Korea’s food experts are sharing their experience in branding with Lao food companies.
The “Product Development Workshop for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs),” organized by the ASEAN-Korea Centre and Lao PDR’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce, provides an opportunity for the companies to “enhance competitiveness and develop market strategies targeting domestic and overseas markets through lectures and consultations on branding, marketing, and packaging of food products.” The event runs Jan. 9-11.
“With an aim to graduate from the least-developed country by 2020, the Laotian government recently established its eighth National Social Economic Development Plan for 2016-2020, of which one of the key sectors is the food industry,” ASEAN-Korea Centre Secretary General Kim Young-sun said.
“Despite great potential, with rich natural resources, a strategic location bordering five major markets, and a competitive labor force, the food industry of the nation remains underdeveloped, mainly due to a lack of infrastructure and packaging and processing technologies.”
During the workshop, the Korean delegation lectured on food branding, marketing, and packaging.
Participants learned about basic packaging technologies and took part in simulation exercises on the first day of the meeting.
According to the ASEAN-Korea Centre, the following session will focus on marketing strategies targeting overseas markets. The Korean experts will visit local companies for on-site consultations and market research.
The organization said the MSMEs have been a backbone of the ASEAN economy, accounting for around 95 percent of businesses. It has conducted such product development workshops in 10 ASEAN members.
In July, a team of Korean businesspeople visited Brunei to help the ASEAN nation boost investment and promote bilateral trade in several high value-added industries such as biotechnology, cosmetics and e-commerce through the Investment and Market Research Mission and the Product Development Workshop. The ASEAN-Korea Centre, with the Energy and Industry Department at the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, hosted the event.
The ASEAN-Korea Centre is an intergovernmental organization established in 2009 to promote exchanges among Korea and the 10 countries.
