Launching a restaurant in China requires careful planning, understanding of local business practices, and an appreciation of cultural nuances. Here are some key tips to help you successfully launch a restaurant in China

In the restaurant sector in China, Social media are the KEY

Whether it’s Chinese cooking or western cuisine competition is fierce.

Staff Recruitment and Training complicated

• Hiring Local Staff: Hire local staff who understand the culture and language. This can enhance customer service and ensure smooth operations.
• Training Programs: Implement comprehensive training programs for your staff, focusing on food safety, customer service, and restaurant operations.

Marketing and Promotion is VITAL

• Online Presence: Establish a strong online presence through social media platforms like WeChat, Weibo, and Little Red Book. Create engaging content and interact with your audience.
• Influencer Collaborations: Collaborate with local food influencers and bloggers to promote your restaurant. Their endorsements can significantly boost your visibility and attract customers.
• Promotions and Discounts: Offer introductory promotions, discounts, and loyalty programs to attract initial customers and build a loyal customer base.

Technology

• Point of Sale Systems: Implement efficient point of sale (POS) systems to streamline ordering, billing, and inventory management.
• Online Ordering and Delivery: Partner with popular food delivery platforms like Meituan and Ele.me to offer online ordering and delivery services.
• Dianping , Little red book, online payment

9. Customer Feedback – ereputation

• Feedback Mechanisms: Encourage customers to provide feedback through comment cards, social media, and review platforms. Use this feedback to continuously improve your offerings and service.
• Loyalty Programs: Implement loyalty programs to reward repeat customers and encourage word-of-mouth referrals.
• Ereputation and reviews are the heart of Chinese consumption

One of the main outlets for Chinese spending is food, it has a pivotal place in Chinese culture, most Chinese go to a restaurant quite often with colleagues, childhood friends, family, and business partners. Eating is the engine that drives China’s growth!

The meal is an important moment of the day reflecting the Chinese culture as a whole.

You must know how to market your restaurant in China if you want it to be successful. The principal tools you need to use here in China are digital tools :

Offer a quality website

Offering a quality website about your restaurant with good photos will attract your customer. Communicating about the aesthetic, qualities, and characteristics of your restaurant will encourage people to come; Chinese internet users look at the information on restaurants before making decisions. Your website must be in Chinese too.

Example http://lebec.com.cn/

Have an SEO strategy

Now that you have a website, you must better optimize your online strategy on search engines (known as SEO: Search Engine Optimization) to be recognized in this sector among the multitude of restaurants.

You need to maximize your presence on influential websites and by diversifying the publication of articles. This will allow you to optimize your ranking on Baidu.

More on SEO in China here.

Pay attention to social media in China

In order to engage with your audience, you must pay particular attention to internet word of mouth through social networks.

If customers have enjoyed eating at your restaurant, they will come back and bring back their friends. They will share images of food and comment on their experiences on social media.

You must be careful about the quality of your service and that the menu dishes are suitable for all tastes and all client types. Indeed comments made by users can be positive or negative and can have a huge influence on other customers’ behavior.

WeChat

Remember that word of mouth is passed mainly through social networks such as WeChat, … etc.

Most Chinese users use social networks as their primary source of information in order to determine their final choice.

Curate quality content on social networks to inspire visitors to come to eat at your restaurant, organize tasting sessions, special evenings on a specific theme, cooking classes, and contests.

For example, WeChat offers interesting features for restaurants that want to promote their business through a service account. There is an interesting feature that allows you to customize your online menu and make online payments within WeChat. Highlight your best-known dishes with quality photos and share the location of your restaurant.

Little Red Book (Xiaohongshu) in 2024

Get visibility for yourrestaurant via Little Red Book (Xiaohongshu or RED) requires strategic use of the platform’s features and understanding its community-driven approach. Here are some tips to effectively promote your restaurant on Little Red Book:

1- Content

• Use Great Photos and Videos: Hire a professional photographer to take pictures and videos of your food, restaurant, and atmosphere. High-quality visuals grab attention.
• Tell Your Story: Share the story of your restaurant, what makes your food special, and your cooking philosophy. Personal stories connect with people.

2. Leverage Influencers

• Work with Food Influencers: Partner with popular food influencers on Little Red Book to review and recommend your restaurant. They can reach a lot of people and build credibility.
• Use Local Micro-Influencers: Collaborate with local micro-influencers who have dedicated followers in your area. They often have higher engagement and can attract a focused audience.

3. User-Generated Content

• Encourage Customer Reviews: Ask customers to share their dining experiences and reviews on Little Red Book. People trust content from other users.
• Create a Hashtag Campaign: Make a unique hashtag for your restaurant and encourage customers to use it when they post about their visit. This gathers all related content in one place.

4. Community Management

• Respond to Comments: Reply to comments on your posts. Engaging with users shows you care about their feedback and builds community.
• Interact with clients: Follow and interact with relevant users. Building relationships increases your visibility.
• Dianping & Red

5. Promotions and Events

• Post Special Offers: Share exclusive deals, discounts, and promotions for Little Red Book users. This encourages visits and word-of-mouth marketing.
• Host Events and Contests: Organize events or contests to get users involved. For example, a photo contest where users post pictures of their meals at your restaurant with a specific hashtag.

Read more

If you need an agency to help you with communication in China , send us an email

Everyone needs folate, but it is especially important during pregnancy because of its role in preventing birth abnormalities. The Food and Nutrition Board recommend that adults get 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid per day, which should increase to 600 mcg during pregnancy and then reduce slightly to 500 mcg when breastfeeding.

Context to Folic Acid & Prenatal Vitamin growing demand

Although the vitamins and dietary supplements industry is steadily increasing, it tends to be more focused on the elderly population with more products targeted towards them and ensuring healthy aging. However, with China’s decreasing fertility rate, we are observing there a huge potential in the pediatric and prenatal supplements market.

Pediatric and prenatal supplements are becoming more and more popular among the pregnant women population, the reason being that it is used to optimize healthy body condition and a well-balanced mental development, from conception all the way through adolescence.

Market outperformance is expected to continue its growth, as the understanding of the importance of proper nutrition on healthy development improves, along with increasing disposable incomes of Chinese consumers and a shift in the parental demographic.

Globally, the target population for pediatric and prenatal supplements is declining proportionally relative to other demographics. Birth rates around the world have dropped steadily. Between 1983 and 2013, the number of births per 1,000 people declined by 30% from 28 to 19.

Despite these declines, the paediatric and prenatal supplements market is on the rise. Indeed since 2008, average retail value sales of paediatric and pregnancy multivitamins have increased annually by 5% or more per live birth. The increase in average spending per child is driven by several scientific, consumer and market trends that have more than offset the unfavourable population development.

In the study “Maternal nutrition at conception modulates DNA methylation of human metastable epialleles” published by Nature Communications in April 2014, a team of scientists found that nutrition can impact whether or not certain genes are activated in the early embryonic state development.

Another important factor influencing sales of pediatric and prenatal supplements is the general shift in the number of children per family. Typically, parents are moving away from large families and are having fewer children. Global fertility rates have decreased by 30% since 1983 to 3.0%, with Australasia, Eastern Europe, North America, and Western Europe being all below 2.0%.

While it may seem detrimental at first glance to pediatric and prenatal supplement sales, it may have actually opened up the market for parents who can now focus on ensuring the proper nutrition for fewer children. Parents are increasingly determined to optimize their children’s development, which they believe will translate to future potential, among the fewer children that they are having.

On the same topic : China Medical Tourism: How to attract patient looking for IVF and/or Surrogacy ?

Additionally, improving economic conditions and growing disposable incomes are improving the accessibility of pediatric and prenatal supplements. Controlling inflation, annual disposable income worldwide grew 3% between 2009 and 2013. Many parents prioritize the needs of their children, especially regarding health and wellbeing, a portion of the increasing disposable income is being used on pediatric or prenatal vitamins as seen through increased retail value sales per child.

The increasing demand for supplements targeted towards children is generally consistent worldwide. All regions, except Latin America, have experienced solid gains in retail value sales of both pediatric and pregnancy vitamins.

Market Evolution

All signs point towards a sustained growth for pediatric and prenatal supplements as scientific improvements highlight the importance of nutrition, parents continue to prioritize the healthy development of their children and as the economic environment allows them to.

As with adult VDS, there is controversy over the necessity of pediatric supplements and their actual influence on health. However, parents will continue to spend on what they perceive will benefit their children, which translates to huge market potential. Global per household spend on pediatric supplements is expected to rise by 17%.

Crossborder E-commerce, Health and Vitamins in China

As the world’s most populous country, China is one of the biggest markets on the planet for almost anything. This is certainly the case for health supplements, which boast a massive market in China. The latest figures from 2018 put the industry as being worth some 22.78 billion USD.

It is estimated that by 2023 this figure could rise to 40 billion USD, following a 2019-2023 compound annual growth rate of 14%.  Vitamins, Minerals, & Supplements (VMS) account for more than 90% of the entire health product industry.

This segment increased 9.2% from 2017 to 2018, to reach a total market size of 148.55 billion RMB. However, despite the rich variety in product types within this segment, as a whole, it is highly homogenized. Many products are functionally identical or equivalent to competitors’ offerings.

Online retail represents the major sales channel. With unparalleled convenience and the ability to offer far wider selections of available goods than any physical retail location.

This is especially true for the Chinese market, and has become a vital channel for health supplements in the country. This is particularly true for overseas sellers. Cross-border channels now enables sales to China without any physical or legal presence there.

When compared to the total market size, the online market still represents only a minority of sales, with offline sales still accounting for more than 50%. However, strong growth over most of the past six years has seen this share grow considerably, and while 2018 saw smaller growth than the market as a whole, with growing integration between online and offline lifestyles in China, it is a strong possibility that online sales with overtaking offline within the next decade. Either way, online selling has become impossible to ignore.

China’s Vitamin Market is Competitive

Over the past decade, the number of companies in the Chinese health care products market has more than doubled from just 6 in 2009 to 13 in 2018. Currently, Infinitus holds the most of any company operating in the country, at 10.2% of the market share, with Thompson rising to 7.5% in 2018, and Amway China shrinking to just 6.5% after having peaked at 15% in 2012.

There’s a lot of space for new market entrants. Especially given the degree of change we can see in the market shares of the leading companies over the last decade. For now, no brand is so entrenched that it is immune to competition from rising stars.

Asia prenatal market size

Throughout the years, concerns among pregnant women have been growing in regards to the lack of vital vitamins that occurs during pregnancy, this has resulted in an increase in the prenatal vitamin market. These vitamins are very much appreciated because they manage to reduce the risk of diseases that may appear while the pregnancy is ongoing. They do so by providing enough nutrients and enhance and protect the body’s metabolism.

Prenatal vitamins are gaining more and more popularity amongst Chinese women, on account of their nutrient-rich nature and ability to support a healthy and immune system. The global Vitamin A market size from the food application segment was valued to be over USD 180 million (2017) indicates that there is a high potential for vitamins and supplements.

According to WHO (World Health Organization), in 2017 more than 9.5 million pregnant women worldwide suffer from night blindness which is projected to have positive impact on Vitamin A ingredients demand. During pregnancy, nutritional need increases significantly to meet the demands of the pregnant woman and the growing baby.

These ingredients promote fetal healthy growth, prevent anemia and ensure that babies are born at healthy birth weight, it also contributes to the health and well-being of the mother. They fulfill the body’s essential requirements during pregnancy.

They contain Iron which is essential to maintaining the required count of blood cells. However although Iron supports the good functioning of the body, it is imortant to keep in mind that a high consumption can lead to Iron toxicity in the body, such a high level of Iron can potentially act corrosive to the tissues in the gastro-intestinal such as the intestine and the stomach that can lead to serious poisoning, this aspect might negatively impact the market growth.

Chinese consumers preferences

In China, consumers prefer buying their supplements from international brands, even if the price is much higher than national brands which tend to be less expensive but chinese consumers would rather pay more and be certain of the quality and origin of the goods they are buying.

Industry Player : Blackmores

Blackmores is an australian health-care brand, they sell a wide variety of produce and items like vitamins ad supplements etc… Blackmores mainly sells on online platforms, and as such it is considered by many chinese consumers as their favorite brand to buy their products from. Moreover most of they keyword search related to Blackmores are related to pregnancy supplements and health items.

Perinatal supplements risks

In China, the rate of perinatal mortality used to be twice as high as in the United States. The causes of perinatal mortality include :

• Low birth weight
• Preterm delivery
• Anemia (low hemoglobin)

Supplements of iron, folic acid, and other vitamins and minerals can prevent anemia among pregnant women, but the effects of these supplements on other maternal and infant health outcomes are unclear.

Since the early 1990’s, the People’s Republic of China has recommended that newly married women, and those who plan pregnancy, should take 400 gr of folic acid every day all the way through the first trimester of pregnancy.

Although WHO recommends that pregnant women take iron and folic acid supplements, there is currently no national recommendation that pregnant women in China take iron or other vitamin or mineral supplements (other than folic acid).

Build your e-reputation in China to sell Folic Acid

In China, the digital scene is totally on the opposite side of the spectrum from the West. As you may already know in China, Google will not be efficient, instead you will have to use Baidu.

Almost every western application has its chinese equivalent, there is no WhatsApp but chinese consumers use instead WeChat, no Facebook or Instagram but rather Weibo and Little Red Book. For this reason, it is very important to work on building a good online reputation. Without a good brand image and reputation and without being well known it is very unlikely that you succeed on making your spot on the chinese market.

SEO , to reply all question of People

When Chinese consumers research online info about Folic Acid or maternity healthcare products, you have to make sure that they encounter your website. So you have to make it ranks in the first positions; bear in mind that, usually, a user chooses the first five presented websites.

A good SEO campaign can help your website to gain visibility in a successful way on the internet. For a good SEO strategy, it is necessary to identify the sector and the target, choosing the most effective keywords is also important, and last but not least, it is very to know the competition.

