Startups, sustainability, style: Gifts World Expo Bengaluru kicks off 6th edition
In this photo essay, we showcase highlights from an industry-leading exhibition at Palace Grounds, Bengaluru.
Launched in 2014, PhotoSparks is a weekly feature from YourStory, with photographs that celebrate the spirit of creativity and innovation. In the earlier 1,015 posts, we featured an art festival, cartoon gallery. world music festival, telecom expo, millets fair, climate change expo, wildlife conference, startup festival, Diwali rangoli, and jazz festival.
From festive gifting and home décor to corporate gifting and sustainability products, gifting is becoming increasingly diverse, personalised and experience led. Against this evolving landscape, Gifts World Expo Bengaluru, organised by MEX Exhibitions and Messe Frankfurt Asia Holdings, has returned this week to Tripura Vasini at the Palace Grounds with its sixth edition.
“The three-day exhibition and conference bring together over 250 exhibitors, 1,000 brands and 8,000 products. It also features 75 new participants and several new product launches, creating a comprehensive sourcing platform for buyers across the region,” MEX’s Director Himani Gulati tells YourStory.
A vibrant business ecosystem, rich cultural heritage, and evolving lifestyles are reshaping South India’s gifting landscape. “In addition to our editions in Mumbai, New Delhi and Kolkata, we have the Bengaluru edition specially targeted for the southern region,” she adds.
“Strong corporate, retail, hospitality and residential markets, combined with diverse cultural and festive traditions, are driving this demand. Bengaluru has emerged as a strategic marketplace for the region, connecting brands with distributors, wholesalers and retailers,” she says.
Other major highlights, as show in this photo essay, include The Startup and Innovation Hub. “This section showcases emerging businesses and innovative products, enabling them to connect with potential buyers, distributors and industry leaders,” Gulati explains.
Himani Gulati
“We first started this startup hub in our flagship Delhi expo. We then launched it in Mumbai and Bengaluru as well,” she says.
This helps early-stage startups who do not have other platforms to showcase their work or reach out to the buyers. “A startup can exhibit in each of our four city expos only once. Many of them have gone from the small booths to much larger ones over the years,” she observes.
For example, those that started off with a nine-square-metre booth have even gone on to a 27-square-metre-booth. “It is very encouraging for us to see how our platform has helped this industry,” she says with pride.
The next editions of the expo in 2027 have already been scheduled. They will be in Mumbai (February 25-27), Kolkata (April 2-4) and New Delhi (July 29-31).
Featured Bengaluru exhibitors in this photo essay include Thenga, House of Gulab, ArdPure, Tasvii, Care of Calcutta, Loyka, Eha Sustainable Gifting, Aureco, Alix3D, Pot&Bloom, Eshwar Packaging, and Xech.
Over two decades, Gifts World Expo has thus become a leading B2B platform for the gifting and promotional-products ecosystem. From its launch with a small showcase of around 30 exhibitors, it has evolved into a major national trade platform.
This breadth makes the event more than a product exhibition: it functions as a sourcing, discovery, and business-development platform. It enables buyers and aspiring entrepreneurs to compare suppliers, identify emerging products, and build partnerships efficiently.
It is useful for lead generation, trend discovery, and industry insights. By connecting supply and demand across a fragmented gifting ecosystem, it gives brands direct access to serious buyers while helping businesses source products at scale.
The expo also provides a launchpad for new technology-enabled and design-led gifting solutions. This supports the industry's shift from generic merchandise toward personalised experiences and stronger brand relevance.
Corporate gifting has now become an important tool for employee engagement, customer relationships, brand building, and promotional activity. The expo brings together decision-makers across sectors such as banking, retail, FMCG, pharmaceuticals, hospitality, and automobiles.
The workshops, knowledge sessions, product showcases, and innovation-focused zones expose buyers to emerging consumer preferences and new business opportunities. This helps the industry respond faster to changing expectations around design, sustainability, technology, and customisation.
“Gifts World Expo Bengaluru provides a platform for the ecosystem to come together. It enables brands and buyers to identify emerging opportunities and shape the next phase of gifting in the region,” Raj Manek, Executive Director of Messe Frankfurt Asia Holdings signs off.
Now what have you done today to pause in your busy schedule and harness your creative side for a better world?
(All photographs taken by Madanmohan Rao on location at Gifts World Expo.)