After three days of intense business activities and a diversity of engaging events, China Kids Expo 2018 realized a great success alongside China Toy Expo, China Licensing Expo and China Preschool Expo. The combined events organized by Koelnmesse and the China Toy & Juvenile Products Association (TJPA) grew by 28 percent in area compared with the previous year and gave a trade platform to 4,339 brands from 2,326 exhibitors. A total of 80,347 industry insiders from 136 countries were drawn to the 4 events - and 57,595 trade visitors visited especially China Kids Expo reaffirming its global importance within the kids goods industry.

“China is currently experiencing a whole new level of consumption, and this edition of China Kids Expo is reflecting this new consumer power,” says Mr. Keith Tsui, managing director of Koelnmesse China & HK and adds: “We are especially happy about the well-noted Kids Fashion Show that showcased more than a dozen Chinese and international kids fashion brands.”

To him the trade fair reflects the consumer market movement: “Keeping in pace with the development of the maternity and children's products industry, this year’s China Kids Expo leveraged the strengths of both international and local brands to provide a more comprehensive, high quality and efficient trading platform for all our exhibitors targeting the Chinese market.”

The co-organizer TJPA China is also satisfied with the results: “Over the years, China Kids Expo has been playing an important role in driving the establishment of industry clusters, and the results have been fruitful. This year, we’ve once again planned interactive activities based on the unique features of the products and have especially increased the Guinness World Record challenges to help more brands expand their market influence through these activities, " says Ms. Liang Mei, president of TJPA, the co-organizer of CKE.

A gathering of international brands

Internationally-renowned brands such as Britax, Combi, Pigeon, AVENT, Chicco, Richell, Quinny, Maxi-cosi, Cybex, Sanosan and Aprica have all gathered at the event. At the same time, many international brands have also made their presence felt in this edition including KiETLA (France), Peg Perego (Italy), LittleLife 2/4 (United Kingdom).

Growing by 50 percent in space, the German pavilion once again united “made in Germany” brands such as Reer, Affenzahn and Ergobag, Pumpkin Organics and Pickapooh and debuted Jakobs carbon bike for toddlers.

Rise & growth of local names

On the local front, Chinese brands such as GoodBaby, Yeehoo, See Baby, BabyRuller, Babyster, Yuyu, Golden Baby, Happy Baby, Benebaby, Roomeye, joyourbaby made full use of the platform to China Kids Expo and proudly presented high-quality “Made in China” products to buyers from all over the world. Mr. Song Zheng, chairman of the Group’s board of directors states: “We used to focus on product functions and patents on technological innovation. Now, we position ourselves during China Kids Expo as a leader in modern lifestyle, with more emphasis on design.”

Latest trends on showcase

Another eye-catcher in 2018 was the outstanding Kids Fashion Zone featuring over 1,000 kinds of trendy collections for kids. The much-anticipated catwalk excited visitors with the latest textile technologies and designs from over ten international clothing brands for children aged 0 to 12 years.

Satisfying different industry needs

Partnering with the Shanghai-based buyer Greenland Group, a Business Matching session provided exhibitors with more opportunities to showcase their products. Visitors also had an overview of the latest designs and product launches at the dedicated Trending and New Product Launch zone. An interactive display of children’s mobility devices allowed buyers to better understand the various product and their functions.

Also China’s most popular social media influencer myguancha.com was spotted at the show and reported on new media together with representatives from well-known online buyers. The well-received Executive Roundtable once again helped international brands with strategies to expand their business effectively in the Chinese market while the 2018 Global Market · Maternity & Baby Industry Ecosystem Summit explored new retail formats to breakthrough in this ever-changing consumer landscape.

The next China Kids Expo will happen 16-18 October 2019.