• Zhihu is also the best Q&A platform to answer questions of public
• Baidu, the best search engine in China

WeChat and Weibo

Create official accounts on WeChat and Weibo in order to communicate and engage with customers. Official accounts will give you authority and credibility in Chinese consumers’ eyes.

• WeChat is a must-have when doing business in China. It allows brands to send notifications to their followers and to engaged with them.

• Weibo is similar to our Twitter. Post good content for your followers and they will be able to share it easily. Your post will get only a second of attention so you have to make it count. Weibo is a great tool for being commercial. Weibo users are looking for discounts and commercial offers. Collaborate with KOLS (Chinese influencers), on Weibo to promote and introduce your products.
• RED like instagram, it s a great social media for female so to target mother. It is a lifetyle, story based social media

Douyin Crossborder ecommerce

Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, is a powerful platform for e-commerce, particularly effective for engaging with a large and diverse audience. Its immersive video format and integration with e-commerce functions make it an ideal venue for brands to showcase and sell products, including health supplements and maternity care products. Here are seven key points for brands looking to leverage Douyin:

1. Visual Storytelling: Capture attention with engaging and visually appealing stories about the benefits of your products. Do not sell… tell a story.
2. Influencer Partnerships: Collaborate with Douyin influencers who can authentically promote your health and maternity products to their followers.
3. Live Demonstrations: Brands should do live streaming features to demonstrate product use and interact directly with potential customers in China.
4. Flash Sales: Create urgency and boost sales through time-limited offers and discounts during live streams.
5. Educational Content: Provide valuable information about health and maternity care, positioning your brand as a trustworthy source.
6. Interactive Features: Engage users with polls, quizzes, and Q&A sessions to foster interaction and gather feedback.
7. User-Generated Content via KOL: Encourage customers to share their own experiences and results, boosting credibility and trust.

By focusing on these strategies, brands can effectively use Douyin not just to sell, but to create a community around their products, enhancing brand loyalty and consumer trust.

Tmall and JD in 2024… Good question

Tmall and JD.com are two of the largest e-commerce platforms in China, offering unique opportunities for brands to reach millions of consumers, these platforms are losing market share to Douyin in 2024. These platforms are especially effective for selling specialized products such as health supplements and maternity care items, due to their sophisticated logistics, trustworthiness, and extensive customer bases. Here are seven concise strategies for brands aiming to excel on Tmall and JD.com:

1. Brand Storefront: Establish a customized, brand-specific storefront to showcase your product lines and enhance brand identity.
2. Product Certification: Highlight certifications and approvals to reassure customers about the safety and quality of your health and maternity products.
3. Detailed Descriptions: Provide comprehensive, easy-to-understand product descriptions and benefits to educate potential buyers.
4. Customer Reviews: Encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews, which play a critical role in consumer decision-making.
5. Cross-Marketing: Utilize bundle deals and cross-promotions with related products to increase exposure and sales.
6. Seasonal Campaigns: Leverage holidays and special events for themed marketing campaigns that resonate with target customers.
7. Customer Service Excellence: Offer exceptional customer service, including detailed product guidance and post-purchase support, to build trust and loyalty.

Foriegn Brands can leverage the features of Tmall and JD.com to effectively market and sell health supplements and maternity care products.

Do you want to sell your supplements in China? Contact GMA.

We are a team of native digital experts based in Shanghai, we have a deep insight into this fascinating market and stay ahead of the curve. If you have a serious project for the Chinese market you can consider news app ads, contact us for a meeting with one of our consultants. 

We also work extensively in the following area’s;

• Baidu SEO/PPC
• WeChat Development
• Weibo Marketing
• Chinese Content
• PR/Media Exposure
• Targeted Forums & Blogs (niche markets)
• Ecommerce Douyin, Tmall, JD
• Lead Generation Services on Multiple Platforms

Let’s take a moment to absorb an interesting fact, even amidst the pandemic, foreign direct investment into China soared by 6.2% reaching $149 billion in 2020. Incredible, isn’t it? Having successfully maneuvered through this complex journey myself, I want to make things more comprehensible and manageable for you.

Starting a business in China in 2024 comes with a unique set of opportunities and challenges. Understanding the current trends is crucial for entrepreneurs aiming to penetrate the Chinese market successfully. Here are five key trends to consider when launching a business in China, leveraging platforms like Douyin and Xiaohongshu (RED), and utilizing the influence of KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders):

1. Douyin E-commerce Integration

• Ecommerce Insight: Douyin, the Chinese counterpart of TikTok, has become not just a social media powerhouse but also a robust e-commerce platform. In 2024, leveraging Douyin’s e-commerce capabilities will be essential. Businesses can use Douyin’s in-app shopping features, which allow users to purchase products directly through the app while watching a video.
• Implementation Strategy: Create engaging and visually appealing product demonstrations and leverage Douyin’s live streaming feature to host live sales events. This can drive impulse purchases and increase product visibility.

2. Viral Marketing on Xiaohongshu (RED)

• Trendy: Xiaohongshu (RED) is a platform that blends lifestyle blogging with e-commerce. It is particularly popular for its trustworthy user-generated content and reviews. Going viral on Xiaohongshu can significantly boost brand recognition and credibility.
• Strategy: Focus on creating high-quality, relatable content that resonates with the lifestyle aspirations of the Chinese audience. Encourage user-generated content and reviews to enhance authenticity and trustworthiness.

3. Utilizing KOLs for Brand Trust

• Insight: KOLs continue to wield significant influence over consumers’ purchasing decisions. Their endorsement can provide a substantial credibility boost.
• Implementation Strategy: Partner with KOLs who align with your brand’s values and audience. Develop long-term relationships rather than one-off promotions to build deeper trust and continuity with audiences.

4. Focus on Business best Practices

• For example, Environmental concerns are increasingly becoming a priority among Chinese consumers. Businesses that adopt sustainable practices are likely to stand out and attract environmentally conscious consumers.
• Highlight sustainable practices in your business operations. Use eco-friendly materials, reduce carbon footprints, and ensure that these green initiatives are prominently featured in your marketing campaigns on all platforms.

5. Technological Innovations and AI Integration

• Trend Insight: As China continues to lead in technological innovation, integrating AI into business operations can provide a competitive edge, particularly in industries like retail, manufacturing, and services.
• Implementation Strategy: Implement AI for personalized customer experiences, predictive analytics, and operational efficiency. Showcase these innovations through your digital platforms to emphasize your brand’s modernity and efficiency.

This article is designed as a step-by-step guide that will make your entry into the dynamic Chinese market much smoother than you might imagine right now! Excited about exploring new avenues toward success in China’s vibrant marketplace? Well then, let’s dive straight into it!

Key Takeaways

• Choose the right business location in China that aligns with your brand and consider local rules and laws.
• Select a suitable legal structure for your foreign company in China, such as a foreign-invested enterprise or partnership.
• Develop a comprehensive business plan by conducting market research to assess viability and make informed decisions.
• Open bank accounts in China, including an RMB Basic Account and Foreign Currency Capital Account, to simplify financial operations.
• Protect your intellectual property through audits, classification, business registration, and monitoring for counterfeit goods and infringement.
• Hire qualified Chinese staff who understand the local market or consider working with a market entry consulting agency.
• Expand into the Chinese digital market through selling on e-commerce platforms, creating a Chinese website, and promoting on social media.

Benefits and Challenges of Starting a Business in China

Doing business in China comes with its own set of benefits. As a young entrepreneur, you’ll see that China supports new ideas, start-ups, new businesses. State aid is not hard to find here. Not just that, financial groups and rules bodies are also keen on helping out local businesses.

This gives Chinese firms an edge over your company from abroad.

Yet, large markets await your work in China too. Expand and grow – there’s enough room for everybody! But as a foreign firm, this might not be easy sailing the whole time. The business scene here has many layers; you have to know what they are before diving in headfirst! Cheating or shady deals aren’t uncommon either so keeping eyes open will serve well when setting up shop over there.

Bumpy rides may come as cultural rifts make their way into everyday dealings between companies and red tape can snag things up sometimes as well.

Steps to Start a Business in China for Foreign Companies

To start a business in China as a foreign company, you need to choose a business location, select a legal structure, create a business plan, open a bank account, and protect your intellectual property.

Pick a Business Location

Picking the right place for your business in China is key. It must match your brand well. You can find more help to set up shop if you pick a suitable city and spot. This will also make it easy to get through all the steps to sign up for your business.

You need to know about the rules in cities when you choose one. As an example, some cities may have laws that won’t fit with what you do. Knowing who lives there helps too so you can hire good workers for your business in China.

Choose a Legal Structure

Picking the right legal structure for your business is key. It sets how you’ll work in China. You could set up a foreign-invested enterprise or use the Partnership Enterprise Law. This law lets foreigners invest in partnerships here.

There are many ways to do this, known as investment vehicles. The best one for you links with what you want from your business, so put thought into this! Do all the needed research and ask experts if need be.

This helps make sure you follow all local rules and laws when starting your operations.

Do not Create a Business Plan

All insitution, will tell you to work on a business plan

What you need is a business model , and have idea of your income and cost to get the viability of your business

Open a Bank Account, easy in China

To start a business in China as a foreign company, one of the important steps is to open a bank account. When establishing your business, you’ll need to open at least two bank accounts: an RMB Basic Account and a Foreign Currency Capital Account.

This is required by law. Opening a bank account in China involves a process that includes pre-application preparations. Having a local bank account can simplify your business operations in China, making it easier for you to manage finances and conduct transactions.

It’s also an obligation for a foreign investor who has foreign-invested enterprises in China. Keep in mind that the procedure for opening a bank account may vary depending on the year, so it’s important to stay updated with the latest requirements and regulations when going through this process.

Protect Your Intellectual Property

Protecting your intellectual property will avoid headack in the future

Foreign companies should have a clear understanding of IP protection and enforcement in China. Register your patents, trademarks, and copyrights with the appropriate authorities to establish legal rights.

Be vigilant against counterfeit goods and infringement by monitoring the market and taking action when necessary.

We have contacts for that Email us

Hiring Chinese Staff , complicated

When starting a business in China, one of the most important decisions you’ll make is hiring Chinese staff. The success of your company relies heavily on the quality and expertise of your employees.

This is the most complicated step for me

It’s crucial to find qualified individuals who understand the local market and can help your business thrive.

Alternative : Working with partner or Agencies

To navigate the complexities of hiring in China, working with a market entry consulting agency can be extremely beneficial.

These agencies have extensive knowledge and experience in entering the Chinese market, and they can provide valuable guidance throughout the recruitment process.

One option for hiring employees in China without establishing a local company is through an Employer of Record service. This allows you to outsource all employment responsibilities to a third-party provider, who will handle payroll, HR administration, compliance, and other legal requirements on your behalf.

PS : we are a Marketing agency

By leveraging local expertise through a consulting agency and ensuring effective staff hiring practices, you can increase your chances of success in navigating the Chinese market. Remember that recruiting qualified Chinese staff is key to building strong customer relationships, understanding cultural nuances better, and taking advantage of local opportunities.

Crossborder: Consider the Digital Alternative

Expand your business reach by tapping into the vast potential of the Chinese digital market. Sell on popular e-commerce platforms, promote your brand on social media, and protect and grow your online reputation.

Sell on Chinese E-Commerce Platform

Selling on a Chinese E-Commerce platform can be a great way to enter the Chinese market. Here are some steps to consider:

• Research the different platforms available, such as Tmall Global, JD Worldwide, and Kaola. These platforms have a large customer base and can help you reach Chinese consumers.

• Understand the legal requirements for selling in China. This includes obtaining the necessary licenses and permits, as well as complying with regulations and customs procedures.
• Create an attractive online store on the platform of your choice. This involves optimizing your product listings with high-quality images and detailed descriptions in both Chinese and English.
• Consider partnering with a local logistics provider to handle warehousing, packaging, and delivery of your products within China. This will ensure fast and reliable shipping to your customers.
• Promote your products through targeted marketing campaigns on the platform and other digital channels. Use keywords relevant to your target audience to increase visibility and drive traffic to your store.

Have a Chinese Website for your Brand

Having a Chinese website for your brand is essential if you want to expand your business in China through cross-border e-commerce. It allows you to directly sell your products to Chinese consumers on international e-commerce platforms.

However, building a Chinese website requires careful consideration and is not as simple as in other markets. To launch a .CN Chinese website, it is important to have an established presence in China, such as a subsidiary office or a local partner.

This will help you establish credibility and attract more Chinese customers. Keep in mind that China’s e-commerce market is the largest in the world and has been growing rapidly, so having a Chinese website can greatly benefit your brand’s expansion efforts.

Promote on Chinese Social Media

Promoting your business on Chinese social media platforms is a crucial step to reach and engage with Chinese consumers. Here are some effective strategies to consider:

1. Utilize popular platforms: WeChat and Weibo are widely used in China. Make sure to create accounts on these platforms to connect with your target audience.
2. Create engaging content: Develop content that resonates with Chinese consumers. Consider cultural differences when crafting your messages and visuals.
3. Collaborate with influencers: Partnering with influential personalities can help increase brand visibility and credibility. Find influencers who align with your brand values and have a large following.
4. Run targeted ads: Use targeted advertising options on social media platforms to reach specific demographics, interests, and locations. This will allow you to focus your marketing efforts on the right audience.
5. Utilize user-generated content (UGC): Encourage users to share their experiences with your brand by incorporating UGC campaigns. This helps build trust and authenticity among potential customers.
6. Engage with followers: Interact regularly with your followers by responding to comments, messages, and reviews. Show genuine interest in their feedback and address any concerns promptly.
7. Leverage livestreaming: Livestreaming is extremely popular in China, offering an interactive way to showcase products or demonstrate services in real-time. Consider incorporating livestream sessions into your social media marketing strategy.

