Wanting to take advantage of the opportunities the market represents is one thing, but understanding where the demand comes from is essential if one wants to undertake a successful journey. Too often do people think, just because the Chinese population is huge, that attracting only 1% of this consumer base is enough. Yet, one should treat this market as one treats any other: by understanding its characteristics. We thus encourage any company interested in this market to invest in research and development on a regular basis.

What then is at the origin of this growing demand for imported food?

First, a general increase in the population’s disposable income makes Chinese more prone to spend this extra money on imported and qualitative food products. China has indeed been switching a consumption-led growth which, combined with an increase in income, led to consumer spending per capita on food and beverage to increase by 21 between 2012 and 2017 (Chinese National Bureau of Statistics).

Foreign F&B products are thought to be more trustable, especially after a series of domestic food scandals. Again, people tend to spend the extra-income we touched upon on products associated with food safety and health.

Third, imported products are now easier to access, even passed the first tier cities. Both physical and online shops now offer a wide range of foreign products to the Chinese consumers.

If you are already familiar with the Chinese economy, you might already know how big the E-Commerce, in particular, is and how easy it is to find any product one can think of, either on Taobao, Tmall, JD, or even on WeChat stores.

Who would be your typical consumer?

• Monthly salary of 8000RMB
• Married with one child
• 1st tier city, those able to afford imported food even though it is spreading
• Purchases imported food 2-3 times a month

Source: General Administration of Customs, P.R. China

Because of the general rise in disposable income China experiences, the Chinese diets are evolving and integrating more and more meat products. The tastes are also evolving and, while Asians in general tended to not consumer a lot of dairy products, the trend is now inverting with them developing a taste for milk, yogurts, and cheese.

A category of products that has the wind in its sails are the so-called “health foods”. This particular market weighted more than USD 144.3 billion as early as 2016. In parallel, the organic food market has tripled since 2007. This concern for health and food safety, which is actually the most important criteria for consuming foreign products in tier one and two cities (IPSOS), leads consumers to pay extra money to access products they trust.

Once imported in China, for the qualities of your product to be recognized, you can investigate the possibility of being labelled as food with specific health functions (yet which do not treat diseases), or nutritional supplements.

Imported snacks are also pretty popular, which can only make sense in a society where commuting is becoming more and more common and thus on-the-go snacks an attractive option.

ASI Solutions has been offering for more than ten years a wide range of services and built-to-suit solutions to make exporting to China easier for you.

Discover our full range of solutions!

• Regulation advice: we are experts in Chinese, and also Vietnamese, regulations. We are able to advise you in order to tailor your export strategy.
• Resources and information: we provide you with the resources and information you need thanks to our tools and experts as to guarantee you a successful implantation.
• Logistics: working with us means you have access to all our infrastructures and services in order to guarantee a qualitative door-to-door service using our licenses (import/export) in China, for B2C and B2B.
• Distribution: ASI Solutions is also a distributor specialized in Fashion, Cosmetics, and F&B for the wholesale and Horeca sectors. As such, we often offer different collaboration methods for the distribution. We provide Supply Chain & Financing services to help you open new sales channels and assist you on your long-term development in China. We finally can directly purchase your products..
• E-Commerce: E-Commerce being booming in China, many companies use online selling as their preferred choice. We offer our clients the opportunity to work with our E-Commerce partners, which are among the most recognized in their field.
• Communication: take advantage of a network of experienced partners to administrate the social networks of your company in China.
• Administrative: we are strong of a solid regulatory expertise, we accompany you for your administrative needs.
• Finance: we help you manage your financial operation in China.

There is a real boom around foreign cosmetics in China, encouraged by specific factors. The surge in cosmetic and body care demand relies on a larger pool of new consumers that recently appeared: the post-90 and 95 generation.

The Millennial girls, born between 1985 and 1995, have been the first consumers of cosmetic products. Within this category, the 25-35 are actually earning more than their elders, and are willing to spend more in general for lifestyle and care products.

The Chinese consumers care more and more about quality, and are aware that a higher quality will be reflected into higher price. They are already keen on foreign luxury brand and are used to obtain them when they are travelling abroad.
The next generation will probably raise concerns about ethical issues, such as animal testing and natural ingredients.

Male are now catching up with female consumers: the sales volume linked to male consumption doubles every year, especially on skincare products.
Moreover, the range of products is evolving, boosted by advertisement and the increasing recognition of male celebrities and key opinion leaders, affirming in their post their daily make-up routine. Some tutorials now exist, teaching how to use make up and look like famous singers and actors.

To boost domestic consumption and foreign brands in the Chinese market, the Chinese government has considerably cut import tariffs in 2018. The import tariff rates on cosmetics was, on average, considerably reduced. For related personal care, the tax rates fall from 6%, even 4% for some products. Perfumes are currently under a 3% import tax.

First, you need to find a Chinese representative agent to start your business with an import license. This agent will be the importer and the legal entity responsible for product quality and safety. He is also the one accredited to apply to the different governmental agencies.

