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A Buyer’s Guide to Korea Industry Expo 2026: What Is Actually on the Floor at Yashobhoomi
Korea Industry Expo 2026 will take place on 27 August at Yashobhoomi, featuring 80 Korean manufacturers and a shift to three main sectors.
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Korea Industry Expo (KoINDEX) 2026 opens at Yashobhoomi on 27 August with roughly 80 Korean manufacturers across 106 booths. For sourcing teams deciding whether the trip is worth a day, the useful question is not how large the exhibition is but what is on the floor and how meetings are arranged. Both have changed since the 2024 edition.
Three sectors, and only three
The exhibition runs as three concurrent specialized shows. Each occupies its own zone within Hall 1C.
- BeautySUM India — skincare and functional cosmetics, beauty devices, hair and personal care, and cosmetic ingredients and packaging. Relevant to modern trade buyers, e-commerce category managers, salon chains and private-label developers.
- FoodIndx — processed foods, health functional foods, beverages, fermented products, and food processing and packaging equipment. Relevant to distributors, HoReCa supply, retail importers and food manufacturers sourcing plant or ingredients.
- KOREA BUILD in India — construction and building materials, construction technology and equipment, building services, and fire and disaster safety systems. Relevant to project owners, EPC contractors, architectural specifiers and facility operators.
The narrowing is deliberate. In 2024 the exhibition covered eight sectors; these three produced the bulk of the transacted value, and the 2026 edition drops the rest.
Meetings are scheduled, not walked into
Buyer meetings are pre-matched rather than arranged on the floor. Registered buyers are matched to suppliers by category before the exhibition opens, and the matching is run in cooperation with the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency in New Delhi together with Indian industry bodies.
The practical implication for a sourcing team is that registering early materially affects the quality of the schedule. Buyers who register in the final days are matched against whatever capacity remains.
The consortium pavilion is where the smaller suppliers are
A dedicated Export Consortium pavilion, operated in partnership with the Korea Federation of SMEs under the Export Consortium programme of Korea’s Ministry of SMEs and Startups, houses fifteen companies — fourteen in consumer goods and one in industrial products.
This zone is worth a deliberate stop. Consortium participants are typically smaller manufacturers attending a foreign exhibition with shared costs, which means lower minimum order quantities and more willingness to customise specification, formulation or packaging than a larger exporter would entertain. Buyers looking for private-label capacity or a differentiated SKU tend to find it here rather than among the anchor exhibitors.
Certification guidance on site
Korea Testing Laboratory is running a seminar on Bureau of Indian Standards certification during the exhibition, covering certification pathways and market-entry requirements for Korean products.
The session is designed for exhibitors, but Indian buyers evaluating whether a supplier can realistically clear compliance will find it a fast way to judge how far along a given product actually is. Compliance status, more than price, is what determines whether a promising first meeting becomes a shipment.
Opening day programme
The opening ceremony begins at 10:40 on 27 August with a lamp lighting ceremony, followed by the Korea–India Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum from 11:05 to 13:30, convened with the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency and the Korea International Trade Association. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry is Industry Partner for the exhibition.
Sourcing teams who can only attend one day should weigh the trade-off: the opening day carries the forum and the senior delegations, while 28 and 29 August offer quieter floors and longer supplier conversations.
Practical details
- Dates — 27 to 29 August 2026
- Venue — Hall 1C, Yashobhoomi (India International Convention and Expo Centre), Dwarka Sector 25, New Delhi
- Entry — free for trade visitors with advance registration at www.koindex.kr
KoINDEX 2026 is hosted by the Government of Gyeonggi Province, Republic of Korea, and supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Association of Korea Exhibition Industry. Operations in India are handled by T Commercialization Global Pvt. Ltd.
Note to readers: This article is part of HT's paid consumer connect initiative and is independently created by the brand. HT assumes no editorial responsibility for the content, including its accuracy, completeness, or any errors or omissions. Readers are advised to verify all information independently.
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