Protect your E-Reputation

Managing and enhancing your online reputation is crucial when doing business in China. With the increasing importance of social media, it’s essential to establish a strong online presence and manage your brand image effectively.

To protect and grow your e-reputation, it’s important to proactively monitor and respond to online reviews. This includes addressing any negative feedback promptly and professionally.

Additionally, make sure that the information about your business online is accurate and up-to-date. By employing reputation management strategies and utilizing tools designed for monitoring, protecting, and building your online reputation, you can ensure that your business maintains a positive image in the digital landscape of China.

Launching a Business on Douyin in China: An opportunity in 2024

Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, is a Game changer…

I know what you think BUT it not just a platform for entertainment but a powerhouse for brand marketing and engagement. With over 600 million active daily users, Douyin offers a fertile ground for businesses aiming to penetrate the Chinese market. It combines rich multimedia content creation with the virality of social media, making it an essential tool for brands looking to make an impactful entry into China.

Douyin for New Businesses, what CEOs need to know

1. Video Marketing Dominance: Short-form videos are the heart of Douyin. They provide a dynamic way to showcase products and services, tell brand stories, and engage with users through visually appealing content.

2. Influencer Collaborations: Partnering with KOL – livestreaming on Douyin can significantly amplify your brand’s Turnover. Oh yes, Chinese Influencers with large followings and high engagement rates can introduce your brand to their daily audiences

3. E-commerce : Douyin has seamlessly integrated e-commerce capabilities, allowing users to purchase products directly through the app. 2024 tips… “Launching flash sales,” live demos, and interactive shopping events are powerful strategies to drive conversions directly from your account.

4. User-Generated Content (UGC) Campaigns: Encouraging UGC can increase engagement and brand loyalty. Competitions, challenges, and rewards for user participation can create buzz and foster a community around your brand.

5. Video Content : it is very difficult and cost a bit for Brands. BUT havce a tailoring content is base of Douyin . Good Content that resonates locally can boost relatability and user interest, enhancing overall engagement. Bad content, is a waste of money.

Best Cities for New Brands in China on Douyin

1. Tier 1 Cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen): These cities are tech-savvy and have higher disposable incomes, making them ideal for introducing new and innovative products. Brand receptivity is high, and the potential for viral trends is substantial.

2. Emerging First-Tier Cities (Chengdu, Hangzhou, Wuhan): These cities offer a blend of large, engaged audiences with slightly less competition than the traditional first-tier cities. They are also known for being cultural trendsetters within China.

Best Practices for Lead Generation on Douyin

1. Interactive Video Content: Brands have to create Good content, sorry cheap solution is not working.

2. Lead generation, Clear Call-to-Actions (CTAs): Ensure that each video has a clear CTA, guiding users on what steps to take next — whether it’s visiting a website, joining a mailing list, or checking out a product

3. Use of Douyin’s Advanced Ads : Utilize Douyin’s Best ever native advertising tools such as precise targeting and retargeting capabilities to reach potential customers based on their interests, behaviors, and previous interactions with your content. Douyin ads Works super Well because douyin know your interest.

4. Regular Monitoring and Optimization: Continuously track the performance of your campaigns and tweak your strategies based on data-driven insights. Douyin offers comprehensive analytics that can help refine targeting and improve ROI. We all want ROI

Entering the Chinese Market: need a partner in China?

We can help you

Starting a business in China may seem daunting, but it can be a highly rewarding endeavor with the right guidance. With an annual inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) to China from 2012 to 2022, the Chinese market continues to be a hotspot for global entrepreneurs.

At our agency, we offer 20 years of invaluable experience in this field, making us your trusted partner in navigating the intricacies of the Chinese business landscape. If you’re considering tapping into this lucrative market – we’re here to help.

From selecting the optimal location for your venture to safeguarding your intellectual property, we provide comprehensive support and insights at every step. By understanding the unique dynamics of the Chinese market and establishing fruitful local partnerships, you can not only overcome challenges but also seize the abundant opportunities it offers.

With determination and adaptability, you can flourish in this dynamic and ever-evolving business environment. So, take that leap of faith and embark on your journey towards entrepreneurial success in China. Contact us today, and let’s embark on this exciting venture together!

In 2023, China’s health supplement market reached an impressive size of approximately US$ 19.22 billion. Experts and analysts predict further growth of this market segment, projecting a market size of US$ 27.03 billion by the end of 2028.

To successfully enter the Chinese market and sell vitamins and health supplements, it’s crucial to be well-prepared. Here are some essential tips to help you navigate this unique market and effectively sell your products.

Quick Summary

• Market Growth: China’s health supplement market reached approximately US$ 15.88 billion in 2021, with a projected growth to US$ 27.03 billion by 2028, indicating a CAGR of 7.72% from 2022 to 2028.
• Consumer Demographics: The primary target market includes consumers under 30 years old, who show a strong interest in vitamins and health supplements. There’s also a growing market among Chinese children, driven by parental concerns for nutrition.
• Health Trends: Post-COVID-19, about 44% of Chinese consumers reported an increased intake of dietary supplements, mainly to enhance immune systems.
• Economic Influence: Rising income and purchasing power in China, especially in urban areas, have led to increased spending on health supplements.
• Cultural Factors: There is a significant emphasis on physical appearance and health, aligning with Chinese beauty standards and lifestyle choices.
• Market Challenges: Foreign brands need to navigate local regulations, including labeling requirements and product registration, which can be complex and time-consuming.
• E-Commerce Dominance: Platforms like Tmall, JD.com, and Taobao are crucial for market penetration due to their vast user base and the convenience they offer.
• Digital Marketing Strategy: Establishing a strong online presence and brand reputation on Chinese social media platforms and websites is essential for success.
• Consumer Preferences: Chinese consumers value brand recognition, quality, and peer recommendations. Transparency in ingredient communication and scientific evidence backing the products are key to gaining consumer trust.
• Local Brand Perception: Due to past scandals with domestic brands, there is a skepticism towards local brands, giving foreign brands an edge in terms of perceived quality.
• SEO and Online Visibility: Having a Mandarin Chinese website hosted in China is crucial for visibility on Baidu, the leading Chinese search engine.
• Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs): Collaborating with KOLs can significantly influence consumer perception and brand popularity in the health sector.

Characteristics and Trends in the Chinese Vitamin Market

Before entering the market, you have to know that China has some characteristics that make it easier for brands to sell their vitamins and health supplements:

China’s Economic Growth

China’s population has seen an increase in income and purchasing power. Many people were able to be part of the Chinese middle class and benefit from the influence of Western culture, especially in the first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, but also in emerging cities such as Hangzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu, etc.

Healthy Lifestyle

More and more consumers are striving to live a better and longer life and improve their appearances to fit more with Chinese beauty standards (especially true with Chinese women) and also physical health.

According to a survey conducted by Rakuten Insight in March 2022, around 77% of respondents living in Mainland China said they took vitamin and dietary supplements to improve and strengthen their immune systems. Only 11% of them took supplements for weight loss, an area where reducing food consumption is more achievable than buying vitamins.

Targeting a New Age Group: Children’s Market Expansion

The consumption of vitamins and dietary supplements has also increased among Chinese children whose parents worry about low vitamin levels and quality of nutrition through a more diverse diet and consumption of dietary supplements.

Aging Society

Traditionally, this group has embraced specific group foods and adhered to traditional Chinese medicine practices as preventive measures against diseases, with a focus on physical appearance, particularly among women. However, there is a growing trend among the elderly to consume vitamins for immune system enhancement, representing an untapped niche.

GNC has introduced high-quality products to meet the needs of the elderly. These products aid in improving sleep quality, assisting with weight loss, protecting bones and joints, and enhancing immunity.

Covid-19 and Vitamin

The same survey by Rakuten revealed that approximately 44% of participants from mainland China who consumed dietary supplements reported an increase in their supplement intake following the COVID-19 outbreak.

Local Brands Scandals in China

Following several issues from domestic brands, Chinese peoples are more skeptical of local brands and thus rely on foreign brands when it comes to health supplements, cosmetics, food, and skincare products. For instance, Australian brands have a high reputation within China’s People’s Republic.

Presence of E-Commerce Platforms and Online Stores

As a result of China’s rapid digitalization, e-commerce platforms were able to grasp more than 900 million users. The key leaders of e-commerce are of course Tmall, JD.com, and Taobao, but other players were also able to stand out in the e-commerce industry such as Xiaohongshu, Pinduoduo, Kaola, etc.

On top of the wide range of products available on these e-commerce platforms, people are also benefiting from quick delivery within the same, which makes it easier and more attractive for foreign brands to sell their health supplements on online sales channels.

Key Regions to Sell Your Health Supplements in the Chinese Market

Even though it might seem surprising, the biggest health foods end-product importer in China was the province of Guangdong (25,8% of all the health food imports, which amounted to US$773 million), while Tianjian was the fastest growing in terms of imports.

Shanghai and Zhejiang took respectively the 3rd and 2nd spot, importing health supplements worth US$629 million and US$739 million.

However, when it comes to the health supplements market in China, don’t focus only on these provinces, because thanks to e-commerce platforms, you don’t need to worry about selling your products and delivering them to consumers all across China.

How to Market Your Vitamin and Dietary Supplement in China?

Comply with Chinese Regulations

As in any country around the world, you will need to comply with the country’s regulations. As a matter of fact, if you want to sell your vitamin and health supplements in China, you will need to complete and apply for labeling requirements. Don’t forget that you will need to translate everything into Chinese and send it to the seller’s platforms or warehouse before shipment.

Fulfill Chinese Consumers’ Demands

• Brand awareness holds paramount importance in China when it comes to health supplements and vitamins. Chinese customers prioritize brand recognition while making purchasing decisions.
• Establishing a strong online presence on Chinese websites and social media platforms is crucial for success in the Chinese market.
• Clear and easily understandable product descriptions play a significant role in capturing the attention of Chinese consumers, who focus on the functionality and effects of the products.
• Emphasizing the quality of the product is essential, as Chinese consumers often exhibit greater confidence in purchasing foreign products over domestic ones.
• Word-of-mouth and feedback from other consumers, as well as social media, heavily influence the attractiveness of a product among Chinese consumers.
• Price comparison with similar brands is a key factor in the purchasing decision-making process for Chinese customers. Conduct thorough research on competitors and adjust the price range accordingly before exporting products to China.

How to Sell Your Vitamins and Health Supplements in China?

Selling products in China is as difficult as it might seem. However, it is important to know the Chinese market beforehand, as well as the best methods to sell your vitamins and health supplements in China.

E-Commerce in China

Product registration and licensing for Health Sector Products is an extremely lengthy process, even if applications are successfully managed, it can take up to 3 years to complete the process and there is no guarantee of approval. In fact, China has a strict system and regulations when it comes to health-related products.

If you cannot afford e-commerce platforms, or if you don’t want to, you can sell straight away without a license, but you will need approval from the relevant cross-border platform. With China’s huge online population of over 938 million netizens and 800 million e-shoppers, e-commerce platforms are in general the best way to sell products in China.

Tmall: A Powerful E-Commerce Platform for Health Supplements Brands in China

Founded in 2008 under the famous Alibaba group, Tmall (天猫), is a subsidiary of the e-commerce website Taobao (淘宝网). Its target market is primarily B2C (Business-To-Consumer). Tmall’s concept is ambitious and wise as it allows both local and international companies to sell their different categories of products through the platform in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. Tmall stands out from its competitors thanks to its strict standards in terms of quality and renown.

With Tmall being one of the largest and most reputable cross-border e-commerce platforms in China, it benefits from an authentic reputation among Chinese consumers. 

A Tmall.com storefront is essential to the China retail strategy of leading global businesses and the most effective avenue for market penetration.

There are two ways to join Tmall‘s platform:

• Companies with China in-country business operations can apply to Tmall.com.
• Companies with overseas licenses are eligible for the cross-border e-commerce platform Tmall Global.

As an open platform marketplace, Tmall.com provides the infrastructure to host your storefront and unfiltered access to a wide audience of consumers. Operating a Tmall.com storefront is much like operating your own B2C website, offering autonomy from design to operations to fulfillment and logistics.

If you want to sell on Tmall, you will need Official Authorization from the brand to sell on Tmall.cn & Tmall.hk. This Authenticity is very important in China because the domestic market was often associated with counterfeits and poor-quality local goods.

The buyers on Tmall need to verify that this store & product are genuine, this is why selling on this platform is more effective, with higher conversion rates.

Sell Vitamins on JD.com

Founded in 1998 by Liu Qiangdong in Beijing, JD (which stands for Jingdong 京东) was at the beginning only a magneto-optical store, which diversified over the years with electronics, computers, mobile phones, etc. In 2004, it opened its online retail platform and quickly became one of the two massive B2C online retailers in China with its competitor, the Alibaba-run Tmall. Now, JD.com is partly owned by the giant Tencent, which has 20% of its stake. As of 2021, JD.com has over 569.7 million active customers.

In 2022, the total net sales revenues of the online shopping company JD.com amounted to 1,046.2 billion yuan ($151.7 billion). JD.com runs one of the biggest online marketplaces in China, with other platforms being Tmall, Pinduoduo, and Suning. Thus, if you want to sell your health supplements in China, you can apply for the e-commerce platform JD.com and become a seller.

Taobao as an Alternative Platform for Selling Vitamins

Launched in 2003 by e-commerce giant Alibaba, Taobao (淘宝网) is one of the most popular online shopping platforms, specializing in both B2C and C2C transactions

Contrary to Tmall and JD.com, it is easier to be on Taobao as regulations are not as strict. However, be careful to read all the clauses about selling health supplements in China before applying. Taobao does not have a cross-border e-commerce option.

