The Hainan Consumer Products Expo, held annually in Haikou, has emerged as a premier platform for global brands to engage with China’s burgeoning consumer market. In 2025, the event took on special significance for the UK, which was named the guest country of honour for the first time. This accolade underscored the strengthening economic ties between the UK and China, with British exports to China reaching £28.5 billion in 2024. The China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) played a pivotal role in facilitating the participation of British brands, including health retailer Holland & Barrett and tea specialist Whittard of Chelsea.

The Hainan Expo, now in its fifth year, attracted over 300,000 visitors and featured 4,000 brands from 80 countries, with a focus on premium consumer goods. China’s consumer market, projected to reach US$8.2 trillion by 2030, is a magnet for international brands, driven by a growing middle class and increasing demand for high-quality imports. For British businesses, the expo offered a strategic opportunity to showcase their products, build brand awareness, and forge partnerships in a market where e-commerce and cross-border trade are thriving. The UK pavilion highlighted Britain’s reputation for innovation and heritage, with CBBC members like Holland & Barrett and Whittard leading the charge.

Holland & Barrett, a household name in the UK for health and wellness products, made a significant impact at the 2025 expo. For the company, it was their first major appearance at Hainan, following a smaller presence in Hangzhou the previous year. Sophia, representing Holland & Barrett, expressed enthusiasm about the opportunity.

“We think it’s a good opportunity to make some business here, especially as the UK is the country of honour this year”. In China, where the health supplement market is expected to grow to US$50 billion by 2027, Holland & Barrett is a relatively new player, having entered the market just seven months before the expo. This necessitated a tailored approach to meet the preferences of Chinese consumers.

Unlike its established retail model in the UK and Europe, Holland & Barrett has adapted its strategy in China to focus on products designed specifically for local tastes. Sophia explained, “We make products especially for Chinese consumers, so we consider such things as localising ingredients and how we consume them”. This localisation effort includes developing supplements with appealing flavours, as Chinese consumers often prioritise taste alongside health benefits. This focus on consumer experience, coupled with the expo’s high visibility, positioned Holland & Barrett to capture the attention of China’s health-conscious urbanites, particularly millennials and Gen Z, who drive demand for premium wellness products.

Whittard of Chelsea, a British tea brand founded in 1886, also seized the opportunity to showcase its heritage at the Hainan Expo. Participating for the first time, Whittard was selected to represent the tea, coffee, and hot chocolate category within the UK pavilion. Katherine Oon, Whittard’s International Sales Manager, expressed excitement about the event. “This is our first time participating in the Hainan Expo and we are very excited to be part of the UK pavilion,” she said. Tea holds deep cultural significance in China, but Whittard distinguished itself by introducing British tea traditions to Chinese consumers. “We want to bring the British tea lifestyle and the traditions to the Chinese customers,” says Oon. “So it’s about educating them on afternoon tea, British blends like Earl Grey, English Rose and the Britishness of tea traditions.”

Whittard’s approach respects China’s rich tea culture while highlighting its unique offerings. The company sources teas globally, including from China, but its expertise lies in blending, a hallmark of British tea culture. At the expo, Whittard’s tea-tasting sessions were a highlight. “Tea tasting is always busy. It’s our experience, it’s a tea journey that every customer enjoys,” says Oon. These interactive experiences resonated with Chinese consumers, particularly affluent urban professionals who value premium and experiential products. The expo’s focus on cultural exchange allowed Whittard to position itself as a bridge between British and Chinese tea traditions, fostering consumer curiosity and brand loyalty.

Looking ahead, both brands outlined ambitious plans for 2025, leveraging their expo participation to deepen their foothold in China. Holland & Barrett aims to expand its product range and distribution channels, building on the momentum gained at Hainan. The company’s focus on localisation aligns with China’s growing demand for health products tailored to local preferences, supported by the country’s 105 cross-border e-commerce pilot zones. Whittard, meanwhile, is set for a significant push this year.

“2025 is going to be a big year for us. We set up a team in China, I will be relocating to Shanghai, and as a brand itself we are going to have more opportunities for collaboration for partnerships and introducing the whole British afternoon tea to the Chinese consumer,” says Oon. This strategic relocation and focus on partnerships reflect Whittard’s commitment to embedding itself in China’s market.

The success of Holland & Barrett and Whittard at the Hainan Expo underscores the broader opportunities for British brands in China. The event’s emphasis on the UK as the country of honour amplified their visibility, allowing them to connect with distributors, retailers, and consumers. CBBC’s support was instrumental, however, challenges remain, including navigating China’s regulatory landscape and competing with domestic brands. The CBBC advises British firms to invest in local partnerships and cultural understanding to succeed, a strategy both companies employed effectively.

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Projections suggest that revenue in the Chinese food market will amount to US$1,386 billion in 2023. The market is expected to grow annually by 9.34% (CAGR 2023-2027), and, most notably, approximately 34.6% of total revenue will be generated through online sales by the end of the year.

Consumers are choosing healthier, more premium brands

The trend of consumption “upgrading” in China is not a new one, with consumers in higher-tier cities already used to buying premium and luxury products. However, today, more Chinese people in lower-tier cities are choosing more branded products, and while the pandemic dampened spending to some extent, the trend is still present and increasing. 

The F&B industry is experiencing a similar pattern. Affluent and informed Chinese consumers have begun to prioritise better health and a better quality of life. As a result, products aligned with healthier lifestyles have seen increased demand.

This is evident across the beverage industry. Packaged drinking water is the biggest beverage segment in China’s soft beverage market. While purified drinking water has a majority share of this segment, natural water and mineral water have increased rapidly in recent years because of growing health consciousness. Likewise, reduced or no-sugar teas, cleansing juices and nutritional drinks have all experienced higher demand.

A recent survey revealed that 86% of consumers from tier 1 and 2 cities considered food safety before buying produce. Fresh food, including vegetables, eggs, meat and fruits, is a high-demand category as it is considered natural and chemical-free. In line with this, healthy packaged food such as salads is another area that is seeing growth.

Besides health and safety, Chinese consumers are showing a preference for premium brands. Relating to alcoholic beverages, consumers are now placing more value on experience and enjoyment and hence are prepared to pay more for products that fulfil this need. 

Companies that offer a variety of premium products that focus on the idea of being “authentic, natural, healthy and high quality” will enjoy a significant advantage in the Chinese F&B industry. 

Food shopping moves online 

Like consumption upgrading, online shopping is not a new development. Mandatory Covid lockdowns accelerated the pace of adoption among consumers, and e-commerce is now a vital part of consumer shopping behaviour in China, with 34.6% of total revenue generated through online sales.

