Best of British WeChat brings goods to Chinese consumers
FOOD and drink companies in the South West have begun selling their products in China via an online store launched by Bristol-based chamber of commerce Business West.
The initiative, called The Great British Food Store, is currently supporting 14 businesses in the region to break into the Chinese market using the country’s largest social media platform WeChat.
WeChat has a user base of 1.2 billion people with 40% of all Chinese e-commerce taking place on the platform.
Business West’s commercial director James Monk said that companies were increasingly recognising demand for British food and drink brands among China’s growing middle class as a “great sales opportunity”.
A report published last year by the Food and Drink Federation, showed that in 2020, while UK exports of food and drink fell for the first time since 2015, exports to China grew by 0.3%.
Business West is collaborating on the project with Regroup China, a digital marketing agency which specialises in Chinese cross-border e-commerce, and Elanders, an international logistics company based in North Tyneside that has 11 operations in China.
Elanders oversee the shipping and re-labelling into Chinese of goods. They are then stored at the firm’s bonded warehouse in Shanghai, with Chinese customers able to order deliveries to their homes within 24 hours.
Elanders managing director Kevin Rogers said: “This crossborder e-commerce solution offers the simplest model for UK brands to sell to Chinese consumers and expand their export footprint.
“As the Chinese travel, they get a taste and palate for foreign goods, and they have a really good affinity with the UK. They see British products as having heritage and high quality.
“This initiative by Business West is right on the money because e-commerce in China is massive. They buy everything online and WeChat is a very powerful tool.”
Among the South West companies to begin trading in China via The Great British Store are Filberts Fine Foods of Glastonbury, Somerset, who produce snacks such as nuts, olives and cured meats.
The company’s managing director Mark Taylor said: “The activity and exposure provided by working with the WeChat programme is great for the brand and business. It made a great deal of common sense to become involved early on.
“Business West has been the conduit to rapid export exposure and sales growth and their professionalism and knowledge base are a valuable asset for any business thinking about export.”
Chris Lilley, the co-founder of family-run Lilley’s Cider in Frome, Somerset, has also joined the platform in a bid to get a foothold in a country they have long wanted to sell to.
Mr Lilley said: “It is a market we have been actively looking at for some years with no avail. So, with the help of the WeChat Campaign, we are excited to see how we can break into the Chinese market and hope it helps us bring our passion of cider and perries to the Chinese market.”