Douyin, the game changer in Health supplement

Douyin (chinese tiktok) has become a pivotal app for marketing health supplements in China, utilizing its vast user base (800millions active user) and powerful engagement tools to influence consumer behavior and drive sales for health brands

Douyin Key Data and Growth Trends 2024

1. User Demographics:
   • Douyin’s health supplement audience primarily consists of younger demographics, with a significant presence of women aged 18-35 who are particularly interested in wellness and health products.
   • There is a notable interest from users in first-tier and new first-tier cities, who tend to have higher disposable incomes and a greater willingness to spend on health and wellness products.
2. Market Penetration and Engagement:
   • Health supplements are one of the top categories for e-commerce on Douyin, benefiting from high viewer engagement rates. Products often featured include vitamins, proteins, and traditional Chinese herbal supplements.
   • Live streaming sessions on Douyin have proven effective for launching new supplements, with influencers and KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) demonstrating product uses and benefits in real-time, driving immediate consumer interaction and sales.
3. Sales and Marketing Trends:
   • Influencer partnerships are crucial on Douyin. Brands frequently collaborate with health and fitness influencers to reach their target audience more authentically.
   • Douyin’s algorithm favors content that generates high user engagement, which is beneficial for health supplement brands that employ creative and informative content strategies.
4. Consumer Behavior Insights:
   • Users on Douyin are highly responsive to trends and innovations in health supplements, such as organic and natural ingredients, which align with the growing health consciousness among Chinese consumers.
   • There is a growing interest in personalized nutrition, leading to increased popularity of tailored supplement solutions, which are often promoted through interactive Douyin content.
5. Growth Projections:
   • The health supplement market on Douyin is expected to continue growing as more users turn to social media for health-related information and product recommendations.
   • As of recent reports, the health supplement industry in China is projected to grow significantly. Platforms like Douyin are critical in this expansion, providing a direct-to-consumer marketing channel that can adapt quickly to changing consumer preferences.

On Douyin, who buy?

Imported nutritional supplement categories that target female buyers, such as skin rejuvenation and brightening, and women’s health care, show significant advantages in advertising deployment and GMV scale, with a high commercial input-output ratio. In the post-pandemic era, products that support liver health, cardiovascular health, and help ease breathing continue to grow rapidly.

Products focused on sports slimming and complex nutrition maintain steady growth, with potential for further GMV increase through high repurchase rates and expanding target demographics. These categories have established a good reputation among users, attracting more loyal customers and increasing sales by continuously expanding the target user base.

Categories like hair care and eye care in imported nutritional supplements still have significant room for growth but require increased commercial traffic investment to break through current advertising expenditures and GMV levels. These categories may need more promotion and advertising to enhance visibility, attracting more user interest and purchasing intent

Best sellers on health supplement in China 2024

The Importance of Having a Website for the Health Supplements Sales in China

If you want potential clients to discover your brand, you need to have a website in Chinese Mandarin, hosted in China (for SEO reasons). Take into account that Baidu (the leading search engine in China), will not rank websites hosted in other countries or websites in other languages than Mandarin. 

This is why it is considered mandatory to have a website tailored to China’s internet in order to attract consumers. Moreover, it is even more important as Chinese adult consumers will be looking for the specificities and explanations about your products. Don’t forget to write a detailed description of your health supplements and your brand.

This is why it is considered mandatory to have a website tailored to China’s internet in order to attract consumers. Moreover, it is even more important as Chinese adult consumers will be looking for the specificities and explanations about your products. Don’t forget to write a detailed description of your health supplements and your brand.

Baidu SEO for Vitamins and Dietary Supplements in China

Baidu’s biggest attribute and main selling feature are that they only index simplified Chinese characters.  In fact, Baidu prefers 100% Chinese-written websites and has difficulty distinguishing several languages. Besides, to improve its trust rank, it is recommended to have a “.cn” website.

As 75% of the research in China are on Baidu, you need to have a good ranking on Baidu to be visible and sell your vitamins and health supplements to Chinese adult consumers.

How to Promote Dietary Supplements on Chinese Social Networks?

The brand image holds great importance, and careful consideration should be given to the product name selection. The name should align with Chinese cultural beliefs and incorporate elements related to “health,” “well-being,” and “form.” Establishing a positive e-reputation is crucial. Western supplement brands leveraging social networks (WeChat, Weibo, Douyin, etc.) should prioritize certain aspects of their marketing strategies:

1. Transparency in Ingredient Communication: Chinese consumers desire clarity regarding the ingredients used in health products, so transparent communication is highly recommended.
2. Scientific Foundation: In China, with a strong appreciation for science, it is essential to ground the benefits of health products in scientific evidence.
3. Peer Recommendations: Chinese consumers heavily rely on peer recommendations when making purchase decisions, seeking assurance of a product’s effectiveness.
4. Emphasis on Quality: Highlighting the use of high-quality raw materials and formulas helps establish trust and emphasize product quality.
5. Collaboration with Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs): Chinese consumers place significant trust in KOLs, particularly in the health sector. Collaborating with influential KOLs can positively impact brand perception.

For instance, By-health, a leading Chinese brand, adopts a strategy of focusing on key products, educating consumers, and conducting targeted marketing activities within a specific category.

Similarly, GNC has introduced new dietary supplement products, placing emphasis on their utilization of high-quality raw materials and formulas.

Case Study – Vitamin Australia Brand ‘Blackmores’ Achieve Huge Success in China

In 2022, the Australian vitamins and health product supplier ‘Blackmores’ has increased its full-year profit by more than half, achieving $93.7 million in revenue after improving direct sales to China. In-country sales to China rose by 6.1% from 2021 to 2022.

Contact us to sell your health supplements products in China

To successfully enter and conquer the vitamin and health supplement market in China, it is imperative to have a clear market development strategy and roadmap. Gentlemen Marketing Agency is a team of experts who specialize in helping brands market their health supplements in China and enhance their online presence.

With our in-depth case studies and understanding of the lucrative opportunities in the nutrition, vitamin, and health supplement markets, we can guide you toward increased sales. By leveraging the growing demand for Western brands and implementing effective marketing tactics, you can capitalize on this thriving market. Our agency’s local expertise ensures that you navigate the challenges and pitfalls of the Chinese market.

We are Tmall Partner, JD partner, Douyin Partner and have connexion with health products distributors

We excel in search engine optimization (SEO) on Baidu, China’s leading search engine, and employ digital tools such as Baidu SEO, SEM, E-PR, Media Buying (DSP), and Community Management to enhance your brand’s online visibility and reputation.

As an ROI-focused agency, we ensure cost-effectiveness while delivering results. With extensive experience working with over 300 Western brands, we have the knowledge and expertise to drive success in the Chinese market.

Moreover, we specialize in lead generation, employing strategies such as data analysis, online advertising, and creating high-quality content to develop your brand’s e-reputation and attract a substantial consumer base.

If you are seeking guidance on marketing your health supplements brand in China, we encourage you to contact us. Our team will respond promptly within 24 hours to provide the assistance and support you need.

Hey fellow startup enthusiasts! If you’re looking to dive into the Chinese market, let’s talk” Douyin” – the powerhouse platform where trends are made, and brands are launched. It’s not just a place for dance videos and challenges; it’s a launchpad for innovative marketing and consumer engagement, tailor-made for dynamic startups like yours. (https://www.douyin.com/)

7 Trends and Data Points on Douyin in 2024

1. Explosive User Growth: Douyin now boasts over 600 million daily active users, making it a fertile ground for reaching a massive audience quickly.
2. E-Commerce Integration: The seamless e-commerce functionalities allow users to purchase products directly through the app, turning viewers into buyers instantaneously.
3. AI-driven Personalization: Advanced algorithms tailor content to user preferences, so your startup’s content gets shown to those most likely to engage.
4. Augmented Reality (AR) Creations: Douyin is pushing the boundaries with AR filters and effects, creating more interactive and immersive user experiences.
5. Influencer Collaborations: The platform is ripe with influencer partnerships, making it easier for startups to amplify their reach through established voices.
6. Local and Hyper-Local Content: There’s a growing trend towards localizing content, so if you’re targeting specific cities or regions, Douyin’s tools can pinpoint your audience.
7. Content Diversity: While short videos dominate, there’s an increasing appetite for varied content like mini-documentaries and educational series that add value to users’ lives.

Investment and Startup Scene in China in 2024

1. Government Incentives: The Chinese government is rolling out more incentives for startups, especially in tech-driven sectors like AI, biotech, and green energy, offering everything from tax breaks to research grants.
2. Venture Capital Surge: VC funding is at an all-time high. More domestic and international VCs are setting up shop in China, looking to fund the next big thing.
3. R&D Focus: Startups with a strong focus on research and development find a welcoming environment here, with multiple science parks and incubators set up across major cities.
4. Cross-Border Collaborations: There’s a strong push for international partnerships, making it easier for startups to access global markets and expertise.
5. Regulatory Improvements: China is streamlining business regulations to make it easier to start and operate a business. This includes faster business registration processes and improved intellectual property protections.

These insights into Douyin and the broader startup ecosystem in China in 2024 paint a vibrant picture of opportunity. Whether you’re looking to launch, expand, or innovate, China’s dynamic market provides a fertile ground for ambitious startups ready to make a Buzz.

Douyin, with its massive and diverse user base, presents a significant opportunity for content creators and businesses to gain visibility and credibility. Here are eight tips to maximize your presence and impact on this vibrant platform:

1. Leverage Trending Hashtags and Challenges: Jump on trending hashtags and participate in or create your own challenges to grab attention. This not only increases visibility but also aligns your content with what’s currently popular, making it more likely to be viewed and shared.
2. Create High-Quality, Engaging Content: Quality cannot be overstated on Douyin. Invest in good production values to make your videos stand out. Use clear visuals and audio, and ensure your content is engaging from the first second to capture and hold viewers’ attention.
3. Encourage Interaction: Start conversations by posing questions or making statements that invite opinions in your videos. This can increase engagement through comments, which boosts your visibility due to the platform’s algorithm favoring highly interactive content.
4. Use the Right Music: Douyin is heavily influenced by music trends. Utilize popular songs or catchy tunes that are trending on the platform to make your content more relatable and shareable.
5. Post Regularly at Optimal Times: Consistency is key. Posting regularly keeps your audience engaged and helps maintain visibility. Analyze when your audience is most active on Douyin and schedule your posts to maximize views.
6. Capitalize on Viewer Insights: Pay close attention to the analytics provided by Douyin. Understand what type of content works best for your audience, and tailor your videos to suit these preferences to keep viewers coming back for more.
7. Collaborate with Other Creators and Influencers: Partner with other Douyin users who have their own followings. This can expose your content to a broader audience and lend credibility through association with well-known influencers.
8. Create a Signature Style: Establish a unique style or theme for your content that viewers can easily recognize. This could be a specific format, recurring characters, or a unique editing style. A strong, recognizable personal brand helps build credibility and a loyal following.

By implementing these tips, you can effectively increase both visibility and credibility on Douyin, making the most of the platform’s vast potential for content virality and audience engagement.

Douyin, the base of Business in China?

Douyin, with its massive and diverse 800millions user base, presents a significant opportunity for startups, content creators and all kind of businesses to gain visibility and credibility.

GMA tips to leverage Douyin for Startups – Business

1. Trending Hashtags Jump on trending hashtags and participate in or create your own challenges to grab attention, #robot #tech etc.
2. Create High-Quality, Engaging Content: Quality cannot be overstated on Douyin. Invest in good production values to make your videos stand out. Use clear visuals and audio, and ensure your content is engaging from the first second to capture and hold viewers’ attention.
3. Interaction: Start conversations by posing questions or making statements that invite opinions in your videos. This can increase engagement through comments, which boosts your visibility due to the platform’s algorithm favoring highly interactive content.
4. Use the Right Music for Chinese audience: Douyin is heavily influenced by music trends. Utilize popular songs or catchy tunes that are trending on the platform to make your content more relatable and shareable.
5. Regular update : Consistency is key. Posting regularly keeps your audience engaged and helps maintain visibility. Analyze when your audience is most active on Douyin and schedule your posts to maximize views.
6. Capitalize on Viewer Insights: Pay close attention to the analytics provided by Douyin. Understand what type of content works best for your audience, and tailor your videos to suit these preferences to keep viewers coming back for more.
7. Collaborate with Other Creators, KOL and Influencers: Partner with other Douyin users who have their own followings. This can expose your content to a broader audience and lend credibility through association with well-known influencers.
8. Create a Signature Style: Establish a unique style or theme for your content that viewers can easily recognize. This could be a specific format, recurring characters, or a unique editing style. A strong, recognizable personal brand helps build credibility and a loyal following.

By implementing these tips, you can effectively increase both visibility and credibility on Douyin, making the most of the platform’s vast potential for content virality and audience engagement.

Case studies of fundraising in China

Let’s explore how three prominent Chinese companies—Dalian Ex Robot, Xpeng, and Xiaomi—use Douyin (TikTok) for marketing, focusing on their strategies and results, particularly in the context of Xpeng and Xiaomi’s involvement in electric vehicles (EVs).

Dalian Ex Robot

Dalian Ex Robot, known for its innovative robotics solutions, utilizes Douyin to showcase its technology and communicate its advancements:

• Product Demonstrations: They often post videos demonstrating the capabilities and functionalities of their robots, offering viewers a glimpse into the sophistication of their technology.
• Behind-the-Scenes Content: By sharing the development and testing phases of their robots, they create transparency and foster trust with their audience.
• Educational Content: They provide insights into the science behind their robots, which not only educates but also engages tech enthusiasts and potential industry clients.
• Engagement Campaigns: Interactive campaigns and challenges involving their robots encourage user participation and engagement, making their content more likely to go viral.