The e-grocery (fresh produce and fast-moving consumer goods) rate, however, has lagged at 10% penetration, and this is likely due to the short shelf-life of fresh food, which puts demand on logistics, as well as offline channels such as convenience stores that cater to on-demand items. Improved infrastructure and distribution channels, as well as brands shifting online, are expected to accelerate e-grocery penetration rates to 33% by 2025.

Digitally savvy younger consumers enjoy the convenience of buying groceries online. And it is not just consumers in tier 1 and 2 cities that are doing so; shoppers in tier 3-5 cities are also embracing this trend and are expected to contribute to more than half of the increment in the e-grocery market size between 2019-2025.

Another area hit hard by Covid lockdowns was the food service sector. However, China has the fastest-growing food service market in Asia, estimated to reach US$ 914.09 billion by 2027. China’s per capita income has been growing year on year, so eating out is becoming the norm. The market demand for food services is increasing since its citizens are looking for a more convenient life, which implies that the future will also have a broader foodservice market.

During the health and economic crisis created by Covid, the purchase of local products also became significant for Chinese consumers. Despite the financial difficulties many families face, the quality of food products remained top of mind. During lockdowns, home delivery had seen tremendous growth; however, as dine-out reopened, the situation returned to balance.

Innovative products in demand

With competition in the F&B industry in China increasing rapidly, companies are looking to innovation to attract consumers. New products, new packaging, new channels and new ways of marketing are also part of the latest market strategies. 

In the beverage segment, companies are continuously creating new products to cater to younger consumers. Likewise, China’s local condiment producers have launched customised, functional products to meet the demands of different consumers. For example, in the soy sauce category, there are customised sauces for clay pot dishes, Hainanese chicken rice and steamed fish. The retail prices of these sauces may be more than double those of ordinary products. 

Technology is also playing a huge role in helping innovation; for example, the popularity of live streaming has helped many new product launches attract the attention of younger consumers. Online live broadcasting and direct-to-customer (DTC) online sales channels have become popular and efficient ways to reach consumers for brand building, marketing and sales, especially for emerging brands. 

What F&B categories are seeing the most growth?

In terms of F&B categories, analysts believe that premium alcoholic drinks, yoghurt and fresh dairy, innovative compound condiments, packaged drinks and health supplements will experience above-average growth rates. 

Experts admit that the current Covid situation in China makes consumer trends unpredictable at the moment, despite China’s official data showing low infection figures and few deaths. Observers believe the lifting of the strict controls on movement could, in fact, boost the economy, regardless of the resulting increase in infections. 

Chim Lee, a China/Asia analyst for the UK-based Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), predicts that the end of China’s Zero-Covid policy will have a mixed but ultimately net-positive impact on packaged food sales. Lee notes that, relative to other retail categories, food sales were a bright spot in 2022, as the packaged food industry benefited from people stockpiling food in anticipation of lockdowns and other restrictions on mobility. 

Research group GlobalData noted that the overall value sales of packaged food in China crossed the US$1 trillion milestone in 2022, with an increase projected in 2023. GlobalData says meat, dairy, soy, bakery and cereals are set to be the largest categories in 2023, contributing well over half of the overall packaged food sales in China by value.

Citing a recent survey conducted among several securities brokerages, analysts from Stockstar found that a total of 30 food stocks traded on Chinese bourses achieved growth in net profits in 2022. It singled out Guangxi-based Yanjin Shop Food, which mainly manufactures and sells snack foods containing nuts, tropical fruits and marine products, for its year-on-year profit growth (up 102.3%). 

The service also highlighted three other companies: Sichuan-based Teway Food Group, which manufactures hot pot ingredients (for the home-based cooking of tabletop hot pot recipes), seasonings and condiments; Shandong-based Delisi Food, which processes and sells meat products; and Shanghai-based dairy-maker Milkground (each exceeding 70% year-on-year profit growth).

Even as China pursued its Zero-Covid policy and implemented sporadic lockdowns, the packaged food industry still attracted investment. Multinational cheese maker Bel snapped up 70% of Chinese cheesemaker Shandong Junjun Cheese Co. Bubs Australia entered into a venture for infant-formula production in China, while Thai Union Group set out plans to invest in China’s pet food market. Major south-east Asian dairy group Vinamilk invested in its domestic production in part to help support exports to China.

Research by GlobalData suggests there was a dip in deal-making in China last year, but some observers believe that the country’s packaged food sector may be headed into a period of consolidation, as the shift away from Zero-Covid could cause issues along the supply chain and upend consumer demand patterns. In general, the overall situation may benefit the larger players who have better funding to weather a disjointed consumer market over the next one to two quarters and with a better distribution ability.

In the meantime, the green food sector in China also experienced significant growth. Green food is defined as food that is sourced from high-quality environments and produced using specific techniques with strict production quality process control, rendering these products safe for human consumption. 

For example, innovations in technology have sparked a plant-based food renaissance. In China, the plant-based meat industry is projected to be a $13 billion industry in 2023. And with long-term plans to reduce meat consumption by 50% this year, China is becoming a key target for businesses looking to expand or enter the plant-based food industry.

Studies have shown that transitioning to a plant-based diet can reduce carbon footprint by up to 73%. Moreover, China’s growing middle class have the expendable income to make more health-conscious purchasing decisions.

What policies and regulations should brands be aware of?

In the past decade, Chinese consumers have been increasingly focusing on the safety and quality of food products, especially after a few highly publicised cases of adulterated products. Since 1 March 2023, the only regulation in China that specifically addresses the general requirements for manufacturing and selling food-related products (including food-contact materials and articles) has come into effect.

China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) released the Interim Measures for the Supervision and Administration of the Quality and Safety of Food-Related Products (“Interim Measures”) developed from a draft version that was published on 31 July 2020 for comment. Compared with the overarching Food Safety Law (FSL), the Interim Measures refine some requirements targeted at food-related products but are not significantly different from the existing laws and regulations or current practice. 

Although the Chinese government has developed more stringent regulatory measures, serious incidents have been recorded in the past, including unsanitary conditions in factories and contamination of food products by pathogenic microorganisms, pesticides and heavy metals. The most famous case was contaminated baby formula, which resulted in the death of six infants and over 50,000 hospitalisations.

For this reason, the Interim Measures list a series of prohibited food-related products, such as products that use raw materials and additives not conforming to food safety standards, as well as other substances that may endanger human health or use additives beyond the scope or limitation.

The list includes products that have been ordered by the government to be prohibited/phased out from the market, products that forge the origin or forge or falsely use another’s factory name, address, etc. and any other products that do not conform to laws, regulations and food safety standards.

In recent years, China has also tightened its management of plastic pollution and has banned the production of certain plastic items, such as ultra-thin plastic shopping bags with a thickness of less than 0.025 mm. Industry players will need to pay closer attention to the development of industrial policies that will affect the supply of food-contact plastic products, since more restrictive policies are expected in the future.

