How to find your target customers in Chinafinnishfoodinnovations.fi/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/How-to-find-your-target-customers...• Products with high demand of imported food –

© Natural Resources Institute Finland © Natural Resources Institute Finland

Presentation prepared for IDEAFLOW -työpaja 26.4.2018

Xing Liu

Policy and Market

Luonnonvarakeskus (LUKE)

[email protected]

Wechat: guokeliuxing

How to find your target customers in

China

Presentation prepared for IDEA FLOW työpaja 1

mailto:[email protected]

© Natural Resources Institute Finland 2 Presentation prepared for IDEA FLOW työpaja

Where can afford Finnish food? - Chinese GDP in provincial level


Where can afford your products?


© Natural Resources Institute Finland

Who spending money in China – Rankings

5 Presentation prepared for IDEA FLOW työpaja

1. Single young girls

2. Married ladies

3. Children

4. Elderly

5. Dog

6. Men


To know Before Reach to Chinese customers

• China is set to be the biggest importer of food products in the world.

• Chinese are the biggest consumers of food online.

• The surge in demand for imported food products is prompted by:

– China’s middle class growing demand.

– The surge of e-commerce/on-line food purchases.

– Food safety problems

– Strong Chinese currency, domestic inflation, and higher costs in China have

made foreign food products more affordable.

– Exploding Chinese outbound tourism helped Chinese seek foreign cousins.

• Digitalization and specialization in food retailing

• More opening policy to international food market (lower imported taxes)

• Imported food market in China is very competitive

– Consumers are resourceful and collaborative. Poor consumer feedback

tends to travel fast and wide. Customer service and product consistency

are highly valued.

– Shoppers are patient in their purchases in order to evaluate a product’s

brand, public status, safety, and price relative to available substitutes.



Before reaching customer – Know trends of foreign food in China

• Internet and mobile are becoming the main buying channels of imported

food for Chinese consumers

– Tmall/Taobao/, JD/1haodian are overwelming market leaders

– Through multichannel online channel: Daigo, foreign online retailers,

country malls, own flagship shops.

• Products with high demand of imported food

– Traditional commodity: meat, dairy product, fresh and processed fruits,

oil, fish preserves, sweets and liquors

– Functional food, health supplement – for babies and elderly especially

– Japanese, Korean,Italian Pasta, Australian Steak and Canadian ice drink

are the most popular foreign foods/drinks

• High trust in foreign brands

• Adjust products to suit the Chinese palate:

– it may be necessary to adapt products to the taste of consumers,

although this factor will depend on the province where they are marketed.

• Younger generation willingness to pay for foreign food is high.



Data source: Nielsen


Oppotunity vs.risk of Finnish food exporters to China

Opportunities Challenges

• Growing middle class in China

• Increasing disposable income in China

• Healthy eating trend in China

• Good image of food made in Finland

• Online/mobile shopping is prevalent

• Crossborder e-Commerce (CBEC)

• Political friendship with Finland (US-China

conflict might benefit EU agi-food industry)

• Growing Chinese tourists to Finland and

social media help enhance consumer

awareness of Finnish food products

• China more open to global market

(reduction on imported taxes)

• Foreign private label popularity

• Chinese overseas investment is used as

shortcuts to technology, brand upgrade,

and new resources

• Finnair multiple flights to China

• Emerging railway road from Kouvula-Si’an

• Increasing competition

from other EU

• Market access issues

• Cultural differences

• Lack of brand awareness

• Channel choices

• Import tariffs

• Short shelf-life due to long

distance transportation

• Package size and labeling

differences

• Currency exchange rate

• Organic recognition

• Changing regulations

• Counterfeit

• Innovation circle is short

(1.5 years)



Key difference between Chinese and Finnish consumers

Chinese consumers Finnish consumers

Extremely diversified Quite homogenous

Loyalty for food brands is low Loyalty for food brands is higher

Do not trust domestic products Trust products made in Finland

Mobile shopping more common Internet shopping

Alipay or wechat pay Cards

Rely on social media and what others

say about products

More independent decision

Shop in a marketplaces where

comparison is possible

Shopping in difference marketplaces

Demanding assurance more

(require more info origins, valid days.)

