Organised by the CMA, the 48th Hong Kong Brands and Products Expo (HKBPE) was held between 14 December 2013 and 6 January 2014 at Victoria Park, showcasing a wide spectrum of traditional and newly emerged brands. The 48th HKBPE aimed at increasing the standards and awareness of the local brands, and further promoting Hong Kong’s industrial and commercial development. The total sales turnover of the 24-day Expo this year increased 15% from HK$700 million last year to over HK$800 million, making a new record.


Grand Opening Ceremony

On 14 December 2013, the opening ceremony of the 48th HKBPE started off with a welcome address by CMA President Mr Irons Sze, followed by a special kick-off ceremony officiated by Chief Executive of HKSAR Hon C Y Leung; Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR Ms Yin Xiaojing; Deputy Commissioner of the Chinese Commissioner’s Office of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC in the HKSAR Mr Li Yuanming; President of the Legislative Council Mr Jasper Tsang; Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Mr Gregory So; Non-official Member of the Executive Council cum Chairman of Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce Sir C K Chow; Secretary for Education Mr Eddie Ng; Commissioner of Customs and Excise Mr Clement Cheung; Chairman of Eastern District Council Mr Wong Kin Pan; Chairman of Hong Kong Productivity Council Mr Clement Chen; Chairman of Hong Kong Tourism Board Dr Peter Lam; Chairman of CMA Exhibition Services Ltd Mr Jimmy Ng; CMA Permanent Honorary Presidents, Vice Presidents, Honorary Presidents and major sponsor. Other 200 distinguished guests attending the ceremony included senior government officials, members of the consular corps, and leaders of the business sector.

The theme of the 48th HKBPE was “Famous Brands, Quality Products”. There were more than 880 booths manned by over 400 exhibitors were located in twelve thematic areas of the Expo, including “Hong Kong Brands Square”, “Food & Beverages Zone”, “Grocery & Noodles Zone”, “Ginseng, Dried Seafood & Soup Packs Zone”, “Beauty & Healthcare Zone”, “Fashion & Stylish Products Zone”, “Living & Household Zone”, “Children Products Zone”, “Food Plaza”, “Social Enterprises Zone”, “Promotion Zone” and “Trade Zone”.

A Constellation of Brands
“Hong Kong Brands Square” was one of the focal points of the Expo. As suggested by its name, the Square showcased famous local brands in more than 200 booths, which included Goodway, Tung Chun, Lee Kum Kee, Nam Pei Hong, Safewell, Tung Fong Hung, Royal Medic, Eu Yan San, German Pool, Sau Tao, Beijing Tongrentang, Comvita etc.

Highlighting the fusion of Eastern and Western cuisines, “Food Plaza” was established again with overwhelming response received. The Plaza showcased a wide variety of delicacies offered by King Bakery, Super Star, A Style, Farm House, Olala Restaurant, Sunny Cheer, Treasure Lake Catering, Ngan Lung Catering, Captain Cheng Cook Family and QQ Rice, etc. Visitors were fascinated by a wide variety of quality products at bargain prices at the venue, including famous overseas brands like Corelle, San’Dy, Pro Logic, Zwilling J.A. Henckels, Meyer, Nu Pharm, Hong Kong and China Gas Co, E.P.S.A., Owell, Catalo, King of Chicken Cake, I Love Kitchen, Meiriki – Japan, Tak Hung Hong, Zihua, etc.

Themed attraction for 80th anniversary
To celebrate the 80th anniversary of the CMA in 2014, “Celebrating the 80th Anniversary of CMA” Zone with a huge birthday cake and special decorations, displaying the milestones of the CMA, was specially set up at the Expo. “Make a Wish Photo-Taking Kiosk” was also set up for visitors to participate in the celebrating activity of the 80th anniversary of CMA.

Besides, in order to commemorate this important milestone, the CMA organised a stamp design competition for secondary students earlier. A special stamp product - “The CMA’s 80th Anniversary Celebration Stamp Mini-pane 2014” using the winning design, had been released for sale in the souvenir shop at the HKBPE.