Basic quality control requirements in the whole production process of food-related products are included as well. These requirements are principles and do not exceed what is expected for production quality management of food-related products. 

Food products must have “identification information” (e.g., name, production date, shelf life, type, category, precautions and warnings) which does not necessarily refer to “labelling” information. In this respect, the Chinese GB (“Guo Biao”, Chinese for “National Standard”) food packaging standards are more specific. For example, GB 4806.1-2016, the General Safety Standard, regards the information on the label, the instruction manual, or the declaration of compliance all as product identification information, and therefore allows the identification information to be provided on the label, in the instruction manual, or in accompanying documentation. Fines will be imposed on food manufacturers and operators who violate these rules.

Companies must obtain a Food Production License to engage in food production in China. The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) is responsible for the nationwide administration of food production licensing, while local Quality and Technical Supervision Bureaus (QTSBs) are responsible for administrating the scheme within their respective administrative regions. 

In terms of requirements, the enterprise must possess the means for processing the specified type and volume of food products and must maintain the cleanliness of facilities. All staff involved in food service must undergo China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA)-approved safety training, and a system must be in place for ensuring food product safety, including the prevention of cross-contamination. These requirements also apply to Food Distribution and Catering Licenses.

Applicants for a Food Production License should additionally set up a health inspection and inspection records system or other health management systems for their personnel, establish a goods purchasing and pre-delivery inspection records system, and other food safety management systems for basic food ingredient inspections and manufacturing processes. 

Site inspection by two to four inspectors will be conducted at the food production venue, and a product sample inspection will be required. Food Production Licenses are valid for three years, and applications for renewal should be submitted six months prior to expiry.

China Consumer 2023

This article was produced as part of a series for China Consumer 2023.

Learn more about CBBC’s flagship consumer event of 2023 here.

The post Practical guide to China’s food and drink market appeared first on Focus - China Britain Business Council.

Solo dining restaurants with tables and chairs sectioned into individual booths like private train compartments have drawn increasing footfall from white-collar eaters in major Chinese cities over the past few years. The emergence of this kind of solo dining setting is in response to China’s growing population of singles who see dining alone as part of their fast-paced daily routine, further stimulated by Covid-19 controls.

In 2018, the number of single adults in China reached 240 million in 2018, with over 77 million living alone,  with the post-80s and post-90s generations making up the majority. This is a result of continuously declining marriage rates since 2014, coupled with a rising divorce rate, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The rise in the number of single people has driven up the demand for one-person meals. Unlike the older generations, young Chinese singles don’t show much enthusiasm for cooking by themselves. A report published in 2019 by Sinolink Securities Consumer Research Centre showed that the majority (approximately 42%) of China’s single adults “cook occasionally”, followed by over 20% who “never cook”.

Alongside the rise of solo dining restaurants, ready-to-eat and pre-cooked meals are also gaining popularity as they provide a convenient and reasonably nutritious solution. Takeaway businesses are also tapping into one-person households, adapting meal options normally enjoyed by a group such as hotpot, to versions suitable for single diners.

There has been a refashioning of services and products in the wider food sector as well, resulting in an increasing number of goods falling into the one-person meals category. Products such as self-heating hot pot and instant rice boxes recorded a year-on-year surge in sales of 80% and 800% respectively during this year’s 618 mid-year online shopping season, according to a staff member at the food department of China’s e-commerce giant Tmall.

Despite eating alone, consumers still have high expectations for the food they are eating. Consumers are interested in health value and “yi shi gan 仪式感” or sense of ceremony, fulfilling both their nutritional and emotional needs. Gone are the days when a packet of instant noodles was a solution for solo diners – replaced instead by meals with varied ingredients that cater to the diverse nutritional needs of savvy young consumers.

An advert for Xun Wei Shi’s hand-pulled biang biang noodles

One company that has been leading this transformation is Chinese pre-made dish brand Xun Wei Shi. Xun Wei Shi redeveloped the traditional concept of instant noodles into nourishing meals by incorporating ingredients such as seafood and recipes including braised chicken with red dates, a soup dish that is normally shared amongst families in China and is known for its health benefits.

Further catering to the palates of young people, the brand also introduced internet-famous dishes such as “snail noodles” (luosifen, a traditional Guangxi dish) and biang biang noodles – all designed for single diners. To enrich the dining experience, the brand also includes a small amount of semi-finished dough in their packages so that consumers can have fun hand-pulling the noodles before they tuck in.

An advert for drinks brand Rio aimed at single consumers

Tapping into the emotional aspect of eating or drinking alone is the alcoholic beverage maker Rio. The brand became a first-mover in China’s single drinking market with the debut of its Tipsy series in 2018, a line with only 3% alcohol that is dedicated to Gen Z single drinkers. Under the tagline “A Small Indulgence on Your Own”, the series includes five fruity drinks designed to be a “companion” for young single dwellers. The slogan appears to have resonated with the younger generation, with the hashtag reported to have drawn in over 270 million views on China’s largest microblogging site, Weibo, in the first week of its product release.

Trendy food brand Dan Shen Liang

Other brands have attempted to build Single Culture into their brand positioning, including the snack maker Dan Shen Liang, which literally translates to Singles’ Food. With pictures of dogs imprinted on its packaging, the brand smartly capitalises on popular Internet slang such as “single dogs” (a humorous term used to refer to singles in China) and “dog food” (a term used by singles to describe public displays of affection) while also allowing it to tap into the growing number of pet owners in China, many of whom have turned to animal friends as a cure for loneliness.

China’s young singles are pushing constant innovation in the country’s food and drink industry. The increasing number of sophisticated single diners means that any brand looking to enter the Chinese market needs to consider both their marketing narratives and the formats of their products in order to cater to the taste buds of this lucrative demographic.

Call +44 (0)20 7802 2000 or email enquiries@cbbc.org now to find out how CBBC’s market research services can help you build knowledge and understanding of the Chinese market prior to investment.

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What general developmental trends are you seeing in the food and beverage category in China?

One trend I’d like to discuss is the growth of functional foods and beverages. When we asked consumers the kind of functional benefits that they expected from food & beverage products, the responses ranged from ‘boosting energy’ and ‘relieving tiredness’, to ‘increasing immunity’ and ‘boosting digestion.’

A unique characteristic about functional food and beverages that we hear from consumers has to do with beauty. As an example, years ago, we were working with a probiotic brand and spoke to a woman who had been having digestive and constipation issues for about five years. The only reason she finally acted on it was that it started to impact her beauty and her skin. This example highlights the importance of beauty for a subset of consumers, which means that these consumers expect or look for food and beverages that can add extra benefits addressing this point.