Trust what is stated in package

Demanding customer service

Complaints are common

Used to self services

Complaints are unusual

Shopping online is lifestyle Shopping online is a way of shopping



Before reaching customer – Know Chinese life up-to-date


Fast Life - Shopping online for Chinese is life style


Slow Life –Travelling abroad is life experience


Where Chinese know about foreign food?

• Self channel:

– Lived in foreign countries

– Travelled in foreign countries

– Been foreign restaurants

• Other channel:

– Social media (wechat, weibo, ….)

– Digital market place Taobao/Tmall/JD

– Traditional media – hard advertisement, promotion

– Movies + TV programmes

– Searching engines (Baidu not google)

– Bloggers (Bo Zhu), Wanghong (internet celeberties)

– Physical shops

• Cross-border free trade zone (good for testing skus for

Chinese)

– Promotion sales in different shows, expos 14 Presentation prepared for IDEA FLOW työpaja


Best digital marketing ways to reach chinese customers – Social

media



Chinese-in-Finland OA

Food from Finland OA

Tourism Official OA Company OA

What Finnish food company to do to let some Chinese know first


What Finnish food might sell well in China

• Can be found in Taobao, Tmall /JD or searching engine Baidu

• Under a big name – Made in Finland/Arctic food/Nordic food

• Strong partners in China (skillful at marketing and networking)

• Confidence in food safety and ingredients’ integrity

– Food from Finland give a good image

• Modern packaging

– Simple and clear instruction/recipes

– Nordic sign

– Convenient to use

• Variety

– Group of products – enough variety to try at the beginning….

• Nutritional value/Functionality

– Less sugar or sugar free, lactose free, high protein, low calories

– Food/nutrition supplement

• Long enough valid date



Who Chinese are mostly interested in Finnish food

in China?

• Emotional attached groups:

– Lived in Finland

– Travelled in Finland

– Relatives/friends living in Finland

• Have heard about Finnish food from

– Other Chinese by social media (bloggers, internet

celebrities etc.)

– Traditional media channels

• TV series/movies/shows

– Exhibitions

– Advertisement

• Younger generation (Born after 1980s)



What to do to reach your customers? – First Finland

• Wechat account

• QR code need to be ready on all the promotion material

• Start to work on Chinese living here in Finland

– Sponsoring activities

– Participating social networking

– Organizing workshops

– Testing your products –especially what they don’t like

• Taking care of coming Chinese tourists

– Working together with local restaurants, vehicals (Finnair,

VR, taxi, tourist bus companies)

– Working with Alipay Finland

– Working with tourism agency, tourism offices (visitFinland,

visitLapland, visit****)

– Interact with Business Finland



What to do to reach your customers? – Second

International • B-B ----------Actively

– Expos, trading affairs

– Matchmaking activities organized by Business Finland

– Forums organized

– Others

• B-C

– Wechat channel promotions

– Searching engines Baidu (Chinese google)

– Through distributors

– Online buyers

– Expo vistors

– Others



What to do • Know your company financial capability first!!!

• Visit different Chinese restaurants in Finland and in China

• Know the selling points of your products – the ”most”, ”unique”

• Set up a goal in Chinese market –

• Testing your SKUs and find the product hero for Chinese market

– Cross-border trade/Ecommerce could be options

• Learning from fast growing service economy in China

– Variety of business models

– Time is money

– Online+offline, retail+catering+home delivery combination (i.e. Hema

Fresh)

– Automated Shelf sales

– How to utilize Alibaba , JD and Tencent

– How to work on Chinese mobilepay system

– Service mind: Be proud of your products, be modest in serving



CBEC- Join in Tmall/JD is an option: K-group vs. own shop


• Good way to select your own ”Best seller” with traffic and sales

volume.


PIRKKA 78,01%

Biokia 9,45%

Fazer 6,99%

Paulig 2,16%

Roberts Berrie 1,99%

Finn Spring 1,06%

others 0,34%

Tmall shops Sales value RMB Units

Average Price

RMB

Sales/day

RMB Units sold/day

Myllyn paras 211900 7026 30,15 7062 234

Kesko 392900 10511 37,38 13100 350



Daigou

Kesko

Pre-orders

Dif

ficu

lty D

eg

ree f

or

su

pp

liers

Po

ten

tial S

ale

s V

olu

mn


Thank you!

Presentation prepared for IDEA FLOW työpaja 25

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How to find your target customers in Chinafinnishfoodinnovations.fi/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/How-to-find-your-target-customers...• Products with high demand of imported food –