Xpeng

Xpeng Motors, a leading player in China’s booming EV market, uses Douyin strategically to boost its brand presence and engage with a tech-savvy audience:

• Showcasing Innovations: Xpeng posts videos that highlight the unique features of their EVs, such as autonomous driving capabilities, infotainment systems, and innovative software updates.
• Customer Testimonials and User Stories: Sharing experiences of real users and their journeys with Xpeng vehicles builds credibility and relatability.
• Participation in Challenges: Engaging in popular Douyin challenges, sometimes creating their own around eco-friendly driving or technology in transportation, helps maintain their relevance and visibility.
• Results: Through consistent and engaging content on Douyin, Xpeng has managed to enhance its brand visibility among younger consumers, crucial for the EV market, and drive interest in test drives and pre-orders.

Xiaomi

Xiaomi, traditionally known for its smartphones, has also entered the EV market and uses Douyin to generate buzz around its new ventures:

• Teaser Campaigns: Xiaomi employs teaser videos and sneak peeks of upcoming products to generate interest and buzz. This strategy is particularly effective in building anticipation for new EV launches.
• Highlighting Technology and Design: Focused content on the technological innovations, design features, and eco-friendly aspects of their EVs appeals to tech enthusiasts and environmentally conscious consumers.
• Collaborative Influencer Marketing: Partnering with popular Douyin influencers who share or demonstrate the features of Xiaomi EVs helps reach wider audiences.
• Interactive Formats: Xiaomi uses polls, Q&A sessions, and live streams to directly engage with their followers, answering questions about their EVs, which helps demystify electric vehicle technology for the general public.

By leveraging Douyin’s extensive reach and interactive capabilities, these companies effectively engage with audiences, showcase their products, and build strong brand awareness. Their success on Douyin illustrates the power of combining innovative content with strategic social media marketing to captivate and educate potential customers, particularly in the fast-evolving EV market.

We are a Douyin official agency

To be an effective business in China, you need to think of your audience as consumers and your organization as a product you’re trying to sell them. A good marketing strategy supports the entire consumer’s decision-making process.

Trends for Startup fundraising in China

Fundraising is an important source of income for many charities and nonprofits. Unfortunately, fundraising rules in China can be tricky to navigate.

Online fundraising is currently the fastest-growing channel for nonprofits, and it is also incredibly effective. Forget about the old-school strategies, there are more effective ways of fundraising online for organizations.

2024, several key trends are shaping the landscape of fundraising in China:

1. Private Equity Growth: There’s a noticeable increase in private equity activities, especially with a focus on technology and innovation-driven sectors. This trend is expected to continue with greater involvement in buyouts and minority investments​ (HubSpot)​.
2. Socially Responsible Ventures: Investment is increasingly flowing into socially responsible and eco-friendly ventures. This shift is largely driven by a growing emphasis on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria among investors​ (HubSpot)​.
3. Unicorns Under Pressure: There is an anticipated challenge for unicorns (startups valued over $1 billion) to raise capital. The environment might become tougher for these high-valuation companies, leading to a potential decrease in their number​ (HubSpot)​.
4. Increased Secondary Market Activities: The venture capital secondary market is expected to see more activity, providing liquidity options for investors who seek early exits. This trend is boosted by the rise in direct listings and Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)​ (HubSpot)​.
5. Focus on Women Founders: The venture capital industry is observing an increase in investments directed towards women-led startups and funds, aligning with a broader push towards diversity and inclusion​ (HubSpot)​.
6. Government Regulations on AI: Stricter regulations on AI startups are anticipated, focusing on data privacy, algorithmic transparency, and ethical considerations, which could impact investment trends in this sector​ (HubSpot)​.
7. Emerging Technologies: There is strong investor interest in emerging technologies like AI, blockchain, fintech, and space technology, as these areas are seen as critical for future economic growth and innovation​ (HubSpot)​.

These trends reflect a dynamic shift towards more diversified, responsible, and technologically advanced fundraising activities within China’s vibrant investment landscape.

List of top venture capital firms in China

Each known for their strategic investments across various stages and industries:

1. Sequoia Capital China – Focuses on tech, healthcare, and consumer sectors, with significant investments in high-growth companies.
2. Matrix Partners China – Specializes in early-stage tech and healthcare investments.
3. Qiming Venture Partners – Known for healthcare and TMT investments, supporting early-stage companies.
4. Tiger Global Management – Global firm that funds from early to pre-IPO stages, with a focus on technology and consumer sectors.
5. Shunwei Capital – Invests in mobile internet, deep tech, and consumer IoT.
6. Hillhouse Capital Group – Targets a broad range of sectors including technology, healthcare, and consumer services.
7. SAIF Partners – Active in a variety of sectors including technology and telecommunications.
8. Lightspeed China Partners – Focuses on green technology, hard technology, and consumer fields.
9. GGV Capital – A global VC firm engaging in multi-stage investments across the US and China.
10. ZhenFund – Invests in early-stage TMT, healthcare, and education startups.
11. IDG Capital – Early investor in numerous successful Chinese companies, covering various sectors.
12. Morningside Venture Capital – Known for investments in innovative high-tech startups.
13. CDH Investments – Focuses on private equity and venture capital across multiple sectors.
14. Legend Capital – Early to growth-stage investor with a focus on innovation-driven businesses.
15. Kleiner Perkins – While based in the US, it has significant investment activities in China, particularly in tech and healthcare.

we have contacts top 100 VC in China …

7 Marketing Tips Every Fundraiser Needs

Creating a strong fundraising strategy for your next campaign will help you focus your efforts and guide your day-to-day fundraising marketing.

Raise more than you ever thought possible.

 Chinese Website: Connect to your audience

Investing in a Chinese market can be particularly profitable in the medium term thanks to their type of economy: in fact, it benefits from a business-friendly market, healthy public finance, and continuous and growing parsimony from Asian families.

One of the strengths of Gentlemen’s Marketing agency is the development of SEO-optimized websites for Chinese search engines such as Baidu. This type of service is enormously more effective than simply translating a website into Mandarin, as often happens because of a lack of knowledge of the Chinese market of foreign agencies. The term “optimized” in fact indicates the improvement of site performance not only in SEO for search engines but also for the Chinese public, with its tastes, its peculiarities, and its weaknesses.

It would be really unthinkable to hope to enter such a vast and complex market without the support of a website that is functional for business objectives. That’s why we always say that you have to be present in China with a site specifically designed in SEO SEO Baidu friendly and designed to respond to the characteristics of the eastern country.

Features, needless to say, that will be different and sometimes difficult to understand if you do not have that fundamental cultural and technical knowledge and yet are absent in mother tongue translators.

PR Campaign: Coordinate your outreach

In 2019 no one can afford to do without PR public relations, those social activities that have always made a difference. Both a large company and a single person, need public relations to make their brand known in the cauldron of activities that flood the web. In fact, visibility is not achieved only with an SEO positioning or with paid campaigns, but also with very specific communication techniques,

GMA develops continuous public relations campaigns targeted at individual territorial initiatives aimed at the public in China. The projects are developed in various directions, both in terms of interpersonal contacts and dissemination through social media campaigns, which can initiate a positive word of mouth, and be measured and checked or corrected as needed.

Furthermore, we can internally and through a network of partners organize promotional and relationship events of various levels

Forums Q+A: Tracking Success

In China, there is a different digital world from the rest of the world. Search engines and social media are different and this is also true for the forums. In China the twin of the Quora site is Zhihu. In a short time, it became the platform of shared knowledge most visited by the Chinese population. All the questions and answers are contained in Zhihu, this is why it is important to know this type of forum, as users search for information, read articles, and do make on many areas, one could be yours!

Personal Branding: Catch your Chinese donors’ attention

Developing and improving the personal brand is an activity that is born when joining activities performed offline and other online turns, the more these two contexts come together the more opportunities become. The key to the development of a strong Personal Brand is to cultivate it. and grow it over time; to make it a successful Personal Brand, it is essential to define your company image and improve your relationships.

In addition to these aspects, it is equally fundamental that the Brand is authentic, without authenticity and substance, the Personal Brand risks being destroyed easily and in a short time, particularly today, because communication is always faster and more effective.

What you need to improve your personal image in China is careful work in the use of social media, a strategy designed to strengthen your own image.

WeChat Marketing: Know Your Audience

Distributed in early 2011 by the Chinese group Tencent, a global leader in digital innovation, We Chat is a social media application and media platform integrated into mobile phones. Totally free, in addition to traditional instant messaging, offers a wide range of features

The real added value of this App is sharing. The consumer wants to live an experience: the strength of this innovative mobile platform is to channel all applications into a single social media and to be present in all dimensions of interaction with people. So what are the opportunities for foreign companies with Chinese consumers and how can WeChat help them? Sell their products in China and, through this tool, let them know to Chinese consumers approaching their market. WeChat allows you to dialogue and get immediate feedback on the product, without first having to open a business in China provided you are supported by a Web Agency competent in matters such as us at GMA.

Storytelling: Keep your message fresh

In the digital marketing of a product, or even of a company in general, it is practiced by promoting itself through the emotions that can be generated within people.

This is because of nature, man is the narrator: since ancient times, in fact, we hear talk of “storytellers”, and the stories themselves were told and handed down verbally, through images and drawings, or written.

The human need was and still is gathering information to document situations and events from which to gain knowledge, and then share it. The thing in the company is the same: storytelling, in fact, allows greater involvement of its users, in the most human sense of the term.

Gentlemen Marketing Agency

In the digital world, it can be practiced in various ways and give lots of benefits :

• Personal stories make you accessible, engaging, and memorable.
• Focus On The Audience For A True Connection
• Be Authentic: Stories inspire emotional connections

GMA has the right “pens” to Revise your strategy moving forward until you find the perfect balance for your organization.

Read also:

• 10 Etiquette Rules for Doing Business in China
• How PR (Public Relations) in China Differs from Advertising
• How to Market an ICO /IPO / Fundraising for Chinese Investors

Plant-based meat market in China

For Beyond Meat, entering the Chinese alternative meat market is a priority due to its size. According to a study published in May 2019 by the Good Food Institute, China’s plant-based meat industry market was approximately 6.1 billion yuan ($ 910 million), up 14.2% year-on-year.

Over 90% of Chinese survey respondents do not identify as vegan or vegetarian, which shows that these market share gains represent a growing interest of the general public in consuming plant-based meat.

Furthermore, the Chinese meat industry is huge. The nation consumes nearly a third of all the meat in the world. Any meat-based company looking to increase its sales would do well to look to China.

Increasing consumer awareness of environmental hazards such as water and soil degradation, acid rain, coral reef degeneration, and deforestation associated with killing animals is expected to spur industry growth.

According to Statista, a survey conducted in China in April 2020 of plant-based meat products revealed that 85% of respondents were very willing or at least somehow willing to try new plant-based meat dishes in a restaurant. Only one percent of respondents were strongly opposed to ordering such dishes.

Chinese consumers are open to plant-based meat

The timing for Beyond Meat could not be better! Chinese consumers are now more open to the idea of plant-based meat products, contributing to a healthy lifestyle.

Many Chinese consumers are actively seeking to reduce meat consumption. Chinese consumers are cutting back on meat consumption, opting instead for more vegetables, tofu, and vegan meat substitutes. China already has over 50 million vegetarians, who offer an immediate consumer base that doesn’t need to be convinced to experiment with meat alternatives.

According to research conducted in 2019, over 80 percent of consumers who had eaten plant-based meat within a six-month span were born after 1990.

Covid-19 has also highlighted some of the potential safety benefits of a pivot towards plant-based meat in China. Over 90 percent of the world’s meat comes from industrial farms, where animals are kept close to each other in potentially unsanitary conditions, which could favor epidemics.

Although Chinese consumers have had little exposure to new meat-based meat products, there are signs that the market may be receptive. In one signal of increasing interest in traditional meat alternatives, search inquiries for “plant meat” on Alibaba’s online platform TMall surged 40 percent through the year ending May, according to a report by CBNData and TMall.

Beyond Meat’s market entry strategy in China

Beyond Meat is a Los Angeles-based producer of plant-based meat substitutes founded in 2009 by Ethan Brown. As of 2020, Beyond products are widely available in most U.S. grocery stores.

The company recently entered the Chinese market and its plant-based burger is enjoying great success in China. The partnership with Starbucks marks Beyond’s entry into the Chinese market.

Seeing the growing demand for plant-based meat in China, Beyond meat entered the market excited to take advantage of this unique opportunity to offer the Chinese consumer another sustainable protein option.

The first Beyond Meat product to land in China was Beyond Beef: Made with simple plant-based ingredients with no GMO, soy, or gluten, Beyond Beef is designed to be a seamless exchange in traditional beef recipes such as lo mein and xiaolongbao.

Beyond meat partnered with Starbucks to introduce Beyond Beef as part of their new “GOOD GOOD” menu, leveraging Starbucks’ large presence and avid customer base to bring plant-based meat and its benefits to millions of Chinese consumers.

This strategy highlights how the company has adapted its product to the local market, producing something related to traditional Chinese recipes; and how it has sought to collaborate with a company already strong in the market such as Starbucks to increase its range of Chinese consumers.

Beyond meat establishes its presence in the Chinese digital world

Being present on Chinese platforms is important to increase brand awareness in the Chinese market. Having a website in Chinese, hosted in China, and implementing the right SEO strategy, can lead your brand to be recognized by many Chinese consumers. Furthermore, the presence on social media platforms such as WeChat and Weibo is important given the constant use that the Chinese make of them.

This is precisely what Beyond meat set up a Chinese-language website, as well as accounts on local social media platforms such as Tencent’s WeChat and Weibo, to spread the word about its debut in China and to better connect with Chinese consumers.

Latest news about Beyond Meat partnerships

Beyond Meat & Starbucks partnership to introduce dishes made with Beyond plant-based meat

As we said before, Beyond Meat debuted in China in April 2020 through a partnership with the Starbucks coffee chain. The reason is that Starbucks is a trusted brand with a strong market presence and a deep understanding of customers in China.

Starbucks for its part, thanks to the partnership, can introduce the consumption of the increasingly desired plant-based meat in its menu.

