4th CBME to kick start in Mumbai on April 20

Mumbai will host the fourth Child, Baby and Maternity Expo India (CBME India), from April 20 to 22, 2016. It is the largest international children’s products business expo and is organised by UBM India. CBME India 2016 will open its doors at the Bombay Convention and Exhibition Centre and offer a networking platform for the business fraternity to join hands, share new ideas, and launch new products under one roof.

Big growth prospects in kids’ segment a big lure

Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, UBM India says, “Children and baby care products is the fastest growing segment in the country, and we have got a tremendous response from both stakeholders and consumers. Our success is evident from the fact that last year we had 80 odd exhibitors for 200 plus brands. In this edition, we are going to have about 100 exhibitors for 300 plus brands. A lot of companies are showing interest in this segment and market awareness for branded baby products is at an all time high. As more companies are coming in, interest has grown among consumers beyond what we had perceived.” Mudras says, this is a B2B platform and last year 4,000 trade visitors came to the expo. They include: distributors, retailers and vendors, besides retail chains. “This year, we are expecting 50 per cent more visitors. These expectations are backed by the kind of efforts, time and publicity we have put in on a pan-India level. The event will witness the participation of domestic and international buyers and exhibitors.

The latest edition of CBME India promises to be larger in scale. The exhibition, will be spread over three days, would facilitate interactive forums like seminars, workshops and panel discussions on varied topics like ecommerce and supply chain management and help establish strategic business alliances. Top global brands like J L Morrison, Mother Care, Me and Moms, Little’s (India), Bonny Products, TOONZ Retail, Chicco, Lovi and Smitten Baby amongst others will provide a wide spectrum of quality international products and technology. The trade fair will see participation from countries such as China, Hong Kong, Belgium, Italy, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, US amongst others.

Mudras says, CBME will hold many knowledge sharing sessions, seminars and workshops. “We have innovative platforms where one can learn many things about the product and industry. Branding and marketing is a way to create awareness. The market is still largely unorganized and the majority of consumers are still using cheap quality products. Exhibitions help small brands to grow.” He believes an exhibition is a platform where small brands can have an equal footing with the topmost brand. All that matters is how they set their stall, what kind of interaction takes place; what investments have been made etc. “You are getting more exposure and knowledge, given you are standing among the best in the sector. And this makes it more important for smaller players as they do not have to shell out more for what is not possible with big budgets. We conduct trade fairs in 16 different verticals and the majority of beneficiaries of these events are the small players. At fairs, they can be seen and at par with big players. You cannot have this kind of promotion and publicity through any other channel at this low cost.”

CBME has its origins in China, where it’s a huge show, spread over 150,000 square meter space, which is 100 times bigger than what is being done in India. “We witness a number of global brands. Now we can see that if these brands are present in China, they must be looking at India as their next destination.” He says by conducting such shows UBM is providing a platform, where global and homegrown brands can together showcase their products and exhibit themselves.

Future Plans

The Mumbai event is an annual event UBM which they plan to continue with. “We also come out with digital platforms and that we are doing for the long time. This event has been a kind of ritual for the industry and to get the best out of it for the sector has been the aim. It benefit in many other ways also: you get to know about the latest trends and practices adopted by industry because this platform is used as a place to launch new products. As of now, we are promoting CBME as a national fair but tomorrow if we feel the response is difficult to contain in one event, we may conduct such fair across the country. There is no target set yet and everything will take place on the basis of how industry does respond,” he sums up.