"If you don't go to sea, you're out." This is definitely one of the most popular economic slogans in the post-pandemic era.
Today, with the coexistence of global economic challenges and opportunities, "going overseas" has become a new wrestling ground for Chinese food and beverage brands.
For example, the well-known "hot goddess" Lao Gan Ma has now sold well in 80 countries and regions overseas, becoming a bottle of "Oriental Mysterious Condiment" that is hard to find.
The core products of Qiaqia melon seeds are sold in more than 50 countries and regions overseas, and have made market breakthroughs in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, the United States, South Korea and other regions.
Yili, the leader of China's dairy industry, has set up 15 R&D and innovation centers and 81 production bases around the world, building a global dairy system, and its products are sold in more than 60 countries and regions.
China's annual food exports have exceeded US$60 billion for many years, and this figure will soar to US$76.5 billion in 2023. There is no doubt that Chinese food and beverage brands are accelerating their entry into the world's supermarkets.
From Chinese brands going out to world brands becoming popular, Chinese brands are upright and innovative, opening up new paths in overseas markets, and singing all the way.
1. Why are Chinese food and beverage brands "going overseas"?
For the food industry, "going overseas" is not an easy task.
In addition to the supply chain, capital, trade barriers and market competition that all companies have a headache for, food companies also face thorny issues such as shelf life, taste differences, different eating habits and food safety regulations from country to country.
With the huge consumer demand in China's domestic market, why do food and beverage brands have to work hard to overcome many hurdles to compete for a piece of the pie overseas?
First, the domestic market is fiercely competitive, and "going to sea" is to seek a larger market.
Nowadays, the "involution" of domestic food and beverage brands is fierce, and it is difficult to have breakthrough growth points. Therefore, exploring overseas markets and seeking new overseas curves has become a new goal pursued by major food and beverage brands. On the other hand, consumers have also begun to pursue Chinese food. TikTok's global monthly active users exceeded 1.5 billion at the end of 2022, and the cumulative number of video views under the hashtag "Chinesefood" has reached 2.2 billion, which shows the world's attention to the taste of China.
Second, "going overseas" can improve the brand image and reputation, and add points in the hearts of domestic consumers.
"Going global" is the title of "international" for the brand, and having a global brand image will undoubtedly add a positive impression to the minds of Chinese consumers: even the products recognized by global consumers will inevitably be of high quality. At the same time, brands that are internationally recognized based on their sense of national identity and cultural self-confidence will inevitably win the favor of Chinese consumers.
Third, "going overseas" helps enterprises build a global network, introduce advanced technology, and obtain high-quality raw materials.
Expanding overseas markets can not only achieve new sales growth and increase brand reputation, but also help enterprises obtain new channels, new suppliers, new technologies and other resources and opportunities, and feed back enterprises to give better products.
"Going to sea" has become the choice of more and more Chinese food and beverage companies, so how to fight their way out of the encirclement surrounded by tigers and wolves at home and abroad, and seize the huge overseas market?
2. "Taste" is the key to the overseas expansion of food and beverage brands
"Taste" is the most important label of food, so that "Chinese taste" can adapt to the "world stomach", form product recognition, and then generate brand recognition, which is the key to the "taste of Chinese food and beverage brands going overseas".
People in different countries and regions have different dietary preferences, and this is exactly what the so-called "hard to reconcile" is. Therefore, the key to eating and drinking overseas is to deeply integrate and adapt to local dietary preferences on the basis of maintaining its original characteristics. In this way, we can promote the strategic upgrading of domestic food enterprises from the initial attempt of "going out" to the in-depth integration of "going in".
In Southeast Asia, with a population of more than 650 million, the ice cream market has great potential. Insight into the local people's preference for chocolate and other flavors, Yili's Cremo and Joyday continue to be popular in Southeast Asia.
In the Thai market, Want Want Group has been keenly aware of the possibility of merging the savory and cheese flavors preferred by local consumers with senbei, and has launched cheese and corn senbei, which has been widely acclaimed.
When Hsu Fu Chi went overseas to the North American market, it launched a non-fried version of red bean shaqima and 0 fat, 0 sugar and 0 calories of Chayan light jelly suckable jelly, creating a healthy, delicious and fashionable new title, which has received huge benefits.
3. From "Chinese" to "global", build a global brand
Be seen before you can be chosen. Chinese food and beverage brands not only need to occupy the shelves of the world market with "taste", but also need to seize the psychological cognition of consumers, that is, to build a reliable international brand image.
In overseas markets, popularity and credibility are important factors for consumers to buy domestic food and beverage products. To improve these two dimensions, the key lies in global brand building.
As the only dairy enterprise that has been ranked among the "Top 5 Global Dairy Brands" for many years and won the first "Top 30 Global Brands Going Overseas", Yili Group has made remarkable achievements in the process of globalization development, and its successful case of "globalization" has set a new benchmark for Chinese food and beverage enterprises to go overseas.
How did Yili dominate the dairy industry in the wave of going overseas?
The first is to make high-quality products seriously. Food quality is one of the most important criteria for consumers. Yili Group strictly controls the quality of its products, and is the first and only food enterprise in the world to pass the gold standard certification. SGS pointed out that this is a recognition of Yili's ultra-high quality management level from a global height, and it is also a direct proof of "Chinese quality is world quality".
Yili has built a number of overseas industrial bases, continuously upgraded equipment and optimized formulas, built a number of automated production lines, and adhered to the whole process of cold chain control, so that consumers can taste the best quality and taste of the products just off the production line, so as to enhance the favorability of Yili brand.
The second is to continue to expand the territory and enter the global market. Exploring new markets is the purpose and achievement of enterprises going overseas, and constantly expanding the market scale will help to enhance the brand's awareness and influence, thereby increasing sales and profits.
Yili explores the international market through international trade, overseas mergers and acquisitions, investment and self-construction, and builds a global market network. Today, Yili Group has built 15 innovation centers and 81 production bases around the world. Its liquid milk, yogurt, cheese, ice cream, milk powder and other products have been listed in more than 60 countries and regions around the world, Cremo and Joyday are popular in Southeast Asia, and Joyday ice cream has landed in Africa, and in 2023, Yili Group's overseas business revenue will increase by 10.08% compared with the previous year.
The third is to build global positioning. In order to achieve brand upgrading from "going out" to "going in", Chinese enterprises must have a global strategic positioning.
Yili's goal of "sharing health with the world" is to carry out brand marketing to global consumers from the strategic height of "the world". Yili's globalization is not only to integrate the world's high-quality natural resources, but also to establish a "global wisdom chain" through the integration of global standards, talents, intelligence and other resources, so that the wisdom across the world can be shared and collided. Yili continues to increase investment to build a "Global Dairy Health Ecosystem" that optimizes resource allocation and promotes win-win cooperation, so as to enhance the love and trust of global consumers for the brand.
From China's good products to the world's best brands, Yili has achieved a breakthrough in China's dairy industry going overseas step by step.
In the surging tide of new globalization, there is not only a vast world on both sides of the tide, but also a challenge of storms. Chinese food and beverage companies still have a long way to go in the journey of internationalization and globalization. In the face of a more complex overseas business environment, how to find new growth points in political frictions, market tilting and cultural differences not only requires enterprises to make more keen strategic decisions on products and brands, but also to make judgments on the world market situation from a global strategic height, constantly build an international organization structure and operation platform, and adapt to the laws and regulations and consumption habits of overseas markets with the backing of the scientific and technological heritage and supply advantages of the domestic base camp.
Only by finding the eye of the storm can we ride the wind and waves in this sweet wave of "going to sea" and achieve greater success.