Today, seven lectures and panel discussions will review a number of important trends in the Chinese fresh produce industry, including: retail, import statistics, direct sourcing and product traceability. In between the discussions, guests and speakers can meet up during networking breaks as well as at lunch. Participation and attendance seems to be similar to last year, with a couple of new faces in the crowd.
Retail trends
He Chun Lei, the CEO of Tmall Fresh, part of the Alibaba Group, highlights changes in the retail landscape. Regarding ‘traditional retail’, retailers do not know who their clients are, or what the audience is buying specifically. On the contrary, online retailers such as Alibaba, have huge data acquisition and data mining resources and can track spending patterns and customer profiles. This data brings advantages in terms of knowing which are the right products for the right buyers. Tmall Fresh is using these insights to help international providers to enter and succeed through online sales in China.
The Chinese market is competitive and brands have to find ways to position themselves successfully. George Liu, CEO at Frutacloud, presents a go-to-market strategy for fresh produce exporters to China. Having worked previously for Amazon and Google in the US, Mr Liu brings together international as well as IT experience. According to Mr Liu, five steps to successful online produce sales in China include: “The creation of a story, and a Chinese name, that Chinese consumers can relate to. Size selection and suitable packaging are key to maximise returns on products. Through the right media partners and sales channels a brand can be introduced to the market. Finally, new emerging marketing formats, such as marketing though Wechat or live broadcasting by celebrities, can give brand recognition and visibility a boost.”
Direct sourcing
Peter Zhu is a general manager at Pagoda, a Chinese fresh fruit chain store with over 1,650 outlets across China. Fruit chain stores are a concept quite unique to China, where it has been very successful. A company like Pagoda competes with traditional retail, as well online platforms. According to Mr Zhu, sales of imported produce will continue to grow. One of the challenges the company is facing is the availability of products, and the sourcing of the rights brands and varieties to supply to China.
Lectures will continue to take place throughout the day. Yesterday, the PMA organised a number of roundtable business meetings, where international suppliers were given the opportunity to meet with Chinese retailers and import companies. Tomorrow, a guided tour to a number of retail concepts and fresh produce markets will be organised in Shanghai.
Freshplaza will publish follow-up articles as well as photo reports in the days to come.
