Selection of 'Brand K' Products Including 'Window-Type Air Conditioner' and 'Pinillo Frying Pan'

28 Beauty, 15 Food, 12 Living, 15 Electronics & Miscellaneous, Total 70 Final Selections

EdenTech Co., Ltd.'s 'Pinillo Tong 5-layer Stainless Coated Elegance Frying Pan'.
Photo by EdenTech

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] EdenTech Co., Ltd.'s 'Pinillo Tong 5-layer Stainless Coating Elegance Frying Pan' is a product that has ranked number one in the frying pan sales category on Naver Smart Store, made with premium stainless steel material and top-tier coating technology certified overseas. Additionally, Paseco Co., Ltd.'s 'Window-type Air Conditioner' is a product pioneering the window-type air conditioner market with proprietary technology, recognized for its export potential and promising growth prospects.

On the 11th, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups held the final evaluation meeting for the 3rd term of the SME joint brand 'BrandK' at COEX in Seoul, and on the 13th announced that 70 products, including EdenTech's 'frying pan' and Paseco's 'air conditioner,' were finally selected.

BrandK is a project that grants the national representative joint trademark BrandK to consumer goods products of SMEs that have excellent products but face difficulties in overseas expansion due to lack of recognition, supporting their sales channels through promotion and marketing. Adding the 70 products selected this time to the previously selected 133 products brings the total to 203 products.

Starting this year, to expand the inflow of excellent products at the recruitment stage, consumer products with good responses from private distributors such as Lotte Home Shopping, 11st, and Market Kurly were recommended and invited to apply. Through public recruitment and recommendations from related organizations and private distributors, 1,291 products applied, and 201 products that passed eligibility and document evaluation participated in the final evaluation meeting.

The evaluation was divided into four categories: beauty & personal care, food, daily necessities, and home appliances & miscellaneous goods. External experts were appointed as committee members for each category, and the evaluation proceeded in the order of physical product assessment and company interview. The evaluation criteria consisted of three parts: suitability for distribution channel entry, market competitiveness, and consumer attraction.

In particular, domestic sales performance was added to the evaluation indicators to focus on selecting products with domestic recognition and proven quality. As a result of the evaluation, 70 products were additionally selected: 28 in beauty & personal care, 15 in food, 12 in daily necessities, and 15 in home appliances & miscellaneous goods.

The selected products will undergo a field survey in May to verify domestic production status, and products without disqualifications will be issued a certificate valid for two years. Additionally, five innovative products with excellent technology but requiring domestic market validation will be discovered as 'Preliminary BrandK' and, after supplementing marketability through domestic sales support, will be promoted to BrandK.

Once selected as BrandK, support will be provided to enhance recognition, including entry into dedicated domestic and international stores (flagship stores), promotion using experience evaluation groups, and production of promotional materials. It will also be linked with various overseas marketing projects such as export vouchers, export consultation meetings, entry into New Southern Market online malls, and promotional events at Hallyu events (such as KCON).

Domestic sales channels will also be supported simultaneously through buyer consultation meetings for distributor merchandisers (MDs), large-scale sales events (such as Together Sale, Christmas Market), and linked special sales events.

No Yong-seok, Director of Global Growth Policy at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, "This year marks the third year since the launch of BrandK, and we will focus on improving internal recognition to strengthen the project," adding, "We will strive to ensure that BrandK is recognized as the joint brand of excellent Korean SMEs products by all importers and consumers worldwide."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.