Editor's Note: The fifth China International Import Expo will open in one day. Several participants of the CIIE are telling their stories themed around "great opportunity" to showcase the positive changes the expo has made to the world and how it has helped build a community with a shared future for mankind over the past five years.

I am one of the founders of Warmpaca, a Peruvian alpaca stuffed toy brand that was registered in 2018 to attend the inaugural edition of the CIIE.

At the first expo, we only had a 9-square-meter booth featuring a few kinds of alpaca-shaped ornaments. To our surprise, Chinese consumers loved our products and we received many orders following the expo.

Alpaca textiles are one of Peru's pillar industries and the main source of income for residents in the Andes Mountains. Many Peruvian families make alpaca-related handicrafts and would sell them to tourists. Only a small portion of their products were exported to Australia and New Zealand.

Since our products gained fame through the CIIE, our team has been gathering these artisans to carry out specialized production of the crafts, and this has significantly improved the products' design and quality.

Ysabel Zea and her Warmpaca stuffed toys. [Photo/CIIE Bureau]

In 2019, I took a more than 30-hour flight to Shanghai to participate in the second CIIE. That was my first time travelling to China and I was astonished by the expo's scale and magnificent flower decorations in the venue. During the expo, I introduced Peruvian handicrafts to visitors, and established many business connections at a matchmaking session organized by the Bank of China. The experience helped me learn more about the Chinese market and draw up clear development goals.

Warmpaca presently has over 300 kinds of products. We have built distribution channels in more than 20 Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Haikou, Chengdu, and Nanchang, and opened stores on China's e-commerce platforms Tmall and JD.com. Over 500,000 alpaca stuffed toys have been sold across the world to date.

Peruvian locals make alpaca dolls. [Photo/CIIE Bureau]

The strong sales have lifted many Peruvian families out of poverty. For example, Oswaldo Mamani, an artisan who has a long-term partnership with Warmpaca, has built a three-story house and bought two new cars for his family with the income he made from crafting alpaca dolls. Warmpaca now has more than 100 partners like Mamani.

At the fifth CIIE, we will have a 36-square-meter booth to showcase a new kind of alpaca doll as well as toys shaped like kiwis and flamingos. Our hand embroidered alpaca pillows will make their Asia debut at this year's expo.

Warmpaca is lucky to meet the CIIE. Due to the expo, we have gained a firm foothold and achieved great development in China. In the following editions of the CIIE, I plan to invite Peruvian artisans to our booth to show the production process of our products.

By Ysabel Zea

The author is a designer and one of the founders of Warmpaca.