We are also seeing more brands starting to speak on sustainability in China, with varied success. We’ve done studies on sustainability, speaking to consumers to understand what it means to them, how they view brands that act sustainably, and what brands they consider to have acted sustainably. Broadly, we see that there isn’t much detailed knowledge on what really counts for sustainability, so we saw a lot of consumers talk about Starbucks, for instance, because they changed their straws from plastic to paper recently. That was a tangible initiative towards sustainability, so many consumers held Starbucks up as the gold standard for sustainability, leaving aside the fact that they use a lot of plastics for the cups.

To test the impact of calling out sustainability on purchasing desire, we presented Chinese consumers with products that have a sustainability call out and the same product without a sustainability call out. We found that speaking to sustainability doesn’t yet seem to change anything when it comes to purchase intent or product appeal. However, we did see some differences in the emotional perceptions that consumers had of the brand. This may not be enough to convince someone directly to go out and spend money on the product, but it can help to build up the brand image and may be more of a long-term play.

Finally, we’ve noticed a big shift in the way that Chinese consumers perceive foreign brands compared to domestic brands.  Five to ten years ago, a foreign dairy brand could come into China and be able to rest on its laurels, just by the fact that it was foreign. This is no longer possible thanks to rising quality standards and local brands being more in tune with the market.

As a result, foreign brands are more willing to take their time with coming to China, spending more time and budget getting to know the market and determining whether China will be a worthwhile investment. These brands are trying to do it right from the get-go.

What are some of the key differences between the food and beverage industry in China and other countries?

Pace is certainly one difference. There is so much new product development in China compared to foreign markets. Within the food and beverage industry, this means new flavours or brand-new products. Consumer appetite for novelty and trying new things remains strong, so brands looking to succeed need to have a local team that’s empowered to make decisions, or at least local partners on the ground that can help with decision-making.

Channels are another big difference between China and other countries. Obviously, the offline channel is still important in China, but the online channel plays a much larger role across food and beverage compared to elsewhere. An example is Hema, which uses an O2O (offline to online) system to take what would normally be a grocery purchase and convert it into a digital experience.

The final key difference for the food and beverage category in China, compared to other countries, is Chinese consumers themselves. Chinese consumers are often very well researched. I’ve sat in focus groups and one-on-one interviews and heard Chinese mums explain the figures of how many grams of each different nutrients should be given to their babies. They often already know which brands meet their standards and which brands don’t. I’ve learned so much just from speaking to these consumers, especially in understanding what it is they’re looking for from products.

What are the most important factors that consumers will consider prior to making a purchase?

Some of the key trends are safety, popularity and taste.

Safety tends to be more of a hygiene factor versus something that brands can actually differentiate on. However, safety does tend to be one of the top three purchase drivers for consumers across the board in food and beverage. This is especially true among consumers aged 50 and above, who tend to find safety a little more important and are also more likely to trust brands from overseas.

An interesting one we see a lot of is buzz, which means a brand that is talked about a lot. Chinese consumers place a lot of stock in online reviews and will often conduct research on both positive and negative ones to really understand how a brand is being received in market.

Finally, there is taste. When working with brands and brands that can speak to health claims, it can be easy to lose sight of the fact that at the end of the day, we’re in the food and beverage industry. The job of most food and beverage products is to taste good. We see that across the board, some product concepts that we test for might be great, but that taste factor still needs to always be kept in mind.

When entering the China market, what steps should brands take to localise?

One of the big questions we get asked at the start of China market entry is: “Do I need a local Chinese name?”. Typically, we say that a local name is recommended. This is because it makes it easier to facilitate word-of-mouth recommendations among friends, which we know to be one of the top purchase drivers. A Chinese name also makes it easier for Chinese consumers to search for the brand online, an important channel when it comes to the food and beverage category in China. There is also the fact that, if you don’t give yourself a Chinese brand name, the consumers or your distributors will.

A big part of what will help to ensure success is having a team or partner on the ground that you trust and can be relied on to roll out these changes and inform you of what’s happening in market.

Innovation moves fast here, so for brands keen to enter China and keep up with that pace, they need to have a team or partner to act as their eyes and ears on the ground, noticing changes in trends and then being empowered enough to take steps to act on it. That’s often where we see some brands fail. Either they don’t have enough of an on-the-ground team, or the team was not empowered enough to act, localise and develop in China.

Are there any benefits to having limited-run editions of products, as opposed to long-term staple products?

Definitely. These products go towards the element of Chinese consumers wanting novelty. There’s a really big benefit to having news to tell consumers about and being able to bring something new to market. Typically, as long as the brand has a strong set of core flavours that are in-market at all times, having that flexibility and speed to bring in a new short-term limited range of flavours can be beneficial. These flavours are often quite seasonal as well. Sakura (cherry blossom) flavours always peak around spring, and coconut flavours in the summer, for example.

Are there any case studies of successful brands over the past few years that you could briefly discuss? What has given these brands an edge against the rest of the market?

One interesting case study is Oatly, which has done a great job of opening up the territory of plant-based milk in China. The brand came into the market and was able to differentiate itself from traditional unbranded soybean milk.

It’s quite a challenge to come in and try to grow a new category at the same time as growing your brand, but Oatly was still able to present a consistent and appealing brand image. The brand tapped into the consumer trend around coffee, really pushing the barista side of it. Often, consumers might use the same brands and products, in this case, plant-based milk, as the baristas. This is not because the consumers think it makes better coffee than what they’ve been using in the past, but because of the perception that if it’s the barista version, it’s better.

What should new entrants be aware of when entering the China market?

There’s so much opportunity for brands, particularly in the food and beverage category in China. Nevertheless, foreign brands can no longer rely on their country of origin to stand out, and market entrants need to be aware that there are so many other brands doing the same thing. As an example, if you’re an Australian milk brand coming in, not only are there other Australian milk brands speaking to clean and green dairy, but there are also brands from New Zealand, Germany, the Netherlands, etc.

Therefore, success in China is really about making sure that you have a compelling point of difference as to why consumers might want to purchase your product over others. However, market entry will take time and more money than you would think. China is not really somewhere you can become successful overnight.

Brands need to understand branding and positioning, their target consumers and how to reach them, and channels that the brands may need. To succeed in China, brands need to be aware that it’s going to take time, investment, and commitment.

This article first appeared in the sixth edition of RedFern Digital’s magazine, The Red Edition

The post How to succeed in China’s food and beverage market appeared first on Focus - China Britain Business Council.

Since the outbreak of Covid-19, there have been several shifts in consumer behaviour and preference in China’s food and drink market. This article looks at some of these trends, providing examples and predictions for the future.

