New Zealand pure organic-certified milk producer AwaRua Organics is planning to expand their brand into China and they have chosen to do this from Australia.
New Zealand is known the world over for its rolling green hills, snow capped mountains, crystal clear air and rich, lush pastures. It is also home to some of the world’s best pure organic dairy products and while it has a brilliant reputation locally for creating stunning food it seems the task of getting noticed for this by overseas consumers can be a bit more difficult.
Reach China founder and CEO, Dr Mathew McDougall believes that Australia now leads the world in selling its fresh high quality produce to China, and it seems New Zealand produce brands have cottoned on and have now decided to ride on Australia’s coattails.
“Australia is considered by Chinese consumers as a trusted source of clean, pure and high quality products,” he says. “Not only does Australia have a fantastic reputation for high quality produce, we also have a large Chinese community who buy products and ship them back to their friends, family and others living in China. This community of professional shoppers, estimated at over 100,000 is known as Daigou, and can be a powerful channel for brands looking to establish a positon in China.
“Consumers in China still struggle to access and understand newer quality brands. Daigou shoppers are the perfect bridge to help their friends and family to access these high quality brands across the Australian marketplace.
“So with this mind, it’s easy to understand why some New Zealand brands are exploring an Australia position to support their launch of products into China. Our unique mix of Chinese Daigou and strong acceptance of ‘Brand Australia’ is a springboard for their brands’ launch into China”.
The launch of AwaRua Organics into China is taking place over a number of months and will include events in Sydney to connect Australian Daigou with the brand. Founders of the business will meet and greet with some leading Daigou shoppers and introduce them to the New Zealand brand and to take initial orders. AwaRua has appointed cross-border specialist, Reach China as their sole representatives in Australia to manage their launch and to take care of their local distribution.
“China is a huge market but unless the brand is valued in the home markets of Australia and New Zealand then China cross border cannot be fully realised,” Dr McDougall added.
“It is critical when trying to achieve success in China, that the brand builds profile, trust and credibility in Australia, particularly among the Australia-based Chinese Daigou community, before being launched into China. We called this process ‘cross-border brand incubation’.
“I believe China will fall in love with the AwaRua Organics brand. They produce organic whole milk powder meeting the needs of the whole family and there is strong demand for this type of quality product in China.
“Launching into China requires a step by step process and as we move through these steps, we hope to see the brand expand into China and eventually other countries as well.”