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How can global food & beverage innovations succeed in the world's largest consumer market?

China a huge food & beverage market

China is the world’s largest food & beverage market worth over £360 billion ($550 billion / €440 billion). Increasing disposable income and urbanization, an improving logistics system, growing concerns about food safety as well as an expanding taste for foreign foodstuffs are positive indicators for exporters wanting to capture a share of this exciting market. Of course its fragmented distribution infrastructure and growing local competition present a host of challenges to UK food & drink brands, however partnering with local experts and taking care to respect & nurture "guanxi" will go a long way to encouraging success. 


Will the Great British Food Unit help turbo-charge UK exports?

In 2015, UK food & drink brands exported £238 million ($357 million / €285 million) worth of tea, pork, processed milk and other food stuff to China, making the country a top 10 export market for the first time. Still, that only equates to just over half of 0.1% of food & drink sales in China which offers enterprising UK brands a huge opportunity - hopefully helped by the recently announced establishment of a Great British Food Unit with its aim to "turbo-charge" UK food exports. No doubt Tony Lamb, Tim Render, Rob Furse and others at the GBFU (an unfortunate acronym) will be focusing considerable effort on cracking the Chinese market.

Getting Chinese consumers to say "Yes, please" 是的, 请.

Still, it won't be easy to get Chinese consumers to say "Yes, please" 是的, 请 to more UK food & drink brands. As one of the world's oldest civilizations, Chinese food & drink cuisine is widely seen as representing one of the richest and most diverse culinary heritages in the world. It originated in different regions of China and has been introduced to other parts of the world - from Southeast Asia to North America and Western Europe. I have personally begun to appreciate deeply its enduring tea culture through a green tea brand #startup that I co-founded last year with Dr Hua He [Tg brand website] but there is so much more to understand in order to tailor food & drink to suit a somewhat deceptively discerning palate.

Sharing insights at the upcoming Food & Beverage Innovation Forum 

I have deep experience innovating in/for global food & drink companies (Coca-Cola, Mars, Unilever, Kraft/Mondelez) and even in launching my own beverage startup here in London UK. As part of my journey to understanding what drives the Chinese consumer to make food & drink purchase decisions today, I attended the Global Food & Beverage Innovation Forum in Shanghai on April 20-22. It is in my view the most influential food & beverage conference in the Asia-Pacific region and offered a unique opportunity not just to share global consumer & market insights but also to discuss potential collaborations with both Chinese and foreign owned companies targeting the hearts and minds of the now more than 825 million urban population. 

I was delighted to get the chance to speak at the event alongside - among others - Stephen Maher (President, Mondelez China), Pierre-Alain Ceralli (VP R&D, Mengniu Dairy Group), Helle Petersen (VP, Carlsberg), Justin Comes (R&D VP, Mars), Xavier Tholey (VP, Unilever), Jesper Colding (SVP, Arla Foods) and Helen Luan (GM, Tencent). My presentation topic was on global plant wellness trends and their impact on beverage development both in China and abroad. I also co-hosted a tasting session involving new & emerging beverage categories sourced from around the world.

If you would like to discuss this topic in more detail, please get in touch via Linkedin (link to profile HERE) or via Twitter (link to handle @sophia_isa HERE) or via WeChat ID snadur.
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