It is important to realise that Chinese customers generally conduct a great degree of research into products prior to purchase. Brands need to ensure that detailed product information is readily available online and in Chinese, such as ingredients and the types of certifications that either the brand or product has received.

The health revolution

Although Chinese consumers have long been on a trajectory towards healthier diets, Covid-19 caused the focus on health to skyrocket. Especially among Chinese youth, healthier food and beverage offerings are becoming a core driver, with many looking for keywords like “low fat” and “low sugar”, and “0 fat”, “0 sugar” or “0 calories” in relation to their drinks. Many consumers are now showing an increased willingness to pay premium prices for products that are considered healthy.

The push for healthy products is not just among snacks and beverages, but also for instant or ready-to-eat meals or meal replacement products. More than ever, Chinese consumers are looking at food and ingredient labels prior to purchase and conducting research on each of the ingredients.

“0% sugar” is clearly displayed on the packaging of yogurt from the brand Simple Love. Source: 简爱酸奶Simplove on Weibo

 The ‘she’ economy

Over the past several years, China has seen the emergence of the ‘she’ economy. With a higher level of education and income, the more than 400 million Chinese women that are aged between 20-60 years old are increasing their consumption power within the food and beverage market.

Previously, women were often in charge of purchases for the entire family, but now they are becoming more willing to make purchases for themselves. Therefore many brands have begun developing products aimed at perceived female interests, including meal replacement products, zero fat and zero sugar beverages, as well as protein bars and milkshakes among many other offerings.

Milk alternatives

Plant-based milk alternatives have stepped into the spotlight in China, as more Chinese consumers become familiar with products such as oat milk, almond milk and rice milk. This is in addition to Chinese consumers expanding their view on soy milk, a traditionally popular beverage in China, beyond a simple breakfast item. In fact, the plant-based protein beverages market in China saw an 800% surge in year-on-year growth in 2020.

An advert for Oatly oat milk. Source: Oatly on Weibo

As cafes have risen in prominence in China, particularly in tier 1 cities, most locations offer milk alternatives, further popularising plant-based milk options. Part of the reason for this surge may be due to increased market education and exposure to Western drinking habits, in addition to the high percentage of Chinese consumers who are lactose-intolerant and prefer to avoid traditional milk.

Meat alternatives

Over the past decade, China has emerged as a heavy consumer of meat, with Chinese consumers eating 28% of the world’s meat supply and half of its pork. However, plant-based meat alternatives are beginning to make an appearance, slowly growing from a niche phenomenon to a more widely accepted lifestyle decision among Chinese consumers.

The outbreak of diseases such as Covid-19 and swine flu, an increased awareness of the environmental impact of consuming meat, and the belief that plant-based alternatives are healthier, are all factors contributing to the growth of this market.

Source: Beyond Meat on Weibo

In 2021, the plant-based meat market in the Asia Pacific region was valued at RMB 1.1 billion, of which China contributed RMB 780 million – more than 70%. When looking at the rest of the world, China already accounts for 53% of the global meat substitute industry compared to the 5.5% contributed by the US.

With that said, although the market in China is large, new brands need to face the challenges that come with China’s history of eating soy alternatives to meat due to the influence of Buddhism. Therefore, new brands need to continue to conduct market education to differentiate themselves, while also understanding under which circumstances plant-based meat alternatives are most likely to be consumed. Some of the top identified consumption scenarios include in hot pot, during Chinese-style barbecue, as snacks, and in prepared foods (ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook offerings).

The coffee and tea obsession

Tea has always been a staple among Chinese consumers, but coffee is rapidly becoming more widespread, growing at a rate of 15% annually, compared to the global growth rate of 2.2%.

Coffee drinkers tend to be white collar workers aged between 20 and 40 and living in higher-tiered cities. They are more educated and have higher disposable income. Gen Z and millennial drinkers are interested in novelty experiences, which means they will seek out new cafes and new methods of drinking coffee. Depending on the region in China, consumers can differ in terms of which factors they place more emphasis on, for example new concepts, pricing or quality.

The expansion of the coffee market is not limited to cafes, but also includes at-home drip coffees and ready-to-drink (RTD) canned options. In fact, China’s RTD tea and coffee market is estimated to reach a market size of RMB 182 billion by 2023.

Even as coffee consumption rises, tea consumption has not been left behind. The demand for tea has continued to rise, with new flavours and ways of drinking tea becoming popularised through the expansion of tea and beverage chains like Hey Tea and Gong Cha in China. In 2021, the sales value of domestic tea consumption reached RMB 300 billion.

Chinese consumers are increasingly looking for new experiences and flavours from the food and drink products they buy. As a result, brand loyalty to food brands has dropped, and new product development has become essential to staying ahead of the competition. This is especially true as the food and beverage market in China becomes more and more saturated, with both foreign and domestic brands vying for consumer attention. Prior to market entry, brands need to ensure that they understand the Chinese consumers that they want to engage and know the trends that they can take advantage of to capture attention and interest.

Call +44 (0)20 7802 2000 or email enquiries@cbbc.org now to find out how CBBC’s market research services can help you build knowledge and understanding of the Chinese market prior to investment.

This article first appeared in the sixth edition of RedFern Digital’s magazine, The Red Edition

The post The biggest trends in China’s food and drink market appeared first on Focus - China Britain Business Council.

It is getting harder to tickle the taste buds of Chinese consumers due to their rapidly-changing preferences and the lightning-fast pace of social and cultural trends. This market dynamic means that China’s food and drink industry is constantly being shaken up, pushing market players to keep their fingers on the pulse of consumer palates and cater to the preferences of savvy shoppers like never before.

With cooling summer treats coming to the forefront under the blazing sun, Dao Insights takes a closer look at three food and drink categories gathering pace as the country heats up.

Ice cream

Ice cream has always been the best remedy for a hot summer’s day, but it has been undergoing a transformation in China in recent years. China’s ice cream market has grown into the world’s biggest, with a market value surpassing RMB 160 billion (£20.08 billion) in 2021.

This growth has brought about a market reshuffle, and the glory of formerly sought-after foreign players is fading, due in part to scandals such as Unilever’s Magnum being accused of having “double standards” after it was found to be using powdered milk instead of fresh for its products in China. As a result, Chinese consumers are turning their backs on imported brands, and there has been a rise in homegrown ice cream brands, with local players like Chicecream, Zhongjie1946 and Modern becoming the country’s most popular choices.

A Weibo poster for Chicecream’s low fat, low sugar chocolate ice cream

While this new market structure has yet to be solidified, the industry is certainly going through a round of “premiumisation” driven by increasing consumer awareness of ingredients and health benefits, sustainability, and the socio-cultural value of products. This has given rise to more sustainable practices in the industry, such as adopting low carbon manufacturing technology and using more organic, plant-based ingredients, as well as cutting down on “unhealthy” components such as sugar and fat.

