HONG KONG, Apr 30, 2026 - (ACN Newswire) - The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) today successfully concluded seven flagship lifestyle and licensing events, attracting over 95,000 buyers from 134 countries and regions for sourcing and business negotiations. Among the lifestyle fairs, the Hong Kong Gifts & Premium Fair attracted over 32,000 buyers, Home InStyle drew some 20,000 buyers, and Fashion InStyle gathered some 12,000 buyers, while the Hong Kong International Printing & Packaging Fair and DeLuxe PrintPack Hong Kong saw over 9,600 buyers attend the concurrent events. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong International Licensing Show (HKILS) attracted over 21,000 buyers, and the Asian Licensing Conference (ALC) featured over 20 international licensing industry leaders as speakers. Non-local buyers at these fairs came primarily from Chinese Mainland, Taiwan, and Japan, while significant growth was also recorded in buyer numbers from the Philippines, Canada, and Türkiye, underscoring the fairs' strong international appeal.

Jenny Koo, HKTDC Deputy Executive Director, said: “In alignment with the national 15th Five-Year Plan, Hong Kong will continue to actively develop its role as a regional intellectual property trading hub, further enhancing its international competitiveness in the cultural and creative industries and IP transactions. The seven flagship events fully showcased Hong Kong's distinctive strengths in lifestyle, cultural and creative design, brand development, and intellectual property, offering global buyers a rich and diverse array of sourcing options, while connecting exhibitors with international buyers and partners to unlock business opportunities. HKTDC will continue to leverage Hong Kong's unique advantage of connecting Chinese Mainland with the rest of the world, foster cross-sector international trade collaboration, and reinforce Hong Kong's status as an international trade hub."

Nearly half of respondents expect sales growth, industries actively explore new markets

To further gauge the latest trends in the lifestyle products market, HKTDC conducted a questionnaire survey of 1,541 exhibitors and buyers during the Gifts & Premium Fair, Home InStyle, and Fashion InStyle. The key findings are as follows:

Market and industry outlook:

- Nearly half (49.0%) of respondents expected their overall sales would rise in the next one to two years, while 44.6% foresaw that sales will remain stable. The greatest operational challenges identified were fluctuations of global economy (47.8%), conflict-led crisis such as geopolitical tensions, energy and food insecurity, supply chain chaos (37.2%) and growing protectionist measures (33.7%)

- Respondents believed sales prospects are promising or very promising over the next two years in ASEAN countries (69.0%), Taiwan (67.9%), India (66.7%), Korea (65.2%) and Chinese Mainland (63.0%)

- The markets that exhibitor respondents are actively exploring include Europe (34.0%), ASEAN countries (18.3%), North America (16.0%), Middle East (13.6%) and Australia (12.8%)

Product trends:

- In the gifts and premiums market, respondents believed the strongest growth potential lies in: cultural gifts (19.7%), sustainable gifts (18.6%), and tech gifts (18.6%)

- In the furniture and home products market, designer furniture & houseware products (27.3%), interior decoration & handicrafts (27.1%), and smart home technology (23.0%) were considered to have the most growth potential

- In the fashion market, respondents believed designer clothing / branded clothing (42.4%), urban clothing (34.5%), and womenswear (31.9%) have the strongest growth potential

Cross-sector opportunities and synergies help exhibitors tap into new markets

The seven annual lifestyle and licensing events span diverse industries and cultural creativity. Semk Holdings International Limited, a major player in character IP licensing, exhibited at the Gifts & Premium Fair, showcasing a range of B.Duck co-branded IP products. CK Kwok, the company’s Co-founder, Executive Director & VP said the company successfully draw strong buyer interest and connected with buyers from Mexico, Canada, Europe and Southeast Asia.

The UAE made its debut at the Gifts & Premium Fair this year. Mohanmed Alayat, Founder of Dubai exhibitor Alpha Art, said: “On the first day alone, we connected with around 40 new clients from Asia, Europe, the United States and Africa, and received enquiries for customised products. We anticipate potential orders over the course of the fair to total around US$1 million.”

Gifts & Premium Fair seals three MOUs, deepening Hong Kong’s trade ties with the Chinese Mainland and overseas marketsThe Gifts & Premium Fair also highlighted Hong Kong’s role as an international trade platform bridging markets worldwide. The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Shanxi Provincial Committee and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Fujian Sub-Council signed memoranda of understanding (MOU) with the HKTDC respectively, aiming at encouraging enterprises from Shanxi and Fujian to leverage Hong Kong’s platform to “go global”, while further strengthening their trade ties with Hong Kong. 

