Kaola.com joins with Danish supermarket

China-based cross-border e-commerce platform kaola.com signed an agreement on Wednesday with Denmark’s supermarket chain Irma to bring Danish brands to the Chinese market through the platform.

According to the agreement, Irma, a subsidiary of Coop Denmark A/S, will first sell its own coffee, chocolate, marmalade, personal care products and children’s clothing through Kaola, the e-commerce arm of Internet giant NetEase Inc.

The range will then gradually be extended to include ecological and eco-labeled groceries.

Coop CEO Peter Hoegsted said there is huge growth potential in China for high-quality Danish goods, especially among middle-class consumers.

“Irma has a unique long history with ecological, quality-assured and thoroughly controlled products. Therefore, it is in fact natural to make these products available to Chinese consumers,” Hoegsted told reporters at the signing ceremony at the group’s headquarters in a suburb of Copenhagen.

Zhang Lei, CEO of the Hangzhou-based Kaola, said her company wants to bring healthy organic and certified products to China and sees great benefits in Irma’s strong supply chain.

Zhang revealed that the Danish groceries from Irma will be available on kaola.com from October on a trial basis.

Founded in 1886 in Copenhagen, Irma is owned by Coop, the largest grocery company in Denmark, which has a history of over 150 years.