There is also an increasing trend of crossover marketing among ice cream brands with the goal of rejuvenating and refashioning their images to cater to the social requirements of China’s young generations. This has given birth to innovative ice cream flavours including bubble tea, coffee and alcohol. Other trends include icy snacks in the shape of places of cultural or historical interest, such as the Temple of Heaven’s iconic circular Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, which creates a strong connection to Chinese culture that appeals to nationalistic young consumers, as well as plenty of shareable photo opportunities.

Summer energy drinks

Energy drinks are emerging as the dark horse in China’s drink industry, spurred on by the country’s growing enthusiasm for fitness. At home fitness in particular took off thanks to Taiwanese singer-turned-live streamer Liu Genghong and his up-tempo workouts that got popular during recent lockdowns.

China’s energy drink market is reported to have reached RMB 51.3 billion (£6.44 billion) in 2021, with strong penetration five years in a row and a compound annual growth rate of over 10% – the fastest in the beverage category. As the temperatures go up, energy drinks are also expanding their foothold in the market, popular among fitness fanatics keen to restore electrolytes in the hot weather.

For a long time, energy drinks, whether intentionally or not, tended to be designed for male consumers, reflected in their flavours and packaging designs. However, the sector is changing as young people, in general, pursue exercise and healthier lifestyles. Female consumers contributed to a three-fold year-on-year increase in sales of energy drinks in 2021 with white collar, professional middle-class and Gen Z crowds forming the backbone, according to a report by Alibaba’s e-commerce arm Tmall Innovation Centre.

Like the evolution of the ice cream industry, the needs of a more health-conscious generation is what is driving the sector forward. Thanks to the perceived “scientific” solutions they provide, these products have also been drawing in non-sporty consumers, with numbers in the new consumer market growing 12-fold on Tmall between 2019 and 2021.

Chinese new-style tea

Chinese consumers have long been fond of milk tea drinks, but these beverages have been evolving beyond a simple combination of tea leaves and dairy in recent years. The “new-style” tea category has expanded to include tea-based drinks made with fresh fruits, edible flowers and textural add-ins like tapioca balls and fruit jelly, enhancing their health and aesthetic value.

First emerging in 2016 and pushed by local market disruptors such as Hey Tea and Nayuki, the new-style tea trend has been growing rapidly over the past few years and is set to reach an estimated market value of RMB 294 billion (£36.9 billion) by the end of 2022, and hit RMB 375 billion (£47.07 billion) in 2025.

A perilla and peach-flavoured tea drink created by Hey Tea in collaboration with popular drama series A Dream of Splendour

Even American fast-food giant KFC has hopped on the bandwagon with the launch of its first tea-only spin-off brand in Suzhou. Called Grandpa’s Comfy Tea House, and with a logo featuring a cartoon version of Colonel Sanders holding a bubble tea, the brand focuses on healthier drinks made with fresh fruit and rice milk with zero trans fats.

China’s fever for new-style tea has also been fuelled by the recent Chinese historical drama A Dream of Splendour (Meng Hua Lu), which became an immediate nationwide hit, clocking up 1.6 billion views in just two weeks. The ancient Chinese tea drinks seen in the drama soon attracted consumer interest, especially among the young, who are curious to figure out how those “elegantly-made” drinks were produced, particularly one made of perilla leaves and peach. Chinese tea brands like Hey Tea and Nayuki were quick to identify this trend, introducing collaborative new drinks featuring the two most craved flavours, which generated hundreds of millions of views on China’s biggest microblogging site, Weibo.

Call +44 (0)20 7802 2000 or email enquiries@cbbc.org now to find out how CBBC’s market research services can help you build knowledge and understanding of the Chinese food and beverage market prior to investment.

The post Three hot summer food and drink trends in China appeared first on Focus - China Britain Business Council.

I moved to China in 2014 to work on a growth project as a specialist marketing consultant for sustainable travel company WildChina. At the time I was 5 years into my career in consumer marketing in the tourism sector. I studied PR and started working for the New Zealand tourism board after graduation. They groomed me to become an Asia and China market specialist but I was based in New Zealand working with our China teams and I wanted to get more in-market experience, so this consulting opportunity seemed perfect.

My plan was to come to China for one year and then look to starting my own business in the tourism sector. After the project finished, the CEO asked me to stay on to become the company’s head of marketing, an opportunity that was too good to pass up, so I stayed on in Beijing. Eventually, I did become an entrepreneur, but I never would’ve guessed it would be in food!

The concept for Yeyo came about in 2016. After my move to China, I started experiencing some health issues which spurred a big lifestyle change where I needed clean, plant-based yoghurt to heal my gut and balance my immune system. I developed something delicious and nourishing for myself and I wanted to share it with others.

I had moved from Queenstown, a pristine alpine town with a population of 20,000, to smoggy 2014 Beijing, population 20 million. My immune system went into overdrive and I became very allergic to various things, including dairy and eggs. My energy was always low and I suffered from severe eczema which had me wearing long sleeves and pants all through the sweltering summers so I could keep my sores from infection. I was desperate to get better. Through research, I learned about the importance of gut health to fortify immunity and discovered the perfect source of nourishing comfort in sugar-free coconut yoghurt on one visit home.

Yeyo markets to a target audience of 25-35-year-old Tier 1 city fashion and fitness-loving women

When I came back to Beijing, I couldn’t find anywhere to buy coconut yoghurt, so there was no other option but to make it myself. Being a foodie, I was focused on making it taste like a delicious yoghurt that just happened to be dairy-free so I could also share it with regular dairy-consuming friends. Turns out I didn’t do a bad job of it. Some friends with extra kitchen space in their restaurant invited me to make it there, and another friend who ran a gourmet farmer’s market invited me to sell it there – so I designed a brand for it, and Yeyo was born.

My entrepreneurial experience has been a journey with many chapters. It started out as a fun side project where I could hang out with chefs and create delicious food as a balance to a more corporate career. The business was small, simple and cash-flow positive. We were community-focused and only aimed to make enough yoghurt for our regular customers so we were often sold out. After a couple of years in this mode, I started to feel a growth in interest from the wider market for plant-based products and one day realised that the energy I was spending on my ‘side hustle’ was starting to equal that of my real job, so I needed to choose which path to go down. I discussed the business case with my sister (now my co-founder), who had a decade of experience in business strategy and FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) and we decided to go for it. I went out to raise some seed funding, she quit her job as a top exec at Heineken, and we set out on the path we’re on now.

