KOKORO'S JAPANESE fashion sensation, the 'haramaki' tummy wrap, has beaten more than 500 other exhibitors to take the prestigious 'best new natural living and home product prize' at the recent Natural and organic Products Europe show. Thousands of trade professionals from all over Europe visited the show, which took place on 1 and 2 April at Olympia, London.

Says kokoro's managing director, Julie Goodwin: "We see this as a terrific vote of confidence for our haramaki concept, from experts who know what they like, and clearly like what they saw. We were thrilled to have a constant stream of visitors to our stand at the show, and we now have very warm leads into wholsesalers, retailers and distributors in the UK, Spain, France, Latvia, Czech, Sweden, Ireland and Canada.

Reactions to the haramaki were very positive, according to Julie Goodwin. "Buyers liked the fact that the haramaki is unique, natural and a brilliantly simply yet effective concept," she adds. "They appeared to value its ease of use and considered it extremely fashionable, too, which was very pleasing for our development teams. Our hopes that the haramaki concept should be perfect for European markets appear to have been confirmed, and we believe the coming months will be very exciting for kokoro as it grows its poisition in the fashion product markets of Europe."

Made from closely-ridged layers of 97% cotton and 3% polyurethane, the cosy haramaki keep core body temperature warm, which in turn helps hands and feet stay warm, however chilly it might be outside. Although it's new to Europe, it's a style of dress that has found favour in Japan for many hundreds of years.

Three versions of the haramaki (for women, for men and for children) are now on sale, with a recommended retail price of £22.99 for adults and £14.99 for kids.

ENDS

Notes for editors:

For more details, or to request samples, please contact Julie Goodwin at kokoro

Phone: 01438 718252

info@kokoro-japan.co.uk

Press Release:

Natural & Organic Products Europe Official site