Caring for the Community Programme
To demonstrate our care for the underprivileged in the community, the CMA has rolled out the “Caring for the Community Programme” (Programme) for the third year. Riding on the success of the Programme last year, we further stepped up our effort by injecting HK$4 million into the Programme this year. Over 5,200 families will be given a subsidy of HK$500 for shopping at the HKBPE. Meanwhile, around 1,000 eligible children and teenagers had been provided cash allowances or shopping subsidies through “Child Development Matching Fund” and the “HKBPE Family Fun Fair” under the subsidy of the Programme. Furthermore, “Love Gifts”, another initiative of the Programme, had delivered 3,000 gift packs worth more than HK$500 each to individuals who were not able to visit the HKBPE, including those living in elderly homes and residential childcare centres.

Last year in September, the CMA introduced a new initiative of “Shopping Fun in Food Carnival”, in which a subsidy of HK$300 was offered for over 550 members of low-income families, elderly and disabled people from Kwai Tsing district to buy products at “The 3rd Hong Kong Food Carnival”.

In addition, echoing its commitment to promoting traditional Hong Kong industries and supporting local education, the CMA partners with Hong Kong toy industry giant Mr L T Lam to release two locally designed rubber ducks, namely “Lamon Tea”(a classical duck) and “Lamon Tea Jr.” (a special edition for HKBPE). They are created based on the plastic toy duck Mr Lam designed and produced in 1948. After deducting expenses, all revenue generated from the sales of rubber duck souvenirs had been directed to fund the scholarships for the two CMA secondary schools and the “Caring for the Community Programme” respectively.

Besides, with the help of the Home Affairs Department and the Social Affairs Department, 10 free booths were offered to different social enterprises for them to showcase their products and to expand their business.

Spectacular Programmes
The CMA had also lined up with Radio Television Hong Kong, Commercial Radio and Metro Radio to stage a series of mini concerts and variety shows for the enjoyment of the visitors.

Miss Exhibition Pageant
Miss Exhibition Pageant aims at selecting goodwill ambassadors to promote Hong Kong industry by participating in publicity events of the CMA. The 9 contestants of Miss Exhibition Pageant made their debut at the media conference held on 4 December 2013. The participants voted Ms Liz Li of Nam Pei Hong Sum Yung Drugs Co. Ltd. as “The Most Eye-catching Award” on the spot.

The contestants vied for several awards during the 24-day Expo. After fierce competition, the championship went to Ms Mangie Lo of Pro Logic Int’l Ltd, who also won “The Most Talent Award”. The first runner-up was Ms Coco Hui of Kam Tin Food Ltd, and the second runner-up was Ms Mandy Pun of New Cynosure Co Ltd. Cash prizes worth HK$350,000 were awarded to the champion, first runner-up, second runner-up and the companies represented by the winners. The total value of the prizes in cash and in kind amounted to around HK$700,000.

The judging panel was composed of professionals including Director of iCreate Makeup Workshop Ms Peggy Cheng and Hair Director Mr Brian Ho; Senior Marketing Manager of The Beauty Group – Ingrid Millet Mr Ryan Kwan; Assistant Marketing Manager of Shine Creation Int’l Trading Ltd Ms Pony Wong; Artistes Ms Meini Cheung, Ms Nicole Leung and Ms Candice Chiu; CMA Vice President cum Chairman of CMA Exhibition Services Ltd Mr Jimmy Ng; CMA Vice President cum Vice Chairman of CMA Exhibition Services Ltd Mr Ng Ching Wun; and CMA Executive Committee Member cum Vice Chairman of CMA Exhibition Services Ltd Ms Stella Lee.

Booth Design Competition
Booth Design Competition is one of the traditional activities of the Expo, which aims at commending the exhibitors for outstanding booth design. Exhibitors this year showed great enthusiasm and effort in their booth decoration. The championship eventually went to Lee Kum Kee (H.K.) Ltd. The first runner-up was Pat Chun Int’l Ltd while the second runner-up and the winner of the “Green Booth Design Award” was The Hong Kong & China Gas Co Ltd. CMA General Committee Member Mr Jackson Leung; Secretary General of Mode of Design Alliance Mr Sin Tze Kong; Vice Principal (Academic) of Hong Kong Design Institute Dr Eric Liu; Honorary Treasurer of School of Design Alumni Association of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Mr Paul Ng; Executive Committee Member of Hong Kong Designers Association Mr Sun Wong were invited to be the judges of the competition.
 