Back then, I had no idea what the playbook for fundraising was, but I figured it was all about presenting the right idea to the right people so I drew on media pitching and PR principles from my previous career. First, you identify what your key story angle is and what community would be interested, then you network your way to presenting it to the most influential people in that community. Of course, there’s also luck involved and for me, I managed to connect with some influential players very early on, which was very fortunate as I was fundraising by myself since my sister had still not come on board full time. We’re currently in the process of closing our second round of funding and I would say one of the biggest differences is having a partner to work with – it makes the process more solid. Two brains are definitely better than one.

We’re currently in the process of closing our second round of funding and I would say one of the biggest differences is having a partner to work with. Two brains are definitely better than one.

We’ve faced so many challenges along the way, as with all startups. From financing to sourcing to hiring, we needed to build everything from scratch and it’s the first startup for both of us, so the learning curve is steep. The growth is what we live for though.

There’s certainly been significant growth in the market for dairy-free/plant-based products in the last couple of years. Sales for plant-based drinks grew 800% on Taobao in 2020, and there have been many new product launches since as the market grows more confident the trend is here to stay.

Yeyo co-founder Christiana Zhu

We started out online with our Tmall (Taobao) store so we could build some targeted brand awareness. We are now beginning to expand to offline channels in Shanghai and Beijing, starting with premium supermarkets. We’ve gone with a very niche brand play for our first product line, an indulgent sugar-free spoonable coconut yoghurt, so we currently focus our marketing efforts on working with influential brands and KOLs that resonate with our target audience of 25-35-year-old tier one city fashion and fitness loving women.

Fortunately for us, we were at the R&D stage for our commercial product during the worst of the pandemic so it did not derail our sales plans too much. If anything, it has been beneficial for packaged foods and premium foods in general as consumers are seeking healthier lifestyle upgrades now due to the pandemic. 

If I could give future China entrepreneurs one piece of advice, it would be to always be listening. The market changes fast and you will need to keep up both on product design and how to play to stay in the game.

The post Entrepreneur Spotlight: Christiana Zhu, Yeyo appeared first on Focus - China Britain Business Council.

Once the administration of Order No.248 (hereinafter referred to as the “administration”) comes into effect, the former provisions on the Administration of Registration of Overseas Enterprises Producing Imported Food, announced in 2012, will no longer be effective.

The new administration has been issued to implement provisions of the Food Safety Law on the registration of overseas food production enterprises that import food into China. It:

• Expands the registration scope of food production enterprises.
• Stipulates the methods of assessment and censorship on the imported food manufacturers’ registration, including paper audits, video assessments, on-site inspections, etc.
• Stipulates that some special types of food producers need to be recommended by their national (regional) authorities to the GACC for registration.
• Outlines that registration validity and renewal of registration will be extended to 5 years, which is the same as the validity of domestic food production licenses.

On the same day, GACC also released another new regulation worth noting among food suppliers overseas, the Administrative Measures on Import and Export Food Safety as GACC Decree 249.

The new policy will also come into effect on 1 January 2022, replacing many previous regulations, including Quarantine (AQSIQ) Decree 144, General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and the AQSIQ decrees related to the regulation of the import and export of dairy, meat, honey and aquatic products.

What does this mean for overseas brands in the food industry?

It is therefore necessary for overseas brands in the food industry to fully comprehend the impact of the new policy if they want a seat at the table when it comes to the imported food market in China. The main adjustments from the new policy include:

• The introduction of the concept of “conformity assessments of food imports.”
• The sales packages of imported health food and foods for certain dietary purposes must be equipped with printed Chinese labels instead of only affixed ones
• Imported fresh and frozen meat and aquatic food products require instructions on both the inner and outer packaging
• Manufacturers and operators of imported and exported food products are held responsible for issues related to their products

Foreign brands importing into China should pay particular attention to the section in the new policy regarding packaging regulations for certain types of products. Compared to the previous regulations for imported food introduced in 2013, the range of products that require printed Chinese labels on their sales packages has been extended to include sports nutrition, infant supplementary food, supplementary food for pregnant women and nursing mothers, formula products for medical use, and imported health foods.

Foreign brands importing into China should pay particular attention to the section in the new policy regarding packaging regulations for certain types of products.

The impact of the new regulations for overseas exporters and operators within the food industry in the Chinese market cannot be ignored. In order to meet the requirements of the policy changes for imported product packaging, overseas food brands will need to make adjustments to their packaging and ready these new designs within the next six months, before the regulation comes into effect. This will lead to a series of questions:

• Is there enough time for overseas food brands to get ready? Especially when taking into account various considerations such as budget reallocation, production coordination and marketing replanning
• Will these processes make financial sense for the brand?

Selling through cross-border e-commerce channels (CBEC) might be a worthwhile alternative, as it allows overseas food exporters to sell to Chinese consumers while they get ready for future export under the general trade model.

Selling products through CBEC channels such as Tmall Global offers overseas food brands a number of benefits:

• The CBEC platforms where the brands list their products can provide additional confidence to Chinese consumers as they trust the platform. This is especially true for brands that have limited recognition and presence in the market.
• The stores on the CBEC platforms will be owned by the brand instead of local distributors, which offers brands more control over in-market branding and ROI.
• The new regulation on imported food product packaging does not apply to CBEC, which suggests that brands, if unable to take action in time to be compliant, can still sell the stock that had originally been planned for general import through CBEC channels instead.

The post What do new regulations mean for overseas food exporters to China? appeared first on Focus - China Britain Business Council.

In 2009, Chinese consumers only made up 1% of the exports of Boston lobster from Canada or the US. Fast forward ten years to 2019, and the export volume had grown to 30%. Despite demand dropping during August 2020 due to fresh or frozen seafood being listed as a possible source of Covid-19 transmission, in the months that followed, demand has been recovering, with monthly imports catching up to pre-Covid-19 levels.

Nonetheless, many younger consumers made the shift to ready-to-eat products over fresh or frozen seafood, which some had previously avoided due to fears about the addition of preservatives or other artificial additives. Popular products among these consumers include self-heating hotpot packs or noodles.

Another trend that has led to the increase in interest in ready-to-eat products is the rising number of single, middle-class individuals living in cities, who lead busy and stressful lives that leave them with little time to cook for themselves. Seafood dishes pose an additional challenge to Chinese consumers due to complex preparation and cooking techniques, which has created a large market for ready-to-eat seafood products.

Ready-to-eat seafood products can easily be found on e-commerce platforms like Tmall and JD.com, with both foreign and domestic brands launching products that include canned tuna, seafood salad and grilled eel. John West, an Australian tuna brand, has been able to provide products that fit into this niche, offering both canned and ready-to-eat meal replacement tuna products. More and more domestic brands have also begun launching already cooked seafood products for sale.

