E-commerce and clean, green NZ image just the tonic
Kiwi natural healthcare company Artemis is reaping the benefits of China’s reliance on traditional plant-based medicines.
China accounts for about 80 per cent of Artemis’ exports, and about half of its total sales, making the region an important focus for the company.
General manager Leigh Kite said New Zealand’s reputation has meant Chinese consumers want to experiment with Western herbal medicine, which they think is safe.
‘‘The clean and green image is very important and a big advantage for us,’’ Kite said.
‘‘There’s a trust in foreign products that Chinese consumers don’t have in their own products.’’
Although Artemis attracted a niche market in China, proportionately, the overall market was still very big.
‘‘When you’re growing quite rapidly it’s important not to spread yourself too thin.
‘‘We’re solely focusing on China because the market in itself takes a lot of resource.
‘‘It’s important to remember it is so diverse and has many regions within it.’’
The business overall has seen 300 per cent growth in the last three years.
Artemis has been exporting to China through e-commerce and the diagou (personal shopper) channel for two years to avoid the country’s ambiguous regulations surrounding healthcare.
Diagou, which translates to ‘buy on behalf’ are personal shoppers who sell products to individual Chinese consumers through social media sites such as WeChat and Weibo and websites like Taobao (the Chinese equivalent of Trade Me). The first Artemis product registered for regular trade and distribution into China was thyme and lemon tonic, which did not require animal testing as it fell under the food category, Kite said.
Establishing distribution channels for products could be arduous.
‘‘The regulations keep changing, but that’s out of our hands. One has to be flexible when dealing with China.’’
Businesses wanting to expand to China would need to be able to effectively communicate with Chinese consumers and, apart from the language, also had to be digitally literate with a focus on e-commerce and social media marketing.