2013 HKBPE Children Ambassadors Competition
In order to increase the festive atmosphere and deepen the understanding of the children on HKBPE, the CMA held the HKBPE Children Ambassadors Competition again this year to provide a platform for children to develop and show their talent.

The competition was divided into two sections: Junior Section and Senior Section. Cheung Yan Chung, Bernice Ching and Wong Lok Yiu were the champion, the first runner-up and the second runner-up of the Junior Section respectively; while Yuen Wing Yan, Sumi Chow and Cheung Yan Shek were the champion, the first runner-up and the second runner-up of the Senior Section respectively. The champion and the runners-up of both sections were each awarded a trophy and book coupons worth HK$3,000, HK$2,000 and HK$1,000 respectively. Merit prize winners were each awarded book coupons worth HK$500.

Hong Kong Secondary Student Short Film Ad Competition
To provide a platform for teenagers to show their creativity, CMA Youth Committee organised the “Hong Kong Secondary School Short Film Ad Competition” again this year. A total of 135 creative advertisements produced for 13 sponsors were received from local secondary school students. Finally, 36 entries were chosen, in which the participating group from Christian Alliance S W Chan Memorial College won “The Best Short Film Award”. A prize presentation ceremony was held on 28 December 2013 and all entry advertisements were shown at the HKBPE.

Children’s Drawing Competition
To enhance children’s understanding of HKBPE, the Children’s Drawing Competition was organised with Ming Pao as a co-organiser; Junior Chamber International Harbour as supporter; and Luk Ka Int’l Ltd, Jacobson Medical (H.K.) Ltd as sponsors. Children aged 12 or below were invited to join the competition with the theme “Shopping Fun in Expo”. The competition was divided into two sections: Junior Section and Senior Section. So Fai Yi, Sin Cho Yi and Chan Nam Yat were the champion, the first runner-up and the second runner-up of the Junior Section respectively; while Chan Yu Ling, Fong Ruby Ching Laam and Chen Man Lok were the champion, the first runner-up and the second runner-up of the Senior Section respectively. The champion and the runners-up of both categories were each awarded a trophy, a cash prize of HK$1,000, HK$500 and HK$300. Merit prize winners were each awarded a certificate. All winners were presented with SmartFish and Mederma for Kids gift pack. “The Most Supporting School Award”, newly added in this year, was won by La Salle Primary School.

The judging panel for the competition consisted of CMA Vice President Mr Marvin Hsu; Chairman of Junior Chamber International Harbour Mr Frankie Cheung; Art Executive (Special Edition) of Ming Pao Newspapers Ltd Mr Kenneth Chan; Design Director of Edipresse Hong Kong Limited Ms Teresita Khaw; and Founder of Candyfoon Infinity Co Ms Candy Tam.

                    

Photo Contest
The Association organised a Photo Contest in the 48th HKBPE with the theme “Famous Brands, Quality Products”. Through capturing the wonderful moments of HKBPE, the Contest aimed at encouraging people to show their interpretations of “Famous Brands, Quality Products” and their aspirations for Hong Kong’s future. This year’s contest was co-organised by Ta Kung Pao, Photo Magazine, the Photographic Society of Hong Kong and the Chinese Photographic Society of Hong Kong and was sponsored by the Better Hong Kong Foundation. The response to the Contest was overwhelming with 400 entries. The championship went to Cheung Chi Hong; the first runner-up and the second runner-up were Leung Hung Cheung and Ng Shun Kan respectively. The champion, the first runner-up and the second runner-up were each awarded a trophy, a cash prize of HK$5,000, HK$3,000 and HK$2,000 respectively. Each merit prize winner was awarded a certificate and a cash prize of HK$1,000. The judging panel was formed by Chief Executive of the Better Hong Kong Foundation Ms Karen Tang; Ta Kung Pao Chief Photographer Mr Cheng Lui; Executive Editor of Photo Magazine Mr Ben Keung; Chairman of the Photographic Society of Hong Kong Mr Yam Sik; Permanent Honorary Chairman of the Chinese Photographic Association of Hong Kong Mr Ng Lin Shing; and renowned photographer Mr Lun Lam Kwan.