E-commerce, Location-Based Entertainment and Emotional Economy Among Latest Licensing Trends
HONG KONG – April 29, 2026 (NEWMEDIAWIRE) – Asia’s annual flagship licensing events, the Hong Kong International Licensing Show and the Asian Licensing Conference, concluded successfully today. Organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the three-day extravaganza for the licensing trade ran from 27 to 29 April, attracting more than 330 exhibitors and showcasing over 600 brands and licensing projects. The Asian Licensing Conference brought together some 20 international licensing experts to explore key industry topics, including global licensing trends and the industry outlook, intellectual property (IP) licensing strategies for overseas expansion, sports licensing, location-based entertainment, food and beverage licensing, and creative marketing strategies. The two events served as cross-regional and cross-sectoral business expansion platforms across multiple categories, creating global business opportunities for participants and promoting regional IP trade development.
Jenny Koo, Deputy Executive Director of the HKTDC, said: “Under the support of the national 15th Five-Year Plan, Hong Kong continues to deepen its role as a regional IP trading hub. As one of Asia’s most mature licensing markets, the city boasts a well-established industry ecosystem, with the licensing sector serving as a core engine for IP trade. We are pleased to see licensing applications expanding from traditional character merchandising to cover location-based entertainment, food and beverage, e-commerce and a host of other fields, forming a complete licensing industry chain that helps to create more business opportunities for the industry globally.”
In response to the rapid development and growing popularity of e-commerce, this year’s Licensing Show introduced the new IP and e–Commerce Support Services Zone. In collaboration with the E-commerce Association of Hong Kong, Hong Kong eCommerce Supply Chain Association and the Hong Kong Federation of E-Commerce, the zone hosted multiple workshops on building online shops, digital marketing and livestream commerce, helping small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) capitalise on e-commerce to sell their IP products globally.
Among the participants was Digitify Online Growth, an e-commerce platform specialising in digital marketing and e-commerce operation solutions. Kay Leung from the company said: “The greatest value of this new dedicated zone lies in ‘promotion’ and ‘education’. In the current economic climate, industries across different sectors are actively seeking new avenues to expand their business. This zone serves as an essential foundation for SMEs, raising awareness of how to effectively leverage e-commerce as a springboard to promote their brands and sell their IP products to the global market.” Prof. Charles Ng from another exhibitor, StarLite IPC Limited, said: “This year’s Licensing Show has truly played the role of an ‘all-rounded accelerator’ in driving industry growth. During this critical period of economic recovery in the Asian market, the show has successfully brought together leading licensors, licensing agents and brand owners from around the world, providing an efficient business matchmaking platform for IP licensing-focused enterprises like ours.”
Commenting on the impact of the new IP and e–Commerce Support Services Zone, Jenny Koo said: “This aligns well with the direction of the Hong Kong SAR Government’s policy to enhance the competitiveness of Hong Kong SMEs in relation to cross-border e-commerce. The HKTDC will continue to provide an ideal platform for the global licensing industry to showcase more diversified brand licensing projects, strengthening Hong Kong’s position as an international licensing hub.”
The Licensing Show continued to feature the DLAB Hong Kong Pavilion, bringing together nearly 40 exhibitors to showcase multiple Hong Kong original brands and IPs. Among them, local designer Kirsten Lie presented her original IPs and secured collaboration opportunities with overseas shopping malls. She said: “The current negotiations are highly encouraging, with enthusiastic responses all around. We are now in serious discussions with two overseas shopping malls and will meet with their senior management next week to move the partnership forward.” Another participating designer, James Ho, said “This year’s Licensing Show provides an excellent brand promotion platform for local designers, enabling us to reach and engage with potential partners from diverse sectors on a broad scale.” In addition, this year’s Hong Kong Licensing Force Showcase featured The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, with the newly participating Hong Kong Design Institute joining to showcase creative designs by emerging local talents.
Key topics at this year’s Asian Licensing Conference included how non-traditional toy IPs resonate with young consumers in the emotional economy along with new development models for food and beverage licensing. George Wood, Managing Director of The Luna Entertainment Group, shared on location-based entertainment during the session, saying: “We learned that one of the non-negotiables has to do is with the depth of affection, which is often related to the number of hours the audience has spent with the IP”. He also expressed his belief that transforming entertainment brands into experiences is one of the revenue engines offering long-term value. In another session, Mark Kingston, CEO and Co-founder of Libertas Brands Ltd, mentioned the rising popularity of non-traditional toys such as Fugglers, whose deliberately designed “ugly-cute” appearance echoes the rise of the emotion economy. “We want to ensure that every Fuggler engages different individuals, and that every individual can find a Fuggler that suits their personality or particular mood. That is key to the storytelling nature of Fugglers,” Mr Kingston said.
Mainland institutions exhibit with distinctive cultural and creative brands
The Chinese Mainland Pavilion brought together more than 150 institutions from regions including Beijing, Shaanxi, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Sichuan and more. Popular IPs such as Nailoong, Suchao, Tang Fugui, the Sun and Immortal Birds made their debut at the event, demonstrating the innovative vitality of the mainland’s cultural tourism IPs. Among the exhibitors in the pavilion were more than 20 cultural and museum institutions including Guangdong Museum, Nanjing Museum and the Xu Beihong Memorial Museum, showcasing the richness of the nation’s historical and cultural resources. This year, the distinctive Beijing Museums brand from the Beijing Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau made its first overseas appearance. World cultural heritage sites such as the Great Wall and the Summer Palace collectively presented the unique character of Beijing’s heritage.
Multiple MoUs signed to deepen collaboration and exchange in the licensing industry
Several memoranda of understanding were signed during the two major licensing events, including one between the Beijing Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau and the HKTDC. Building on their longstanding cooperation, both parties now aim to continue deepening cultural and economic exchange and collaboration under the broader framework of Beijing-Hong Kong cooperation. The MoU encourages both parties to actively build a cultural and museum cooperation platform, facilitating Beijing institutions to make use of the HKTDC’s platforms to explore aligning Beijing’s cultural and museum IPs and museum collections with Hong Kong’s professional strengths in the areas of creative design, IP transformation and licensing services, promoting the commercialisation, internationalisation and digital development of cultural and museum resources, and providing an effective way of telling China’s stories.
Another MoU was signed between the Innovative Entrepreneur Association (IEA) and the Shantou Cultural and Creative Tourism Industry Association, aiming to strengthen cultural and creative industry collaboration between Hong Kong and Shantou and promote the deep integration and coordinated development of the two cities’ cultural, creative and tourism industries. This collaboration was facilitated by the HKTDC following a study mission by a Hong Kong licensing industry delegation to the Greater Bay Area and South China market in January this year to explore development opportunities and business prospects. The signing of the MoU represents a further deepening of exchange and cooperation between industry players in both cities.
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Websites
Hong Kong International Licensing Show: https://www.hktdc.com/event/hklicensingshow/en
Asian Licensing Conference: https://www.hktdc.com/event/hklicensingshow/en/programme’category=all&date=all
HKTDC Media Room: http://mediaroom.hktdc.com/en
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About HKTDC
The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. The HKTDC is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong’s trade. With over 50 offices globally, including 13 in the Chinese Mainland, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to create business opportunities for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the mainland and international markets. The HKTDC also provides up-to-date market insights and product information via research reports and digital news channels.