the future.