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BY THE SILK INITIATIVE
In 2015, 70 million Chinese consumers travelled abroad with an average of 1.5 trips per person and spending a total $104.5 billion while overseas – increases of 12% and 16% respectively.
Increases in personal income, the increased need for more “family togetherness”, relaxed visa policies and the appreciation of the Renminbi last year were key drivers of these increases. This year things have not been as rosy as China’s economic growth continues to decline, the Renminbi has been depreciating and the stock market has seen a lot of fluctuation. However, outbound travel is expected to continue to grow as more international legs departing from China are being added and consumer confidence remains high with salaries rising and unemployment low. According to a 2016 report by McKinsey entitled The Modernization of the Chinese Consumer, food and travel were identified as being two of the top categories in which consumers are most willing to spend.
Top destinations for Chinese tourists include other parts of Asia (including Australasia), Western Europe and North America. And they identify trying authentic, local cuisine as one of the most exciting experiences while travelling abroad. TripAdvisor has become their preferred tool for searching and finding local restaurants during their stays. And due to increasing online purchasing behaviour and consumers being constantly lured by retailers offering rewards, discounts and even cash in return for their reviews, Chinese consumers are becoming more accustomed, as their Western counterparts, at reviewing and rating their restaurant experiences.
So what does this mean for imported food and beverage brands interested in China? When the Chinese return from their travels, they seek ways to replicate their food experiences at home. In first- and second- tier cities, consumers have numerous options in which to replicate those experiences by visiting restaurants specialising in international cuisine as well as having accessibility to high-end grocery stores like Ole, City Shop and City Super, all with a variety of imported goods. In lower-tier cities, although there are limited numbers of restaurants specialising in international cuisine, consumers are still able to purchase imported products and ingredients through e-commerce sites like Tmall Grocery and Yihaodian – online stores specialising in grocery.
After our team reviewed some traveller reviews on social media platforms such as Weibo and WeChat, it did not take long to discover that consumers do not always find what they are looking for in China when they return from their travels abroad. Consumers often complain that there is a lack of variety, difficulty in finding authentic or similar quality of ingredients, and many products are often unavailable. When we polled a number of participants through WeChat some of the comments we have received included the following:
I had seafood pasta for the first time in a restaurant in New York, I tried to find the same dish once back in China but have yet to find a restaurant offering a comparable experience and taste. I ate a lot of steak and beef when I was in the States. The texture and quality of the meat there is truly different. It’s so moist and soft to chew! The beef in China has a very different texture and quality. I first had Kolsch beer when I was in Germany but when I came back to China, I couldn’t find this famous German beer anywhere. I really want to find it. It would be nice if there were more high-quality and popular local German beers here.
I had seafood pasta for the first time in a restaurant in New York, I tried to find the same dish once back in China but have yet to find a restaurant offering a comparable experience and taste.
I ate a lot of steak and beef when I was in the States. The texture and quality of the meat there is truly different. It’s so moist and soft to chew! The beef in China has a very different texture and quality.
I first had Kolsch beer when I was in Germany but when I came back to China, I couldn’t find this famous German beer anywhere. I really want to find it. It would be nice if there were more high-quality and popular local German beers here.
Five tips for brand owners to seize new buyer opportunity
Identify emotional needs. Identifying consumers’ emotional needs to your product help to engage consumers to your brand and a well thought out communication strategy both online and offline playing to these needs can help hook new consumers while keep existing ones.
Play up country of origin. Identifying country of origin through lockups, symbols/devices, use of royal credentials etc can help associate your brand to consumers’ memories and sought after tastes while they were abroad.
Identify unique processes and suggest recipes. Educating consumers on how your product is harvested, produced or sourced may remind consumers of places they visited or brand messaging they witnessed while travelling. Offering consumer engagement such as various ways to prepare and cook their favourite dishes also plays to consumers’ excitement about the product.
Messaging around high-quality ingredients. Chinese consumers still consider many imported brands to be safer and of higher quality than local ones. Therefore talking actively about the ingredients within your brand as being high quality helps ensure consumers that your brand will provide the same taste and experience they appreciated while on their travels.
Imported and differentiated packaging. An understanding of which elements of your package should be translated into Chinese and which should not are crucial to ensure consumers believe your brand is fully imported rather than shipped from abroad and repackaged in China.
Shanghai-based The Silk Initiative is a specialist in Chinese food and drinks brand strategy.
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024