The American coffee giant has in fact introduced dishes made Beyond plant-based meat in its menu. With this move Beyond Meat takes the first step into one of the largest food markets in the world.

The new ‘GOOD GOOD’ menu launched at Starbucks in China, offers plant-based options that are better for people and the planet. The menu includes three Beyond Beef options, including:

• Beyond Beef Classic Lasagna
• Beyond Beef Pesto Pasta
• Beyond Beef Spicy & Sour Wrap

The new menu has been available in more than 3,300 Starbucks locations across China.

Starbucks’ new offerings also include dishes from plant-based pork alternative brand Omnipork and beverages with oat milk provided by Swedish brand Oatly.

Beyond Meat & Alibaba partnership to sell on the Chinese Freshippo supermarket chain

Alibaba is the latest big-time partner Beyond has won in China, a huge market that is seen as vital for the company’s growth.

The company on June 2020 announced an agreement to sell the company’s plant-based Beyond Burgers in 50 Shanghai-based Freshippo stores. The burgers will also be sold via the Freshippo mobile app.

Freshippo is a supermarket chain, also known by the Chinese name Hema, launched by Alibaba in 2016.

Beyond Meat and Freshippo share a vision of bringing innovative shopping experiences and products to Chinese customers.

• On his side, in fact, Freshippo has found a growing interest in vegetable meat among buyers and wants to profit from the growing phenomenon.
• While Beyond Meat sees this partnership as a way to increase brand and sales in the Chinese market. It’s also a big hit for Beyond Meat because none of its meatless rivals fighting for Chinese stomachs have entered grocery chains yet.

The company also plans to expand distribution to 48 additional Freshippo stores later this year in Beijing and Hangzhou.

Other Beyond Meat partnerships for the Chinese market

A few weeks after the company announced its deal with Starbucks to include pasta, lasagna, and meatless rolls on the menu. Beyond Meat has partnered to offer Beyond Burgers with some of the most popular fast-food chains in China.

It has now become possible to eat meatless pasta, lasagna, and wraps at KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell.

Beyond also found a new agreement with a local food distributor, Sinodis, which will help the company supply restaurants and catering in China. Shares in the company recently increased after the disclosure of this deal.

Meanwhile, however, competition remains fierce for Beyond meat. While the fake meat trend is still taking shape in mainland China, Beyond clashes with other famous brands, including Impossible Foods, another Californian comer, which has signaled plans for its own launch in China.

1. What are the key drivers of consumer interest in plant-based meat in China?
   • This question aims to uncover the primary motivations behind the adoption of plant-based meats among Chinese consumers. Is it health consciousness, ethical concerns about animal welfare, environmental awareness, or simply curiosity and the influence of global trends? Understanding these drivers can help tailor marketing strategies and product offerings.
2. Who are the target demographics for plant-based meat products in China?
   • Identifying specific consumer segments that are more likely to adopt plant-based diets is crucial. Are younger generations more open to trying plant-based meat? Are there significant differences in preference between urban and rural consumers? Insights into demographics can guide product development, pricing strategies, and distribution channels.
3. What are the challenges and barriers to adoption of plant-based meats in China?
   • Potential obstacles might include taste preferences, cultural significance of traditional meat dishes, price sensitivity, lack of awareness, or distrust of new food technologies. Addressing these barriers effectively is key to increasing market penetration.
4. How does the regulatory environment in China impact the plant-based meat industry?
   • Understanding the regulatory framework governing food safety, labeling, advertising, and imports of plant-based meat products is essential. Are there specific certifications or regulations that must be met? How does the government view plant-based diets in terms of food security and sustainability?
5. What are the competitive dynamics within the plant-based meat sector in China?
   • This involves analyzing the existing market players, from startups to established food companies, and evaluating their market share, product range, and distribution strategies. Are international brands making significant inroads, or is the market dominated by local players? What strategies are competitors employing to capture consumer interest?

Exploring these questions will provide valuable insights into the plant-based meat market in China, enabling companies to craft informed strategies to capture and grow their market share in this emerging sector.

Why is Beyond Meat having so much success in the Chinese market?

Starting from the important demand for plant-based meat in China, Beyond meat has localized its marketing strategy by adapting to the demands of the Chinese market. It has in fact collaborated with chains already strongly present in the market such as Starbucks and Alibaba, going to fill a gap in the market.

The company also had the readiness to enter the Chinese digital world, given its importance, and now has active accounts on Wechat, Weibo, and even a Chinese website in order to reach Chinese consumers and increase brand awareness in the market.

You can also read our Strategic Guide to Export Food Brands in China

If you want to know how to enter the Chinese digital world and increase your sales, contact us. Gentlemen Marketing Agency is a Digital Marketing Agency that is an expert in helping foreign companies to establish or strengthen their position in China.

Read also:

• HOW TO ENTER INTO CHINA’S PLANT BASED MARKET?
• OATLY: ANOTHER SWEDISH SUCCESS STORY IN CHINA
• PLANT-BASED MILKS ARE HUGELY POPULAR IN CHINA

So, it is clear that in order to succeed in China, you will have to focus on e-commerce, but you will also have to plan your marketing campaigns according to China’s festivals and specific events. In order to help you understand the importance of adapting and planning your marketing campaign beforehand, we have made this short article reuniting 12 of the most important events that every marketer should be aware of when doing business in China.

The 12 most important dates for FMCG brands in China

1. Chinese New Year
2. Valentine’s Day
3. Qingming Festival (Tomb Sweeping Day)
4. Labor Day
5. Dragon Boat Festival
6. Summer shopping season in Hong Kong
7. Qixi Festival: China’s Valentine’s Day
8. Golden Week
9. Mid-Autumn Festival
10. Single’s Day – 11.11
11. Double 12 Festival
12. Christmas

Why should you plan your China marketing strategy with key dates in mind?

In China, besides universal traditions like Mother’s or Father’s Day, and Christmas, China has its own holidays and festivals. They allow brands to launch promotional campaigns in order to attract as many consumers as possible. To explain the importance of these promotional campaigns, you have to know that Chinese consumers are particularly tempted to purchase products if they can benefit from discounts. So, you will have to plan which period and event is the most suitable to send vouchers and apply discounts.

Chinese society is benefiting from a growing purchasing power. Thus, people are able to afford and buy even more products, especially on e-commerce platforms. China is in fact the fastest growing country in the world in terms of e-commerce, registering a 44% growth as of 2020. However, if you want to be profitable and attract Chinese consumers, you will have to adapt your strategies according to events and festivals that are specific to China. By doing this, you will be able to increase your ROI. 

Want to get started with eCommerce in China, but you are feeling overwhelmed with the info available? head out to our China eCommerce Guide, we compiled the most important information about each platform in the shortest form possible, so you don’t get lost in the mass!

Shopping Events and Holidays to Increase your ROI

For almost every kind of business in the world, the goal of a company is to increase its ROI (Return On Investment). However, as many companies have settled their business and expanded their activities in China, the competition is tougher than ever. In order to increase your ROI, you will not only need to be creative to stand amongst your competitors, but you will also have to take advantage of festivals like the 11.11 festival, which is one of the most lucrative days of e-commerce companies in China.

The 12 most important dates in China

1. Chinese New Year – Between January and February

The Chinese New Year is the most important event in China and also one of the biggest shopping festivals, comparable to our Christmas. In contrast to western countries that are using a solar calendar, China is using a lunar calendar. This period of the year marks the beginning of China’s holiday, which is a period during which they have to honor their household, heavenly deities as well as ancestors. It is also an opportunity to bring the family together for feasting. During the Chinese New year, almost everyone returns to their hometown in order to celebrate this particular day with their relatives.

During the few weeks before the Chinese New Year there’s a rise in consumption as people buy presents and bring them to their family. Then, firms will begin to wind down their business a week or so prior to the first day of the festival.

To have an effective campaign for Chinese new year celebrations you need to start advertising early so that potential buyers know what products are available or promoted at some point between Christmas and when festivities begin.

Many brands use Chinese new year as an opportunity to show their understanding of the Chinese culture through thoughtful video clips and short movies, others for instance launch limited new years collection or packaging, while other have special discounts and vouchers.

Being aware of Chinese Festivals and celebrations is unfortunately not enough to meet a great success. We wrote 5 Tips for successful Chinese new years campaigns which should give you a great idea about the do’s and don’t do’s of special days campaigns in China.

Finally, you will have to ensure that you have a detailed schedule of opening and closing dates in advance, in order to organize and prepare your stocks of products. After all, Chinese New Year is also a particular time of the year for businesses in China, as it is the time to re-group, re-strategize, and re-staff for the new year to come.

The few last days of the Chinese holidays are also important because it is the Lantern Festival, which lasts for 4 days. It symbolizes a family reunion and people are able to release some lanterns in the sky.

2. Western Valentine’s Day – February 14th

Even if China has its own Valentine’s day, young people tend to follow western countries’ traditional Valentine’s day. During this day, you will have to promote your products intensively, with colorful packaging, or you can also offer a product for one product purchased so they can give the other one to their loved one. You will also have to focus on social media, such as WeChat, Weibo, and Douyin, by promoting campaigns celebrating love and care.

3. Qingmingjie 清明节 (Tomb Sweeping Day) – Between April 4th – 6th

The Qingming Festival (translated as “Pure Brightness Festival”) is the day when Chinese families visit the tombs of their ancestors to clean the gravesites, pray for their ancestors, and make ritual offerings. Your marketing campaigns should start around the middle of March and you have to know that promotions involving travel-related packages are really popular during this period of time.

4. Labour Day – May 1st

The Chinese Labour Day is celebrated in China on the 1st of May. It started as just a day off but has become 5 days where people are able to spend time with their children, do the shopping and other things for themselves or others who may not be so fortunate. The longer vacations typically correspond with an increase in consumption which benefits all sectors including retail stores that depend heavily on consumer spending

5. Dragon Boat Festival – June 14th (as for 2021)

The Dragon Boat Festival is one of the most important Chinese festivals as it celebrates the life of Qu Yuan, a famous Chinese scholar. During this day, people eat Zhongzi (rice dumplings) and it is now common to give gifts. Gifts such as e-coupons, vouchers, high-tech products, and luxury products are highly popular. For example, you can create some WeChat H5 brochures with Zhongzi on them, and create mini-games allowing people to win prizes.

6. Summer Sales and shopping season in Hong Kong – July – August

Just like in a lot of countries summers sales are very successful with customers always looking at finding the best deals.

In Hong Kong during the summer shopping season, July and August are marked by events that allow shoppers to find products with rebates. These opportunities have been a major lure for mainland Chinese consumers who love high-quality items at lower prices!

7. Qixi Festival: China’s Valentine’s Day – August 14th

Did you know that China had its own Valentine’s Day? In fact, even if Valentine’s day (Qixi) is not considered as an official festival in China, Qixi has grown to become one of the most important giftings (and shopping) festivals in China, with luxury brands doubling up on their digital marketing efforts to boost their online sales during this period. For example, these past few years many brands were able to boost their sales thanks to the release of limited-edition products on their website. It was also a way for consumers to engage with their favorite brand on social media.

Over the years, the Qixi festival is increasingly turning into a shopping festival, so you will definitely have to consider integrating buzz-generating campaigns in your marketing strategies. By doing this, it will be a  great opportunity for you to drive e-commerce conversions.

8. Golden Week – October 1st – 7th

Considered as the National Holiday, it is also known as the Golden Week. This week is one of the longest Holidays in China after the Spring Festival holidays. Many people decide to travel during this Golden Week and consumption usually skyrockets during that week.

Here are some figures from 2020:

• From Oct. 1 to 8, duty-free sales in Hainan more than doubled from 2019— rising 148.7%—to a total of 1.04 billion yuan ($155 million)
• Chinese e-commerce giant Tmall Global saw 79% spike in sales during the golden week 2020 (compare to the same period in 2019).

9. Mid-Autumn Festival – September/October

Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节) is also one of the family-oriented holidays in China and the most important after the Chinese New year. Also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival is a traditional holiday celebrated by many East and Southeast Asian people. It can be traced back to 3000 years ago at a time where peoples where celebrating the moon in hope for good harvest.

The festival is linked to mythological story personas such as Chang’e and her husband Hou Yi (and of course the full moon) that are often represented in companies’ communication at that time for the year. The festival sees family coming together and exchanging gifts such as fancy moon cake and snacks boxes.

The mid-autumn festival has become an important day for companies who uses the meaning and esthetics of the holiday to sell gift box and limited edition. A celebration such as the mid-autumn festival is also an excellent way to leverage emotions such as nostalgia and create a stronger engagement with your target audience. It is a good opportunity for an international brands to show they care about the Chinese culture.

10. Single’s Day “11.11” – November 11th

Single’s Day or “Double Eleven”, on November 11th, is a 24-hour super discount period initially launched by Taobao (Alibaba) and followed by all the other major players of E-commerce. It can be compared to Black Friday in the United States. “Single’s Day” has now become a very anticipated and highly appreciated event in China, which can lead to amazing sales if you have a strong marketing plan.

11.11 has become an unmissable date for companies in China and they start prepping the field month ahead to make sure they will be ready on time for the big day! Chinese eCommerce apps offer a plethora of marketing tools, such as special deals or discount, pre-purchases, and so on, to merchants who want their brand and products hyped up enough for the biggest day of the year.

Double 11, is a good time to launch new collections but it’s also a great opportunity to sell out-of-season stock.

NB: On 11.11 consumers not only purchase products they would not in normal time but the practice of purchasing a year’s worth of common daily life items such as toilet paper and shampoo is pretty mainstream.

11. Double 12 Festival

“Double Twelve” on December 12 is a sequel to “Double Eleven”. Originally launched to support smaller Taobao vendors that could not compete against huge brands on 11.11, the event has rapidly become another popular shopping festival in China although on a much smaller scale.

Still, an event that comes with a few advantages to smaller sized vendors, for instance in 2016, there were no commission fees for sales made during the event.

