Multinational corporations are making efforts to offer Chinese consumers products and solutions to meet their increasing demand for a healthier life, senior executives said at the sixth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai.
United States consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble has been participating in the CIIE for five consecutive years. At this year’s CIIE, it showcased about 70 products across 20 brands from nine categories.
Among them are its oral hygiene brands Oral-B and Crest, which are eyeing the opportunities brought by increasing awareness and demands for oral health among Chinese consumers.
Bringing the latest iO Series 3 electric toothbrush to the expo for its China debut, Oral-B hopes to contribute to the education of oral hygiene.
“P&G holds the corporate strategy of improving lives, and we are very committed to China as a market place where we see great potential,” said Neal Reed, senior vice president of Oral Care Greater China at Procter & Gamble.
“In fact, our research tells us there are about 2.5 billion consumers in the world who suffer from cavity related issues, many of which suffer in pain, in China. And unfortunately, we believe that about 89 percent of the Chinese population have cavity or oral health related issues. What’s even more worrying is that 79 percent of children at a very early age also have cavity issues. That’s something that we’re very committed to working on,” Reed added.
“There is a huge opportunity for us here, and we are committed to unlocking it with a focus on trying to bring technology to drive sustainable daily habits that can help to empower consumers to improve their oral health,” he said.
Besides offering the latest technologies and products, Reed pointed out that they will also contribute to the Healthy China 2030 Initiative and support the social welfare in China, with continuous efforts to drive more awareness and education of oral health and oral hygiene.
As a six-time CIIE participant, French yeast and fermentation product provider Lesaffre Group also saw the rising focus on health in China, and continued to offer consumers fashionable and healthy products featuring local ingredients this year.
“Starting from the fourth CIIE, we have been working with local companies like LYFEN to develop fashionable and healthy new products using China’s specialty ingredients such as Highland barley. The products we launched have achieved success in terms of both influence and sales,” said Brice-Audren Riche, CEO of the Lesaffre Group.
During this year’s CIIE, the group has announced cooperation with LYFEN again. Turning their eyes to Yuanyang county in Southwest China’s Yunnan province, the two sides will jointly develop new products using local high-quality specialty red rice and buckwheat.
“This year happens to be the 170th anniversary of Lesaffre’s establishment. We are grateful to the CIIE for giving us an opportunity to showcase our milestones. We will further deepen our presence in the Chinese market and contribute to the diets and health of the Chinese people,” said Riche.
In addition to increasing demand for healthy food for themselves, Chinese consumers are putting more emphasis on their pets’ health as well.
China’s pet market has shown steady and rapid growth in recent years. According to a report by iResearch, a market intelligence company, China’s pet market scale is expected to exceed 800 billion yuan ($109 billion) by 2025.
“Notably, China’s cat food market is gradually emerging and showing strong growth momentum. Chinese pet owners are paying more attention to pet health and nutrition, and are tending to choose high-quality, natural, healthy and nutritious pet food,” said Su Qiang, president and managing director of General Mills China, at a forum held during at the sixth CIIE.
To seize the opportunities coming with the booming pet market in China, Blue Buffalo, a high-end pet food brand of General Mills first introduced to China two years ago, announced its official launch in the Chinese market through all distribution channels during the expo.
“China’s pet market is one of the most attractive markets globally, with rapid growth and plentiful opportunities. We see that Chinese pet owners are likely to treat their pets as a family member, thus they will reflect their own demands onto their pets’ needs, which is a characteristic of China’s pet market and makes healthy pet food in increasing demand,” said Su.
Source：chinadaily.com.cn
Post time: Nov-22-2023