The Seoul International Sourcing Fair (or Sourcing Fair), the representative B2B exhibition in consumer goods and premium sales gift industry, was one of the first exhibitions to be held in the first week that Korea started its 1st phase of the new 'Living with COVID-19' strategy.

The Show Organized by Coex and ICEM, Sourcing Fair is organized twice a year - Spring and Fall and this year’s Fall Edition took place at Coex Hall B from November 4 to 6 in a hybrid format. The Sourcing Fair attracted a total of 20,000 buyers and hosted a total of 70 domestic and overseas SMEs and start-ups carrying items ranging from promotional items, quality stationery, smartphone accessories and household products to beauty and fashion products in the B2B consumer goods industry.

As Korea’s longest-running tradeshow in its industry, Sourcing Fair has become the premier B2B platform for buyers, suppliers and distributors. This is the first consumer goods industry exhibition to be held in the first phase of the Korea’s steady return to pre-pandemic life,” said Dong-won Lee, CEO of Coex. “We hope that the Sourcing Fair will revitalize the industry that has been hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis and create new business opportunities for Korean SMEs.

Event Overview The Sourcing Fair invites domestic and overseas buyers to its annual on-site 1:1 Biz-Matching Program, and it began implementing online matchmaking platforms for the operation of the Biz-Matching Program in 2017. Thenceforth, Sourcing Fair launched its custom-built ‘Sourcing Fair Online Platform – O2O 365 Marketing’, which is an online marketplace for exhibitors to promote their products and a business communication system between suppliers and buyers. Managed by the Sourcing Fair Secretariat, the qualities of exhibitors and buyers are guaranteed and in this safe environment, the exhibitors are given the opportunity to secure new customers and connect with domestic and overseas buyers without space and time limitations. Embracing digital transformation, the Fall Edition brought the Metaverse to the 1:1 Biz-matching meeting, taking virtual business meetings to the next level. All participants were invited to access the Metaverse platform on 28th and 29th of October for an opportunity to engage as never before, starting from creating its own characters to having the characters explore the virtual exhibition space, take a seat in meeting rooms and converse with one another.

In regards to incorporating the Metaverse into the exhibition, Project Manager of Sourcing Fair Gyu-Bin Yun said, "We wanted to shift from the conventional way of stale video conferencing and add fun, interactive components to bring a sense of intimacy and excitement for the participants during this difficult time.” She added, “Although the scale of the exhibition was reduced due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Coex is committed to offering opportunities to companies and ensuring the safety of all the participating companies and visitors. We are all looking forward to the recovery of the consumer goods industry and the MICE industry as a whole.”

Official Website: www.sipremium.com / Secretariat +82-2-6000-1108

COVID-19 Protocols for Exhibitions (Indoor Capacity)

-No restrictions on operating hours

- Capacity: At least one of the following

  • Less than 100 people in case the attendees are a mixture of unvaccinated and vaccinated people
  • Less than 500 people in case all attendees are vaccinated (required to show a proof of vaccination) or present a negative COVID-19 test result from within 48 hours
  • Option to abide by the previous social distancing regulation, which is max 1 person per 6 sqm (This option is only available during 1st phase of ‘Living with COVID-19’ only)

- Eating Policy: No Food or Drink Allowed

Read about Korea's Phased Return to Normalcy Plan here. 

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