Photo: Chi Jingyi/GT

  Robots capture visitors’ attention at 138th Canton Fair

Visitors show interest in robots on display at the Canton Fair on October 15, 2025 in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province. Photo: VCG

From smart steak machines that even "zero-experience" beginners can master, to fruit peeling machines that can skin 3 kilograms of grapes in just 10 minutes, the 138th Canton Fair is showcasing products that may seem niche but are carving out new market pathways. 

Chinese manufacturers are not only meeting existing consumer demands but are creating new ones, bolstering enterprise competitiveness through innovative technology, exhibitors at the Canton Fair told the Global Times.

"Our fruit peeling machines for business use are selling well, supplying many milk tea chains in Chinese cities. This time, we brought our new fruit peeling machines to this trade fair, hoping to expand into the individual consumer market," Geng Liang, sales manager at Millplan Electric Appliance (Shenzhen) Co, told the Global Times at the company's booth at the Canton Fair.

As Chinese tea drinks go global, the company's fruit peeling machines are in high demand in overseas market. These commercial peelers can skin 3 kilograms of grapes in 10 minutes, significantly cutting labor costs and time while boosting fruit yields, helping tea businesses reduce expenses and increase efficiency, said Geng.

At the booth of Tsann Kuen (Zhangzhou) Enterprise Co, a newly launched "smart steak machine" featuring industrial-grade high-precision smart temperature control, intelligent sensing, and cooking calculation systems drew crowds with its promise of "master-level flavors for novices." 

Zeng Pingxuan, a product manager at Tsann Kuen, told the Global Times on Thursday at the company's booth that "a foreign client we met at the last fair (in April) is set to order over 10,000 units this time, thanks to the flexibility of our products - being adjustable for regional ingredient preferences."

Zeng revealed that the company is short of salespersons as too many buyers have flocked to the booth.

"Typically, the airflow of an air purifier correlates with its size, but the model that we debuted at the Canton Fair, which is smaller than an A4 sheet of paper, is able to clear particulate matter from a smoky test chamber in 10 seconds, covering 10 square meters," Fan Wei, deputy general manager at Shenzhen Healthway Electronics Co, told the Global Times on Thursday.

The product has so far received inquiries from buyers from Europe, Japan, and South Korea, Fan said.

A sales manager at Turando (Xi'an) Intelligent Technology Co's booth showcased its new, small semi-automatic, compact color-screen coffee machine.

"The past version was already a hit in Italy, France, Spain, and other markets with a 10-percent sales increase in the first half of 2025. During the same time, sales of the coffee machine saw a 25-percent surge in South America. It is hoped that the upgraded version can grab more orders," the manager said.

The first phase (October 15 to 19) of the 138th edition of the Canton Fair is set to host about 280 new product launch events, as the "intelligence quotient" has soared. 

There will also be seven themed sessions for new product launches, covering intelligent interactive robots, whole-house smart appliances, cutting-edge university research achievements, smart living, artificial intelligence consumer electronics, new energy and intelligent mobility, and green smart manufacturing factories, according to the fair organizer.
Innovative home appliances at Canton Fair are in high demand