For the Italian food exports, China is the market which, together with the United States, is developing at the highest growth rate (+ 20%), against revenues which are still largely undersized. To support the theory that growth opportunities for our specialty products are still very high are the buyers of retail chains, key figures in order to better understand what the role that Italian food brands are now holding in the retail channel and what are the trump cards to play to become real players in the market.
At the meeting between foreign buyers and B2B companies of Italian food organized by the incoming program by Fiere di Parma, in association with Ice, at CibusèItalia Pavilion , we met Richard Wang, fresh food category manager of City Super Group, which is a chain that specializes in the distribution of premium products in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taiwan, who came to Italy in search of regional products not yet known in China.
“Italian food has an excellent image in our country and in our product range it is well represented, said Wang. Most appreciated are meats, such as prosciutto di Parma and San Daniele, but especially cheeses such as Parmesan, mozzarella, gorgonzola and taleggio.” And to think that ten years ago in China cheese was almost unknown. Today, however, thanks to the promotional support of this specialty by many international brands in China, it has become a “hot” product, especially among the younger consumers, curious to try Western food, but also among families who consider it a healthy food for their children especially in Beijing and Guangzhou.
“Our assortment of cheeses – precises Wang – is very rich, in addition to the wide range of Italian specialties, among which we have the Granarolo, Zanetti and Ambrosi brands, we also have cheeses that come from France, Spain and the United States.”
If, however, authentic Italian food, with cheeses and cured meats currently being the main products, is trendy and has high perceived quality compared to the competition from other countries, exporters to China suffer from a lack of support in marketing and promotional activities. “Unfortunately – Wang kindly warns – Italian suppliers are not well focused on promotion, which represents the true springboard to raise awareness of the characteristics and advantages of Italian brands to our customers. In China consumers already know that Made in Italy food is high quality, but they often do not know how to cook it.” Suggesting and promoting product usage of Italian food to the Chinese is the first simple step to get out of the niche market.
Compared, for example, to US producers (it is to be noted that the US is the leading food exporter to China) there is still a long way to go. “Marketing is needed to educate and is an indispensable tool for knowledge, confirms Wang. US food companies understood this before the others and their policy has pushed sales of their products, which are good, but often not as good as Italian products. Just think of pizza. The Chinese know and buy American pizza because they do not know that the best pizza in the world is Italian.”
The future of authentic Italian food is still insured with City Super because the strategy that the retailer intends to pursue in the future is to stay true to its original mission, to sell premium products to selected customers and preserve an image in line with its position.