Although the event is not as big as 11.11 in China, the Double 12 takes takes place in pretty much all Asia, and it is substantial.

12. Christmas

As in many western countries, Christmas is also a synonym of festivities in China, even if it is not a traditional festival in China. Young people are especially fond of the Christmas atmosphere around snow and Santa Claus. You will be able to apply kind of the same marketing strategy in China as you have here.

Understanding 520: (May 20th )

The Chinese Love Code and it Impact Brand Campaigns

The number “520” in China has a special significance, particularly among the younger generation. It is widely recognized as a numerical expression equivalent to saying “I love you.” The pronunciation of “520” in Mandarin, “wǔ èr líng,” sounds phonetically similar to the words “wǒ ài nǐ,” which mean “I love you.” This association has turned May 20th (5/20) into an unofficial love-themed holiday, akin to Valentine’s Day, where couples express their affection, propose, or give gifts.

Brand Campaigns Leveraging 520 in China

Given its popularity, many brands have strategically used “520” as a part of their marketing campaigns to tap into the emotionally charged buying behavior of consumers during this period. Here are key aspects of how brands can and have leveraged 520 in their campaigns:

1. Limited-Edition Products: Brands often release special “520” themed products, which might include exclusive or limited-edition items designed to appeal as gifts. For example, jewelry brands release “love-themed” collections, and tech companies might offer gadgets in special colors or with romantic motifs.
2. Special Promotions and Discounts: Retailers and online shopping platforms usually run promotions and discounts to encourage gift purchases. This can include everything from fashion and beauty products to electronics and household items, all marketed as perfect gifts to show love.
3. Social Media Campaigns: Brands often create interactive social media campaigns around 520. These might involve hashtags (e.g., #SayILoveYou520), contests, or user-generated content initiatives where participants share their love stories or post pictures with their loved ones for a chance to win prizes.
4. Influencer Collaborations: Leveraging KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) and influencers to spread the word about 520 promotions can amplify reach and credibility. Influencers might share how they celebrate the day, showcasing branded products as part of their celebrations.
5. Experiential Events: Some brands take 520 beyond digital and print campaigns by organizing events or pop-ups that offer unique experiences for couples. These can range from themed dinners to romantic getaway contests, often in partnership with travel companies, restaurants, or even local governments.

Impact of 520 Campaigns

The effectiveness of 520 campaigns can be significant in China due to the cultural resonance of the number and the wide participation in celebrating love on this day. Brands that successfully tap into the emotional and cultural aspects of 520 can see a notable boost in sales, customer engagement, and brand visibility. As with any culturally specific campaign, the key to success lies in authentically connecting with the audience’s sentiments and offering real value that aligns with the occasion’s spirit.

Adapting your advertising campaign according to specific events

During these events and festivals, Chinese consumers will be more actively looking for products, brands, and deals. During this time, you should use content to build buzz, using keywords and hashtags to ensure that consumers will click on your ad.

Hiring a KOL

It is important to underline the fact that if you want to advertise your products as well as your brand in China, you might probably want to hire a KOL (Key Opinion Leader) who acts as an influencer. However, you will have to take into account that there are some promotion periods in China. So, you will have to contact them at the appropriate time, not too early nor too late, in order to be prepared and be up-to-date. To know when you should contact KOLs, you can look at the recap at the end of this article.

A short recap

5/ Our services

As specialists in the Chinese Market, Gentlemen Marketing Agency’s experts can help you to export your products in China, as well as establish a powerful marketing strategy. We know all the subtleties of the Chinese market and how to engage an audience during different kinds of festivals. Contact us to discuss your projects in China and we will help you enter the Chinese market and benefit from the advice of our experts.

Get to know us:

• 100% digital marketing
• Team of 60+ people based in Shanghai
• More than 1000 projects
• Many successful projects and collaborations (Case studies available)

The Chinese pet health market is experiencing significant growth, driven by rising pet ownership and increasing spending on pet care among the growing middle class in big cities like Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen , etc.

As this market continues to expand, it presents a multitude of opportunities for brands looking to enter or enhance their presence in the sector. Brands should consider “marketing” when strategizing for success in China’s multi-billion-dollar pet health market

Pet health market growth in China

According to the market research made by Frost & Sullivan, the pet industry, which includes food, medical, grooming, and general products, is expected to reach RMB472.3 billion ($66.8 billion) in China by 2023. According to datamintelligence.com, The China Animal Health Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6 – 7% during the period 2020-2027. The Chinese pet health market is growing, mainly due to the following factors:

• Demographic trends and changing perceptions of pet ownership
• the rising popularity of pet ownership
• the willingness of owners to increase spending on their pet’s health
• the introduction of healthcare innovations

Chinese pet owners are becoming increasingly aware of their pets’ health and nutrition and are also looking for veterinary services. This, in turn, is creating a growing demand for diversified forms of pet health care products.

Pet health products , what is popular in China in 2024

The products of the pet health market mainly include:

• medicines
• anti-infectives
• medicinal feed additives
• vaccines
• parasiticides

The vaccine segment is expected to have the next highest market share as it strengthens the immune system against disease-causing pathogens. Indeed, growing cases of health problems in pets have resulted in the need for vaccinations against multiple diseases. Owners are increasingly concerned about the safety of their pets and are now opting for preventative vaccines in advance.

China Pet Health Industry Segmentation by animals

The pet Health market is segmented by animals into cats, dogs, equine, fishes, and others, in any case, the market is dominated by dogs and cats.

Anyway, the Chinese pet economy is still in its infancy, and there is still significant potential for greater pet ownership in the country. This can be inferred from the fact that in 2018, 100 million households, or 22% of total households, in the country owned a pet, which is far less than the United States, where 67% of families owned pets.

Who’s driving the Pet health market in China?

Chinese millennials are the driving force behind this market. Young Millennials under the age of 30 accounted for 45.2% of the total pet owners in China in 2019, while Millennials aged 30 to 40 made up 29.5% of the pet owner population.

This younger demography drives the growing demand for online resources. This is especially evident given the popularity of apps and forums for pets in China.

Unlike their older generation counterparts who seek a simple company, Millennials take care of their pets. They see animal welfare as a top priority and are also willing to spend money on products to ensure they are well-fed and healthy.

International Brands are the first healthy choice for Chinese pets owner

Pet owners in China are among the most experienced digitalization buyers in the world. Almost 90% purchased pet products online, with many often turning to cross-border e-commerce platforms to find premium and high-quality imports that are not yet widely available offline in China.

As an increasing number of consumers in China try to offer the best to their pets, this market represents a significant growth track for international brands that go beyond the essential elements for establishing trends.

These international players are dominating the market currently with their product development strategies and extensive experience in the production of pet products. Therefore, Chinese consumers are more willing to trust and buy products from these brands. This is especially true in health products.

This vision helps foreign brands to enter the market as there is an opportunity to emphasize their experience, reliability, and knowledge.

Who are the main players of the Chinese pet health industry?

The China pet health market is fragmented with the presence of multiple local and international players. More than 40% of the China pet health market is attributed to the top five players:

1. Boehringer Ingelheim
2. Zoetis
3. Bayer Healthcare
4. MSD Animal Health (Merck)
5. Virbac

Others include China Animal Husbandry Co. Ltd, Dachang, Elanco Animal Health, Vetoquinol SA, and joint ventures like Meili Omni-Honesty (Boehringer Ingelheim and Beijing KangMu Omni-Honesty Animal Health Products Co. Ltd.)

E-commerce is the dominant force in the pet health market in China

E-commerce remained the most important distribution channel for pet health products. The younger generation tends to be more computer savvy and prefers to order pet products online as it is more convenient.

For example, during the recent 618 Tmall shopping festival, pet health products have seen a purchase growth of +208%, and pet food a purchase growth of +634%.

How to promote your pet health products in China?

Brands that want to enter the Chinese market should understand that Chinese consumers don’t buy products they don’t know, therefore branding in China is essential to reach consumers and sell your products. In China, when you want to buy a product, people rely on people who have already tried that product, friends, reviews on social networks, and especially the reviews of their idols.

Therefore, a good digital marketing campaign is essential to allow your brand to enter the Chinese market. With over 800 million Internet users today and a vibrant social media scene, well thought out digital marketing in Chinese strategy is essential.

The solution for a successful digital marketing campaign is to adapt your strategy to the market. Copying a strategy that works in your country might be risky because tradition and culture are of primary importance for the Chinese and it is a good move for brands to refer to the Chinese.

Therefore, you should localize your content and promote your products on Chinese channels like the Chinese search engine Baidu, Chinese social networks like WeChat and Weibo, Chinese forums, and Q&A platforms, and then sell your products on Chinese e-commerce platforms.

Use Baidu to get visibility in the Chinese market

When the Chinese need to search for information or check something: they use Baidu. Baidu is the most powerful search engine in China, the most used. Have you ever heard of this Chinese expression: “Baidu yi xia ba” (the equivalent of “google it”)?

The first step of your digital marketing campaign is to get visibility on Baidu. How to do so?

BAIDU SEO

A brand should create a Chinese website, hosted in China and get an ICP license because Baidu knows only Mandarin and gives priority to websites hosted in China, so they are extremely important for your SEO ranking.

If you want to break into the Chinese market, Baidu SEO is a must step and a must-have. However, Baidu is really different from Google, if you want to know more, you can contact us.

In addition, Baidu Zhidao, Baidu Baike, and Baidu Tieba are part of the Baidu ecosystem and they are excellent at driving traffic to your website obviously since they belong to Baidu, they tend to rank higher.

BAIDU SEM

Baidu PPC is a great tool to use as the first step in your global marketing strategy. It gives you some credibility, if you can make Baidu ads, it means you are a real brand and also bring your first visitors to your website. In a second step, it will work great combined with a good SEO strategy. Both channels will support each other in a sustainable way.

Baidu ads will be full of challenges from the moment you register. It can take several months but once you’ve set up a good routine with your ads, it is a great tool a complete the rest of your marketing effort.

Chinese social networks a great option to promote pet-related product

Social media in China are the best place to work on your branding and therefore to get visibility on the Chinese market. Choosing the right social media to reach your goal is the most important step of your journey, however, there are so many it can be tricky. However, GMA can help you to find the right one for your brand and products.

Word of mouth and big communities are at the heart of the Chinese internet and a brand should not underestimate their functionalities. In addition, the majority of social media in China are social eCommerce, it means that they use UGC and their communities to sell. A brand can promote and sell products directly in the same app, using one of these platforms can be an alternative to Tmall and JD, cheaper, and offers tools to build your e-reputation.

Work on your E-reputation with Wechat: Necessary for your Pets Brand

WeChat is the app on which the Chinese spend most of their time, with over a billion active users and more than one million transactions per minute, WeChat is an aggregator of features that allow the user a true omnichannel experience.

It is thus the best way to offer your brand visibility and create a community that will follow you. In addition, WeChat mini-programs, “mini-apps” built into the WeChat app itself, concern all types of services: sales, e-commerce, and government services.

Weibo the perfect place for buzz marketing

With 520 million monthly active users, Weibo is the second most used social network in China, presenting itself as a micro-blogging platform.

Weibo has been around since 2007 and is part of Chinese netizens’ social media routine. It might not be as popular as it was once, but good commercial content on Weibo can be a lot more impactful than on Wechat.

With Weibo, it is easy to share and get viral. It is an open social media, everyone can see everything and comments everywhere which encourages people to comments and engage between them and with a brand.

After registering on Weibo as a business, it is necessary that you get it verified. It will give you access to more tools and give you more credibility with your followers.

On Weibo is crucial to keep in touch with your followers by answering questions, giving suggestions but also by keeping your Weibo page alive by posting good content, easy to consume, and easy to share.

Press release & Pet-related Forums

PR is a marketing tool that excludes Paid ads. It consists of having an authority profile talking about your company. It can be media (newspapers, blogs..), KOLs, or even the community.

Let People talk about your brand increasing brand awareness among Chinese people. KOLs and communities are powerful and widely listen to the Chinese internet.

The most known Chinese forums for pet products are Smellme, Yourpet, Liuliu, Boqii, and Fdog.

The Chinese Q&A platform Zhihu

Zhihu is a Chinese Q&A platform launched in 2011, it is similar in the west to Quora and Yahoo answers. It has never stopped growing and evolving to suit its users. The platforms have developed many tools such as Zhihu Class which are a kind of ted talk.

To be present on Zhihu will allow you to answer questions about your field but also to educate your target audience about your brands/products in an undercover way. It is an excellent tool to increase your conversion rate and to increase brand awareness.

The platform has an array of features that can be used to create and manage a community around a topic related to your brand. Use these tools to engage with your audience and exchange information with them but also to build your authority.

Chinese e-commerce platforms

In China more than everywhere else the reputation of a brand is what will make the difference. Chinese consumers do trust new brands and are not risk-takers, resulting in a very low conversion rate. E-reputation should be the basis of your marketing strategy when doing e-commerce in China.

The most known e-commerce platforms, which sell all kinds of products, included pet health products, are: Tmall, Suning, Kaola, and JD.com.

Tmall

Tmall is the biggest B2C (business-to-consumer) platform in China. Tmall was launched by Alibaba group in 2010 and since its creation is the number one online sales platform in the Asian giant. Tmall is a general marketplace and offers consumers all kinds of products from over 100,000 brands.

Tmall global

Tmall Global, Tmall cross-border e-commerce version, allows international businesses with no physical presence in mainland China to set up an online store on the platform.

Tmall Global allows companies to avoid certain procedures such as:

• to have a physical store or a warehouse
• to be registered with the Chinese authorities
• to have a Chinese business license

JD.com

JD.com(京东Jīngdōng) is a Chinese e-commerce company headquartered in Beijing. It is the second B2C online retailer in China after Alibaba’s Tmall. It is partly owned by Tencent, which has a 20% stake in the company.