Then, you need to know that Chinese regulations divide cosmetics into two categories and this will influence the applicable Chinese standard and the next steps of the import process:

• The “non-special use” category gather products that will be under a European definition tag as make-up and perfumes, but also skin care (such as anti-wrinkle or any other moisture cream), nail care and hair care;

• The “special use” regroups products that deliver special and innovative treatment on your body. For instance, are included in this category hair dye, perm and growth, whitening, sun screen protection, deodorizing and spot removal.

If your product is classified as “special use” or contains an ingredient not imported yet in China, then you must apply for an hygiene license, delivered by the CFDA (The China Food and Drug Administration). Additional inspection and test must be done that will certainly influence your expected launching time on the Chinese market.

This application need to be made by your China representative agent. Testing should be made in one of the laboratory aggregated by the CFDA. Be aware that testing on animal are still mandatory for any cosmetics that are imported and sold on Chinese platform. Human safety tests are also mandatory for “special use” cosmetics.

A set of documents need to be compiled and presented for the application: list of ingredients, manufacturing process, evidence of use of the components and testing methods, certificates of quality standards, a certificate showing that the manufacturer is allowed to sell in the production country or country of origin, original and Chinese label and packaging as well as statement of undertaking on the no use of raw materials involving high risks substances. Within the following 4 months, the CFDA will deliver you the authorization to import your product in China.

Once you get the certificate, you will be able to start importing your product in China. The China Inspection and Quarantine bureau will inspect your goods. They may proceed randomly to some physio-chemical and microbiological tests on the shipment, checking the labelling as well, its format and content. If the shipment fails the routine inspection, goods will be destroyed. Compliance with the Chinese regulations is essential at every step, and your Chinese partner is here to guide you and avoid any slip-up.

With ASI Solutions, launching your product on the Chinese market becomes easier. With our comprehensive set of solutions, we handle compliance, import, custom clearance, labelling, logistics and financial flux on the behalf of our International customers. Strong of our 10-year experience on the Chinese market, we will give you all the necessary assets to perform on this market.

Did you know that China was the first worldwide producer and consumer of beers?

This fact should not make you afraid! China is still an interesting market for beer producers. Although Chinese wine market might start to congest, it is not the case of the other kind of liquors of which few have experienced China yet. In fact, Chinese consumers are willing to consume more imported products, including imported beers. Reputation of imported beers has increased over the last years, when Chinese beers were impacted by scandal and copycat. Fake alcohol have been spreading in China, but nowadays Chinese consumers are looking for higher quality products. However, they are worrying about appearances, and care more about social status. Consuming imported alcohol is also perceived as a distinctive sign of wealth.

Traditional retail channels are through wholesalers and supermarkets, but online sales are not outdone. Nowadays all the retails chains are also operating via online stores, and safe solution to deliver bottles are available. More and more consumers are ordering online. China counts 610 millions of online shoppers in 2018, an increase of 14.4% compared to 2017 (CNNIC, 2019). Delivery services are now able to carry more and more atypical goods, such as frozen, or even fragile bottles. Regarding this growing potential, an e-commerce strategy should be thought of for any goods imported in China.

For any Food and Beverages, producers and exporters need to be registered on the Chinese customs' website http://ire.customs.gov.cn/. The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, who is in charge of the quality control and the inspection, will accept that you export your product to China after delivering you a certificate. Without this certification, Chinese customs is able to confiscate and dispose of your goods. In that so, feasibility check need to be done upstream, in order to verify the compliance of each ingredient with the Chinese market. Send your Original label and ingredient details with their origin to ASI Solutions and we will manage this procedure on your behalf. You may proceed to some testing in laboratory.

Building your branding is a pre-requirement. It might take some time, but it is essential for Chinese consumers to know your brand, and be aware of your story-telling and the quality you deliver in your products. It will be also easier for you to open an online store on the biggest e-commerce platform, such as Tmall, Taobao and JD. Some other channels are available for the smallest brand, but be aware that branding will influence positively your sales and will increase your chance to stay longer on the Chinese market.

ASI Solutions has built strong partnership with the best agencies in Shanghai, who will take care of your marketing operations and reputation. Starting with a suitable marketing strategy focusing and understanding the Chinese consumers will ensure you for long-term establishment on this market.

When Chinese consumers know your brand better, after having read some articles and good reviews or seeing some key opinions leaders testing your goods, they now want to taste your product! You are now ready to import.

Basically, liquors will follow similar process as food imports:

• Certificate of health and phytosanitary are required and must be issued by the authority of the producer’s country.
• In the case of liquors, some additional certificate are required by the Chinese customs and authorities: Bottling certification, Grape variety, Medal award, Beer wheat concentration… ASI Solutions drafts a case-by-case solution, and will send you the exhaustive list of documents needed for your import business in China
• Last but not least, ASI Solutions will take care about the Chinese labelling, according to the Chinese regulations.
• Packaging can also be done, and is really important in the case of liquors. Do not forget that Chinese consumers are used to offer liquors as a present, so they will pay a particular attention to the visual of the packaging.
• When your bottles arrive in China mainland, you need to store We also can propose to store your liquors in our temperature controlled warehouse.

ASI Solutions will support you at each step of your business in China, and will take care of the project from its conception to delivery to the final consumer.

We used to handle more than 20 cases in Food & Beverages, and built our expertise to a 360 level. We will have a solution for you at each step of your supply chain and will consolidate your position on the Chinese market.

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