These ready-to-eat seafood products have received positive feedback from young Chinese consumers. On the popular social media platform Xiaohongshu, there are nearly 10,000 articles or posts on the topic of ready-to-eat seafood.

The homepage of John West’s Tmall store

However, foreign brands looking to enter this niche market need to ensure that their products are premium, high-quality and healthy in order to compete with local brands. Important points of differentiation that need to be communicated through marketing can include the lack of additives or preservatives, and special packaging technology that ensures long shelf-life or freshness.

Important points of differentiation that need to be communicated through marketing can include the lack of additives or preservatives, and special packaging technology that ensures long shelf-life or freshness

In addition to a rising demand for ready-to-eat seafood products, smaller packaging formats are also gaining popularity in China because of smaller family sizes and the preference among the previously mentioned consumer group, working singles, to live alone. Often, younger working Chinese consumers will not purchase large quantities of groceries or food products at once due to their preference for fresh ingredients and their inability to consume all the produce before it expires. To adapt to these circumstances, Hema, a fresh food market that integrates online and offline channels, has launched a series of product packaging types that are smaller in size and specifically targeted towards this consumer group.

For seafood products, the reasons preventing Chinese consumers from purchasing large quantities at once is the relatively expensive price tags and the fear of food waste. As a result, reduced packaging for seafood products is also showing potential in the markets.

With Covid-19 largely contained within China, demand for seafood has recovered, although it has not quite reached pre-Covid-19 levels. For brands operating within the frozen seafood sector, ensuring that cold-chain logistics networks are completely safe and uncontaminated is now a necessary step. Before making a purchase, consumers can check to see if products were tested for contamination by Covid-19 at each step of the cold chain process. In fact, many e-commerce platforms in China have already implemented regulations that require seafood products to pass safety checks and proof of testing before they qualify for sale. Brands that are able to clearly provide testing results will be able to reassure consumers of the safety and quality of their products at the time of delivery.

The post Diving into the seafood opportunity in China appeared first on Focus - China Britain Business Council.

We met shortly after university and became friends before setting up Jacob’s Well. We are a total solution offering UK export, China import, marketing and distribution services for any product that fits on a pallet.

Zhong Shi’s parents’ company really is a Marks & Spencer penny bazaar-style success story. They started their business in 1987 selling seasonal fruit off the pavement in Harbin and have been in the food distribution business ever since: they’ve since built a wealth of expertise, with connections across China to support growth.

In 2014, Zhong Shi explained to me his frustrations with British businesses refusing to sell products to an established Chinese business. I decided to find out why. Picking up the phone myself, I discovered exactly what Zhong Shi said I would: mention ‘China’ to an international sales manager and they’d refuse to sell. After making several such calls, I realised it was because of the way UK business performs due diligence and the sales managers he had been speaking to were clearly biased after years of hearing industry anecdotes that weren’t always true.

Further analysis of the problem led to a marketing model that was transparent and verifiable for our UK based suppliers whilst serving the needs of our Chinese consumers. It wasn’t difficult, only really requiring some minor tweaks to our structure and governance and a new marketing message. With a marketing office established in Farnham in Surrey and regional offices in Shanghai and Harbin, we quickly established a geographic footprint that met the needs of our UK supplier base and supported Chinese consumers too.

Initially, we ran everything out of Harbin and Beijing, eventually opening our third warehouse in Shanghai in late 2018. We also formed a number of partnerships with local distributors in Tier 2 and 3 cities beyond our direct reach. The Jia family connections were an essential part of our rapid growth and we are very grateful to them.

Nibnibs is one British brand that Jacob’s Well recently launched in China

We use a combination of in-house intelligence, connections, feedback and market research to decide which products to sell. If we think we can sell a product and it fits a gap in our portfolio we are always happy to review it. One of the greatest influences on our selection of a brand is the attitude of the prospective UK manufacturer and their desire to get their market entry right.

All of our Scottish brands have been incredibly popular from day one. They each have their own strong identity, unique selling points and their offering hits the nail on the head for the consumer in China.

As with any market, it’s naïve to focus on a single sales or distribution channel. The supply channels in greater China are a single ecosystem that have codependencies. A brand may survive online but it won’t thrive until it’s visible in more than one or two online locations. That really has been Jacobs Wells’ strength from day one – the combination of having TMALL Classic, JD.com, Taobao and PinDuoDuo stores with product in warehouses in Shanghai or Harbin ready for shipping to China’s B&M retail or to the consumer with a same day/next day service has really allowed us to stand out as a visionary leader in the supply of British food and beverage (F&B) products.

Our message to British businesses around this is clear: China has some of the highest standards of governance in the world with rigorous enforcement – right first time is the best option.

Different regions have different product preferences, and this is where good product and market research comes in. It’s easier to sell products like preserves in larger jars in the north and products like gin in the cities along China’s eastern seaboard. Knowing the reasons why means knowing the consumer well.

Our biggest challenges come from the UK manufacturers and their ability or flexibility to adapt to China’s needs. The majority of our UK suppliers are amazing. They want to be successful in the Chinese F&B market and will do everything they can to ensure we are. Occasionally we’ll find a supplier has failed to listen to our advice or lowers its usual standards because they inappropriately believe they’ll get away with it because it’s China. The accuracy standards in the paperwork we require from our suppliers is reflected in the standards that we work to.  Our message to British businesses around this is clear: China has some of the highest standards of governance in the world with rigorous enforcement – getting it right first time is the best option.

We don’t have many surprises trading in China as what it is to be British and Chinese is built into the DNA of the company. We trade freely in an environment that is frequently misrepresented in the Western press. Anyone who comes to see our business and learn about our Chinese consumers, staff and their families will soon see how happy we all are, getting on doing the things that we love. Sharing the best of British food with the people of China.

We would advise any company looking to enter the Chinese market to pick up the phone. Have a chat, come with an open mind and a great product and we will do our best not just to sell it, but to sell it well. Jacob’s Well has an abundance of expertise in where to put marketing spend. We represent our brands across China throughout the year online and at trade shows like CIIE Shanghai, FHC Shanghai, Food2China Guangzhou, SIAL Shanghai and an abundance of local promotional events in our partner retailers and shopping malls.

Last year really saw us transforming our business. The pandemic has created an abundance of new opportunities and exponential growth in our online sales. Our online service offering is evolving rapidly and we’re now focusing on how we can deliver UK products to the consumer with sub one hour delivery times in Tier 1 cities. Things move fast in China.

To find out more about the Food and Drink sector contact Antoaneta.Becker@cbbc.org and to get in touch with Jacob’s Well email info@thejacobswell.com 

The post Wholesale distributor Jacob’s Well explain how to succeed in China appeared first on Focus - China Britain Business Council.