From September 6 to 8, Tokyo International Gift Show Autumn 2023 was held at the Tokyo Big Sight, alongside concurrent events LIFE x DESIGN 2023, Gourmet & Diningstyle Show Autumn 2023, and LIVING & DESIGN – Total Interior 2023. Over 2,900 companies from 25 countries exhibited at Japan’s largest personal gift and lifestyle goods trade fair.
The main area of the Gift Show consisted of 7 sections: Home Fashion Goods Village, Daily Necessities and Sundry Goods Village, Fashionable Goods World, Beauty and Health Village, My Favorite Goods Village, Character / License / Entertainment Zone, and the Global OEM and Handmade Fair.
Popular products included acrylic goods, licensed character merchandise, toys, and youth fashion.
Among the international exhibitors, China, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hawaii each gathered in their respective Global Pavilions. At the Hawaii Pavilion, a cafe serving local cuisine, gourmet coffee, and nutritional smoothies generated long lines of buyers and exhibitors alike.
The Tokyo Gift Show offers an opportunity for foreign companies to break into the Japanese market without any prior connections. The event is especially beneficial to exhibitors like China’s Bemay Toys and Taiwan’s Sabmatt Corp., who both manufacture goods in self-owned warehouses and came to Tokyo to promote their products to Japanese importers for the first time.
L.M Kartenvertrieb & Verlags GMBH from Germany already boasts sales of their original lenticular postcards and bookmarks in museum shops throughout Japan. CEO Michael Hartfelder was pleased with the amount of foot traffic at the Tokyo Gift Show, stating that he had already spoken with significantly more buyers than at the previous gift show in New York.
The Peacock Vacuum Bottle Co., Ltd. produces stainless steel insulated bottles, outdoor beverage dispensers, and other products for camping and travel. At their booth, Peacock was promoting iceless coolers for wine and sake bottles. Overseas Sales and Marketing Manager Divine Setoguchi explained that the Osaka-based company currently operates in several Southeast Asian countries and is aiming to expand to the United States and beyond.
The LIFE x DESIGN exhibition displayed items intended to bring about a new era of modern living and interior design. Products revolutionizing glamping, as well as outdoor and mobile saunas, were particularly abundant.
Tokyo International Gift Show Spring 2024 will be held from February 6 to 8 at the Tokyo Big Sight.