In addition, the Busan Economic Promotion Agency also signed an MOU with the HKTDC to promote gift products from Busan, Korea, to international markets through Hong Kong’s platform, unlocking new business opportunities for companies in the gift sectors of both Hong Kong and Korea.

Innovative materials help exhibitors discover new fashion opportunities

Fashion InStyle featured the returning NEXT@Fashion InStyle (NEXT), a key highlighted zone organised by HKTDC, sponsored by the HKSAR Government's Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency, with over 60 world-wide new material exhibitors. Textile Library from Hangzhou, returned to NEXT this year after successfully connecting with a Thai exhibitor at last year’s edition. It also collaborated with a Hong Kong designer brand Ponder.er, applying its patented, self-developed epoch-poly fabrics to create dynamic and expressive designs.

Mary Ma, Founder of Textile Library, stated: "This year, we have brought two latest self-developed materials to Hong Kong, warp-print fabrics and the ice-crack series of crackle finishing, showcasing the perfect fusion of traditional craftsmanship and modern technology. The materials drew strong interest and praise from international buyers and have already yielded several concrete cooperation intentions and promising follow-up business opportunities.”

Some exhibitors achieved remarkable results on their first participation of Fashion InStyle. Hin Pi, Operations Manager of New High Limited, a local exhibitor specialising in swimwear and sportswear, said: “We connected with some 50 potential buyers from around the world. It was particularly surprising and encouraging to meet buyers from Dubai and North Africa, which will greatly facilitate our expansion into new overseas markets. Four to five buyers have already expressed clear interest in cooperation, with expected total orders totally about US$100,000.”

In addition, Baek Kyunghoon, Procurement Manager of Kolon Industries FnC, a leading Korean fashion group, connected with suppliers from Sweden, Germany, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam at the fair. The company plans to apply sustainable and high-tech materials to its sports collections. Vanessa Tirol Lacerda, Creative Director of Brazilian e-commerce fashion brand Amaro, said the diverse range of innovative materials was highly inspiring, especially the salmon skin leather and pineapple fibre fabrics. She has already established cooperation with exhibitors from India and Chinese Mainland, with an expected initial order of approximately US$100,000.

Many internationally renowned brands and major retailers, including New Zealand’s Karen Walker, the United Kingdom’s The Business Fashion, Thailand’s Jaspal Group, and India’s SD Retail, successfully identified potential business collaborations.

Home InStyle this year introduced innovative materials for homeware and home textiles for the first time. Hong Kong exhibitor Lotux International Holdings Co. Limited presented biodegradable cutlery and food containers made from lotus stems, alongside deodorising cat litter made from lotus fibre. Daphne Wan, the company's Sales Director, said: “Our innovative eco-friendly materials and pet products attracted strong interest from visitors. We are currently in discussions with a houseware company on the joint development of eco-friendly straws. The Hong Kong Furniture and Decoration Trade Association has also expressed interest in using our sustainable materials in furniture production.”

Driving the development of high value-added gerontechnology and cultural & creative design Industries

Home InStyle attracted exhibitors showcasing new products. Exhibitor allcareAI Limited, which specialises in gerontechnology, debuted its infection-prevention mobile toilet at the fair. CEO Phil Woo stated: "In the first two days alone, we received over 20 enquiries, including from local care homes, medical and rehabilitation service providers, as well as potential partners from Chinese Mainland, Japan, Australia, Europe and Southeast Asia. This reflects the sector’s growing demand for gerontechnology and infection-control care solutions."

He also shared that the Reimagine themed floor, which brought together the innovative products of Gifts & Premium Fair and Home InStyle, helped raising the profile of the gerontech industry and showcased its diverse applications to industry players from different sectors, offering a single platform to explore the latest trends in innovative materials and home lifestyle.

In addition, TFE Holdings Limited showcased a distinctive concrete coffee machine at the Cultural and Creative Avenue. Ivan Wong, Executive Director and Product Director, said: “We have engaged with over 20 potential buyers from Hong Kong, France, Dubai, as well as Southeast Asian markets including Malaysia and Thailand. We expect to secure around 15 orders worth about US$1 million in total.”

