Market Status and Development Analysis of Imported Candies
11/15
2013
Imported candies, as a rising force in the Chinese candy market, have emerged in recent years, especially in developed cities. Imported candies have the following characteristics: Firstly, most products have unique shapes and packaging; secondly, product prices generally follow a high-end route; thirdly, the consumer group is relatively concentrated, mainly children, teenagers, and young women.
One Analysis of Current Channels for Imported Candies
Currently, the channels for imported candies are relatively single, mainly candy specialty stores. In domestic traditional candy channels such as supermarkets, wholesale markets, and wedding shops, imported candies are rarely seen. This is mainly due to their higher retail prices and unique shapes, making it difficult for them to enter and establish themselves in traditional channels.
Two Problems Encountered by Imported Candies in Market Development
1. How can imported candies expand within their existing main channels? Currently, imported candies are mainly sold through specialty stores. To improve the main channels, the expansion of specialty stores is a challenge. The expansion of specialty stores involves issues such as store management and brand operations. For many importers of imported food, this represents a transition from a trading company to a retail company. Difficulties may arise here.
2. The rise of domestic leisure food specialty stores has impacted the main channels of imported candies. Candy specialty stores are not only specialty stores for imported candies; many domestic leisure food specialty stores also operate candy businesses. For example, Laiyifen, Snack Workshop, Niu Chu, and Weiluotx are leisure food operators that also exist in the form of specialty stores and have achieved good results. These brands have already surpassed specialty stores specializing in imported candies in terms of channel expansion.
3. The issue of channel extension. If imported candy companies want to achieve a larger market share in the Chinese market, they must face the challenge of entering the main channels of the Chinese candy industry: supermarkets, wholesale markets, and wedding shops. Wedding shops may be a relatively easier market to break into for imported candies. Firstly, this market does not yet have prominent brands; secondly, the target consumer group of this market is mostly young people from the 80s and 90s, who are more likely to accept new things. Therefore, imported candy companies can develop more novel marketing methods that appeal to young people.
Three Matters to Note When Importing Candies
With the implementation of the Food Safety Law, supervision of food, including imported food, will inevitably be strengthened. Issues such as food safety inspection marks and Chinese labels should be noted. In previous market visits, the author found that many imported candies lacked food safety inspection marks and Chinese labels. This issue could be ignored in the past, but it must now be taken seriously.
In the future, when selecting imported candies, it is not only necessary to consider the novelty and large price difference of the products, but also to consider adopting a manufacturer-agent cooperation model with foreign candy companies. Otherwise, it will be difficult for sole agents to compete with large domestic candy companies.
Another important point is to accelerate the introduction of new products. Compared with domestic candy companies, many large foreign candy companies have stronger R&D and market research capabilities. Therefore, for agents, in addition to providing ideas for new product design for manufacturers, it is necessary to accelerate the introduction of new products to achieve the strategy of using speed to counter scale in marketing.
Four Future Prospects of Imported Candies
Looking ahead, imported candies face both challenges and opportunities. The main challenges are:
Brand: At present, the purely agency-based business model of imported candies will face fierce competition from domestic candy brands. This is because the current market position of imported candies mainly relies on the novelty of packaging and products. However, for some candy manufacturers in Quanzhou, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, the novelty of packaging and products is no longer a secret weapon. Therefore, many domestic companies, seeing the considerable profits of imported candies, will certainly find some candy manufacturers to imitate and follow up, competing with imported candies.
Channels: Will face competition from the gradually formed domestic leisure food specialty stores. As mentioned earlier, the rise of many leisure food specialty stores has created direct competition with imported candy specialty stores.
In addition to certain difficulties, imported candies also have market opportunities that operators need to seize. Firstly, the rise of the younger generation of consumers, who prefer some well-known foreign candy brands, will attract more consumers to buy imported candies; secondly, with the continued deepening of China's reform and opening up, more foreigners will come to China for business and tourism. The arrival of more foreign consumers will also bring more business opportunities for imported candies.
----Excerpt from "China Candy Magazine"
Zhaoquanying Town, Shunyi District, Beijing, China