China's Confidence in Local Food & Beverage
The past week has seen a flurry of statistics circulated about food safety in China, which has a silver lining for anyone exporting food and beverage to China. The most eye-opening statistic is that 61% of Chinese consumers are less confident about local food and beverage than they were last year (more below). Perceptions appear to be getting worse, not better, since the Asian Development Bank estimated in 2007 that as many as 300 million Chinese are affected by foodborne diseases annually.
But opportunities in China obviously span far wider than just feed and water, and this week's skinny has the usual scoops, pointers and recommendations to help you tap into them. As always, please share the love and pass this onto anyone who may find it useful, as James M. Barrie once said, "Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others, cannot keep it from themselves.”
Understanding Chinese Consumers
Meet The New Consumers: 43% of Chinese consumers willing to try new and untested products (the global average is 32%), this and some other good insights into the new Chinese consumers.
Asia's Shopping Passion Cools: Asia's shopping obsession may be softening, but China growth still up 13% for July from last year - and leading the growth
Branding in China
The Values Behind Brand Value: A good perspective on how what motivates Chinese to buy brands, and how it differs from the West.
Foreign brands retain status in China: Many consumers in China continue to regard foreign brands as being more premium than their local competitors.
Remaking 'Made-In-China': 83 slides, but worth a read for a good perspective on how Chinese brands can rise to take on the worlds best - there's a big emphasis on Corporate Social Responsibility in there.
Food & Beverage
Chinese Consumers Turn Toward Imported Food: As above, 61% of Chinese consumers are less confident about local food and beverage than they were last year, and 28% plan to buy more imported stuff. Dairy is the most purchased import at 77%.
Wine Imports Give Chinese Firms A Hangover: Anyone who's drunken Great Wall probably won't be surprised by this: wine imports now 25% of the market, up 12% in volume and 24.1% in value for the year.
Chinese Wine Market Still Reliant On 'Business Purchases': A big portion of wine purchases in China are still for gifts. A third of wine purchasers account for 60% of sales.
Internet & eCommerce
5 Lessons On How A Business Can Get a Stronger Web Presence In China: Our view on why your website is so important in China and some valuable lessons for it.
Chinese Online Fashion Retailers Revive the Global Fashion Industry : Is it China's online fashion retailers keeping European designers and sewers in business? Some good insights into Chinese eCommerce in there.
Mobile Phones
5 Things Every Mobile Game Developer Should Know About Chinese Players: Mobile apps/games are a great way to reach Chinese consumers and here are some good insights into developing them and the Chinese using them.
Luxury Goods
Chinese Luxury Consumers Than American Consumers 25 years Younger: The average luxury consumer in China doesn't have silver hair - they're 25 years younger than in the US and 15 years than Europeans.
Chinese Consumers Of Luxury: A high level outline on the Chinese consumer segments purchasing luxury goods.
Bicycles
Chinese cyclists in high-end gear change: A good example of another category Chinese consumers are going upmarket. Here's hoping this is a taste of things to come and more Chinese get out of cars and onto bikes.
That's the skinny for the week! If you've missed earlier news or need to learn more, there's a trove of information about Chinese consumers in prior China Skinny Weeklys right here. You can have this delivered to your inbox each week by subscribing for email updates, or if social media is more your thing, please follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Linked In or Google+, or subscribe to our RSS feed. If you have any feedback or suggestions for future articles, please let us know.
