China’s consumers have an impact on the rest of the world. If they decide they like your product, sales can skyrocket virtually overnight. Numerous businesses have experienced this “problem”. It was a problem because they were not producing enough goods to keep up with Chinese demand.
An example of a business who had this desirable problem was Bellamy’s Organic, who I wrote about earlier. Their organic baby formula became popular in China because consumers viewed it as trustworthy and safe for their infants. A few news stories of contaminated local baby formula damaged Chinese consumers trust in local brands, so instead they searched foreign brands for a good and trustworthy product.
Once they decided Bellamy’s Organic was the best for their newborns, Australian supermarkets were stripped of the product, resulting in complaints from Australian mothers who struggled to find a tin for their own babies. Fortunately,Bellamy’s has recently signed a contract with a supplier to produce enough infant formula to go around.
Overwhelming Demand for a Small Business in Tasmania
Another example of Chinese consumer impact on the world is the Bobbie Bear story. Chinese actress and model Zhang Xinyu uploaded a picture of her Bobbie Bear, which is a purple teddy bear filled with lavender. The Bobbie Bear is produced on a small lavender farm in Tasmania.
Because of the sudden surge in orders from China, Robert Ravenus, owner of the Bobbie Bear, had to close online orders because he didn’t have the resources to cover demand. Chinese consumers started to show up in person for the Bobbie Bears, but the farm still couldn’t keep up and had to resort to limiting how many bears each person could buy.
Two Major Trends in China’s Consumers
Consumers in China are increasingly caring more about the quality of products and reputation of a brand. In the past, they were price-oriented, but now that many are earning high salaries, focus has shifted to quality. In addition, the number of Chinese consumers in the middle class is increasing at a rapid pace. This gives Chinese a greater purchase power overall.
These consumers in China are nicknamed “new mainstream” by McKinsey & Co., a global management consulting company. According to McKinsey & Co., “new mainstream” consumers represented 6% of the urban Chinese population in 2010 but at least 50% of the urban population in China will be new mainstream by 2020.
Conclusion
When something becomes popular among Chinese consumers, they suddenly become one of the largest revenue sources for that product. It’s a pleasant surprise for big businesses who can handle the surge in demand. Smaller businesses who cannot keep up with production either have to find a way to increase production or alter their business models. Overall, these trends taking place in China is a good thing for the world and should be known by anyone serious about business.
Contact us for a helping hand in setting up in China. It’s exciting to break into the market, but you must be aware of the Chinese rules and regulations to stay in business.
If you are interested in knowing more about China, download the first free chapters of my book here.
