Kakao is expanding education, consulting and sales and marketing support for small merchants in the food sector selling on TalkDeal.

Kakao said on Oct. 16 it held the "2026 TOPS Kakao Networking Day" on Oct. 15 at Kakao Pangyo Agit and shared growth cases and business know-how from small-merchant sellers selected for second-stage support.

TOPS is a programme run by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency with online platforms to boost small merchants' online sales capabilities and brand competitiveness.

This year, Kakao provided e-commerce training and one-on-one consulting to 300 small merchants in the food sector selling on TalkDeal.

It selected 60 top sellers for second-stage support and is backing their sales and marketing activities with TalkDeal exclusive deals, promotional campaigns and Kakao Moment advertising cash.

The networking day was designed to let sellers who advanced to the second stage share e-commerce trends and brand growth cases and exchange business experience with one another.

Kim Min-young (김민영), former chief marketing officer at W Concept, introduced market changes and marketing strategies under the theme "2026 e-commerce trends".

Last year's TOPS top seller "Nongbu Warehouse" shared a local brand growth case, and Song Hyun-sook (송현숙), CEO of Nonos, explained K-food trends and overseas marketing strategies.

Sellers also took part in networking sessions by areas of interest including product and brand development, social media and content marketing, customer and repeat-customer management, and partnerships and collaborations.

A Kakao Commerce official said the company is supporting small merchants on TalkDeal so they can strengthen e-commerce capabilities and share experience and know-how with one another, adding it will continue to expand programmes to help sellers grow.