The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Large & Small Business and Agriculture & Fisheries Cooperation Foundation said on the 11th they will hold K-collection with KCON LA 2026 (K-collection) at the Los Angeles (LA) Convention Center in the United States from the 14th to the 16th.
K-collection is an overseas expansion support program that, in connection with CJ ENM(035760)'s K-festival "KCON," promotes Korean small business products to local consumers and provides export consultation opportunities with overseas buyers.
Since 2014, it has been promoted as part of the "Large and Small Business Joint Market Entry Support Program," and has played a role in turning global interest in K-culture into enhanced recognition of Korean small business products and overseas business opportunities.
This year in particular, the focus is on expanding overseas expansion opportunities for new participants. Of the 40 participating companies, more than half are joining K-collection for the first time, supporting small businesses with limited overseas business experience to enter the North American market by leveraging K-culture's global recognition.
LA has established itself as a key hub for K-collection. To date, a total of 451 small businesses have taken part in the LA event, achieving about 18.2 billion won in exports. Based on these results, the foundation for shared growth has continuously discovered competitive new companies and expanded opportunities to meet local consumers and buyers.
This event will feature 40 small businesses in beauty, lifestyle and food. At Kentia Hall in the LA Convention Center, it will run product exhibitions and sales along with various hands-on programs, and hold an export consultation fair for local buyers to support entry into the North American market.
From the 14th to the 15th, in collaboration with the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), it will hold a business-to-business (B2B) export consultation fair for key local buyers. Follow-up support will also be provided so that the consultations do not end as a one-off event but lead to tangible business results such as discovering new clients and concluding subsequent contracts.
At the local promotional event, there will also be a booth tour by "Lycenne," the official K-collection artist. Through programs that visitors can join directly, such as traditional games and DIY experiences, the plan is to raise consumer interest at the venue and expand natural touchpoints with products from participating companies.
It will also pursue parallel efforts to expand online sales channels. On the 7th, it launched the official K-collection curated mall, and plans to support participating companies in expanding their online distribution networks and generating sales through monthly promotions, online marketing using social media and K-pop communities, and influencer review content.
A representative of the foundation for shared growth said, "K-collection is a program that consolidates K-culture's global influence into overseas expansion opportunities for Korean small businesses," adding, "We will continue to discover competitive small businesses and consolidate online and offline sales channels with local buyers to support stable overseas expansion and strengthen competitiveness for Korean small businesses."