The Hong Kong International Printing & Packaging Fair and DeLuxe PrintPack Hong Kong attracted global buyers seeking sourcing opportunities. Among them was buyer Hot Packaging LLC from Middle East, which visited the Printing & Packaging Fair to source eco-friendly packaging solutions. Anas Bin Haneef, the company’s Senior Commercial Officer, said: “I connected with around 12 new suppliers from the Chinese Mainland. We expect to place initial trial orders for innovative corrugated paper bags and other sustainable products, with an estimated value of US$35,000 to US$75,000. We plan to introduce corrugated paper bags, biodegradable moulded fibre products and bagasse paper bags to the e-commerce market in the UAE and across the Middle East as greener alternatives to traditional plastic packaging.”

Packaging design also created new opportunities for exhibitors. W.H.Y. Brand Consultancy Limited participated in DeLuxe PrintPack Hong Kong for the first time this year, connected with printers and design firms, including companies from Southeast Asia and Korea, opening up potential collaboration on branding solutions for major enterprises. Founder William Yeung also shared that a Thai trade media outlet, which had initially approached the company for an exhibitor interview, later expressed interest in becoming a client, a clear demonstration of the fair’s ability to turn exposure into tangible business opportunities. He added that the company's participation is expected to generate around US$400,000 in business.

Buyers also affirmed the fairs as efficient sourcing platforms. Henry Huang, Vice President, Global Product Development at Umbra Ltd, a Canadian buyer at Home InStyle, said: “We identified around 20 potential suppliers from Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland, Thailand and Taiwan, offering products such as photo frames, desktop novelties and shoe racks. We also joined six business matching meetings during the fair and expect total orders to reach up to US$100,000.” 

Meanwhile, Jaime Gonzalez, Commercial Director of Mexico’s Promo Life and a buyer at the Gifts & Premium Fair, said the Reimagine themed floor brought together cultural creative, innovative and design elements, enabling buyers to capture market trends and evolving lifestyle in one place. He added that featured zones such as the Smart Design Global Awards, Selection of ASEAN and The Bespoke Hub also helped buyers discover design-led, customised and regionally inspired gift ideas. He also revealed plans to spend US$200,000 on keychains and magnets from a Hong Kong exhibitor.

Licensing industry goes global through HKTDC platform

At the Hong Kong International Licensing Show, Hong Kong exhibitor Postgal Workshop has reached an agreement with Malaysia based M&M Creations Holdings Sdh. Bhd., involving its IP “Din Dong”, with the collaboration estimated to be worth over US$200,000. CEO of M&M Creations Holdings Sdn. Bhd. commented that “Hong Kong International Licensing Show has sparked many new ideas. We look forward to collaborate with more Hong Kong IPs for the Malaysia market.”

At the Asian Licensing Conference, industry leaders shared emerging trends in the licensing industry, including shifts in consumer behaviour, and new IP development models. Maura Regan, President and CEO of Licensing International, stated: " We remain convinced that we'll see significant growth across property types.  Overall, the licensing industry is not slowing down. Consumers continue to demand immersive experiences, from theme parks to branded hotels to pop-up shops to retail experiences.”

Photo download: https://bit.ly/4cDT1II

Websites

HKTDC Media Room: https://mediaroom.hktdc.com/en
Hong Kong Gifts & Premium Fair: https://www.hktdc.com/event/hkgiftspremiumfair/en
Home InStyle: https://www.hktdc.com/event/homeinstyle/en
Fashion InStyle: https://www.hktdc.com/event/fashioninstyle/en
Hong Kong International Printing & Packaging Fair: https://www.hktdc.com/event/hkprintpackfair/en
DeLuxe PrintPack Hong Kong: https://www.hktdc.com/event/deluxeprintpackhk/en
Hong Kong International Licensing Show and Asian Licensing Conference: https://www.hktdc.com/event/hklicensingshow/en

Media enquiries

For enquiries, please contact:

HKTDC Newsroom: http://mediaroom.hktdc.com/en

About HKTDC

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. The HKTDC is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong's trade. With over 50 offices globally, including 13 in the Chinese Mainland, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to create business opportunities for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the mainland and international markets. The HKTDC also provides up-to-date market insights and product information via research reports and digital news channels. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus. 

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