The company, founded by Liu Qiangdong in 1998, started as an online magneto-optical store, but soon diversified, selling electronics, mobile phones, computers, and similar items.

Today, JD.com is an eCommerce platform that boasts an incredibly wide range of products that includes categories such as cosmetics, fresh food, clothing, and much more. JD.com dominates above all the electronic products and fresh food market.

The fastest-growing products in terms of sales are cosmetics, food, and electronic products. It offers millions of different items of thousands of brands from more than 170,000 retailers.

JD worldwide

JD Worldwide, the multilingual cross-border global sales platform similar to Tmall Global, allows merchants to sell directly to Chinese consumers despite not having a physical presence in China.

JD Worldwide operates as a large online shopping center that houses showcases of foreign brands and several national and regional pavilions that collect the excellence of the various countries.

With cross-border e-commerce, foreign products can be sold in China without having to face the long and complex authorization procedure with the competent local authorities, which is mandatory for export and sale through traditional channels.

JD VS TMALL

Once registered on Tmall, the supplier can take care of his “store”. It must manage:

• the promotion of its brand
• the delivery of its goods
• the management of customer service etc.

So this option is similar to having your own website. However, you benefit from the Tmall interface. This will give you visibility and credibility with Chinese consumers.

JD, on the other hand, would be seen as a simple store offering a lot of products, as JD takes care of everything. So this option is very convenient! Because once your products are exchanged with JD, your role ends there. JD will buy the product in bulk and take care of the remaining tasks.

To choose between the two platforms, it is necessary to know what degree of responsibility you want to have on your goods and what degree of control you wish to keep on the e-commerce interface.

Suning

Suning.com is an e-commerce platform that ranks among the top three Chinese B2C companies. The operation categories include all kinds of products from home appliances, books, household commodities, to cosmetics, baby care products, pet health products.

Kaola

Kaola is a cross-border e-commerce platform, part of the NetEase group (group listed on NASDAQ).

The platform provides online sales of various imported products via cross-border e-commerce. The products range from cosmetics to food supplements and pet health products.

All foreign products on the platform are managed and purchased directly from local suppliers through various factories around the world. The goods are shipped directly from the country of origin and stored in the customs warehouses in China under the control and surveillance of the customs office and the CIQ (China exit-entry Inspection & Quarantine Bureau) or the office that inspects and monitors the incoming and outgoing products that pass through the Chinese border.

Kaola signed an agreement with the Chinese customs office to implement a traceability system to allow consumers to more easily trace the origin of the product by scanning the QR code.

Kaola also offers various promotions including daily offers, member offers, special coupons, and more, which attract many Chinese consumers looking for foreign goods and affordable prices.

Distribution in China

1. What are the primary drivers-distributors of growth in the Chinese pet health market?
   • Understanding what factors are propelling the market forward is crucial. Is the growth driven more by an increase in pet ownership, higher disposable incomes, a growing awareness of pet health needs, or cultural shifts regarding pet care
   • Identifying these distributors can help tailor marketing and product development strategies.
2. What specific pet health products and services are in highest demand among Chinese pet owners?
   • Are consumers looking for premium pet food, supplements, grooming services, or health-related products such as flea and tick control, dental care, or specific therapeutic products.
   • Knowing which products and services are most sought after can help brands prioritize their offerings and marketing efforts.
3. How can brands effectively navigate the regulatory environment for pet health products in China?
   • The regulatory landscape in China can be complex, especially for new entrants. What are the necessary approvals and certifications needed to sell pet health products in China? You need an agency for that
   • Understanding these regulations is essential to ensure compliance and smooth market entry.
4. What are the most effective channels for reaching pet owners in China?
   • Identifying the most impactful sales and marketing channels is key. Should the focus be on online platforms like, Douyin(Tiktok) Tmall or JD.com, which dominate the e-commerce landscape, or are there opportunities in brick-and-mortar pet stores or veterinary clinics?
   • Additionally, significant roles social media platforms such as Weibo, WeChat, or Douyin for marketing and community engagement
5. How do cultural attitudes toward pets and pet care impact the marketing and sales strategies in China?
   • Cultural perceptions of pets can vary significantly in China, with some viewing pets as family members while others may have a more utilitarian perspective. Question for brand owner… how do these cultural attitudes influence consumer behavior regarding pet health, and how should they shape the messaging and branding strategies of companies in this sector?

Do you want to know more about How to use Chinese channels to boost sales? Contact GMA a digital marketing agency, specialized in the Chinese digital market.

Chinese students, in particular, represent a significant “demographic “target” for Schools, universities and education business, that are eager to engage with global educational opportunities.

For international schools/univ aiming to tap into this vibrant market, understanding the trends and channels that appeal to Chinese students and their families is crucial.

The evolving landscape of recruiting Chinese students, highlighting key trends and effective strategies through popular platforms like Xiaohongshu (RED) and Douyin.

Five Key Trends in Recruiting Chinese Students:

Digital Engagement on Native Platforms, welcome to China

Platforms like RED and Douyin are not merely social networks; they are integral to the Chinese digital ecosystem. International schools should leverage these platforms for storytelling, sharing student testimonials, campus tours, and academic successes. The visual and interactive nature of these platforms allows schools to craft compelling narratives that resonate with prospective students and their parents.
Influencer Collaborations:

China = influencers

Collaborating with Chinese influencers, particularly those who focus on education and lifestyle, can dramatically increase a school’s visibility. These influencers often have the trust of their followers, making their endorsements valuable. Schools can work with influencers to create content around the campus experience, highlighting unique programs and success stories.

Content that match with your audience

It’s essential to tailor content specifically for the Chinese market. This includes translating materials into Mandarin, using cultural references appropriately, and addressing the specific needs and concerns of Chinese students and their families, such as safety, the quality of education, and post-graduation opportunities.

Utilizing Virtual Reality and Interactive Tours:

With travel and geographical challenges, virtual reality (VR) offers an innovative way to give prospective students a ‘feel’ of the campus life without needing to travel. Schools can create VR tours that can be shared on Douyin and RED, allowing students to explore classrooms, dormitories, and facilities from the comfort of their homes.

Focus on Alumni and Community Building:

Showcasing successful Chinese alumni can be particularly persuasive. Prospective students and their parents value the testimonials and experiences of those who have walked the path before. Schools can create feature videos, interviews, and Q&A sessions with alumni to share on these platforms, fostering a sense of community and belonging.

Chinese students relationship with their parents

Have you ever heard of the term Chicken parenting?

It is the equivalent of helicopter parenting in China and has been gaining over parents in the country in the last few decades. Those parents are super involved in their kid’s life, more notably their education, it goes from tutoring after class, to buying an appartment next to the best city schools, to spending thousands in private and overseas shcool… to ensure their kids can have the best outcomes once reaching adult life. The point being, China, is an enourmous market for the education industry. Altough, chinese universities are more and more valued in the world, the competition to enter is harsh resulting in many graduates to opt for studying overseas. In this guide, we will give you an in-depth context of the chinese education market as well as our best tips to recruit chinese students for your school, university, training center and so on.

• What are the primary concerns of Chinese students and their parents when selecting an international school?
  • Understanding what drives the decision-making process for Chinese families—be it academic excellence, safety, cultural inclusivity, or post-graduation opportunities—is essential. Schools need to tailor their communications to address these concerns directly and effectively.

• How does our school’s curriculum align with the expectations of Chinese students for global education standards?
• International schools should evaluate how their educational offerings match the expectations of Chinese students who often look for a curriculum that not only offers high academic standards but also prepares them for global universities and careers. This might involve showcasing advanced placement courses, international baccalaureate programs, or unique STEM opportunities.

Introduction to China’s Education Market

In the world’s most populous country, education is extremely important for all social classes, from poor families who want to increase their social status, to wealthy families who do not want to lose face. Thus, it is important to understand Chinese society before entering the market.

Education in China: A Social Elevator

After the end of the Cultural revolution (1966-1976) followed by its economic modernization, the Chinese government put education at the core of its strategy to quickly catch up with developed countries. Besides several educational and structural reforms, public spendings on education were increased considerably. However, the whole educational sector lagged far behind international standards in terms of quality as well as expectations, and that’s why Chinese parents decided to send their children abroad, in order for them to get qualitative courses from renowned and prestigious Universities.

When it comes to the Chinese education market, overseas schools and international schools were able to gain and attract the best Chinese students, convincing strict parents that are seeking the best for their offspring. This phenomenon is related to globalization, allowing the Chinese population to broaden its perspectives about foreign countries and cultures, but also because the competition between students is tougher than before.

Indeed, education is considered extremely important in China as studying in a renowned university is a social elevator not only for the student but also for its family. In Confucius’ country where traditions and filial piety are part of Chinese daily lives, education is the best tool to enhance living conditions and secure a safe and promising future.

What strategies can be employed to effectively use social media and digital platforms popular in China, like WeChat, Douyin, and Xiaohongshu, to engage prospective students and their families?

Since conventional social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are not accessible in China, schools must develop a presence on Chinese social media platforms. This question involves determining the type of content that resonates best on these platforms, whether through educational content, virtual tours, student testimonials, or alumni stories.

How can our school build a supportive network for Chinese students, including pre-arrival preparations and ongoing support throughout their education?

Prospective students will be more inclined to choose a school that offers a strong support system for international students. This includes orientation programs that address cultural adjustment, language support classes, mentoring programs, and active student organizations that celebrate Chinese festivals and traditions, promote on social media in China.

What partnerships or collaborations can be developed within China to increase our school’s visibility and attractiveness?

Building relationships with local schools, educational consultants, and alumni networks in China can be a crucial strategy, online marketing can really help. These partnerships can help in organizing information sessions, educational fairs, and direct recruitment drives in China. Understanding how to develop and leverage these partnerships can significantly enhance a school’s recruitment efforts.

The Education Market in China in 2024

Over the years, the share of online education in the total education market has increased considerably, thanks to China’s digitalization. This tech-savvy population is now more than ever relying on online platforms to develop their knowledge.

The Covid-19 outbreak in 2020 has further contributed to accelerating this phenomenon, with the rising use of platforms such as Coursera or Italki for example.

Online Education: A Growing Phenomenon

According to Statista, the online education market in China had a market size of approximately 308.2 billion yuan in 2021. After high growth rates in the past few years, the online education market is now expected to reach 490.5 billion yuan in 2024.

According to this other data, we can see that 68% of Chinese students are convinced that their formal education has given them the technology knowledge they need, while only 17% of Japanese students, and 25% of German students agree on this.

Understanding the Values and Issues of the Chinese Education System

The Chinese education system is very different than others. Chinese children start school at 6 years old. They have 6 years of primary school and then three years of junior middle school. After these 9 years, they can continue for 3 more years of senior middle school to complete their studies.

The Chinese education system is one of the most reputed, and Shanghai students are considered the best in the world. Don’t forget that China is ranked among the highest education system worldwide. Many western countries want to include a part of this system into their own academic system.
However, if this kind of education gives a high level of knowledge to students, it’s also a very competitive and demanding system that is being questioned nowadays, with lots of pressure from society.

A Heavy Workload for Chinese Students

On average, Chinese students are spending 8.5 hours in class. They start their day at 7:30 am and finish at 4 pm with two hours of lunch break and naptime. Now you probably think that it is similar to your own education system, but unfortunately, that’s not the case. As in other Asian countries such as South Korea, after class, Chinese students have also tutoring hours till late at night. Nothing mandatory, but not doing can considerably impact admission into the most renowned university in the country. Some students go as far as to retake their last years of high school to score higher on already excellent grades for a chance at entering China’s Top 10 universities.

The school program in China is heavy. It is impossible for teachers to cover all the programs published by the Chinese government during class hours. That’s why most of the students have tutoring classes in mathematics, literature, English, chemistry, and physics. After this long day, they still have to do their homework, and that’s why they have almost no time for them.

In terms of vacations, they also have less than students in western countries, with only 2 periods of holidays: 4 weeks off in winter and 7 weeks off in summer. There’s almost no time for Chinese students to do other things than working. They don’t have time to do other activities such as sports, spend time with friends or family, play games, watch movies, or do social activities. Although you should note that being in good physical shape is becoming more important to compete in Chinese society, thus, we are seeing a rise in “programed” (read: it’s treated like any other extra scholar curriculum class) physical activities for kids and teenagers.

The most important exam for Chinese students is the Gaokao (高考), the national exam that allows them to have access to Universities in the last year of high school. As mentioned earlier, the higher the grades, the more chances students have to get into the most prestigious universities in China and get scholarships. During the gaokao weeks, everything seems to stop in order to encourage students to stay focused.

China and its Societal Transformation

As mentioned earlier, over the years, China was able to quickly follow the path of developed countries, even surpassing some, in major part thanks to education. Decades ago, a lot of Chinese people (that are now grandparents) didn’t have access to education and had to work in factories or work in the fields. Their children know how education can change their lives, and that’s why they are relying on their descendants to have a better life.

Higher wages and a greater purchasing power

Now with a growing middle class, important disposable incomes, and higher standards of living, China is making the transition to a more developed country. China is now focusing more on creative innovations, domestic businesses, services, and professions requiring skilled and qualified workers.

The One-Child Policy

Due to the long-term effects of the «one-child policy» that was established in 1979, China is struggling with an aging population. However, to counter this, the laws have been changed in 2015, allowing parents to have two children without incurring any state fines. Recently in 2021, this law was even changed to three children. However, it is important to say that Chinese parents (often) don’t want more than one child nowadays, because education for example is too expensive.

Out of the 1.39 billion citizens in China, 17% are between the age of 0 and 14, this represents approximately 230 million students. The parents of almost a quarter of a billion children are on average significantly wealthier than 10-20 years ago, spending on education has therefore increased to become the most precious commodity in a fiercely competitive market.

The « one-child policy » also acted as an incentive for parents to invest heavily in their children’s education. The official party slogan was “having only one child is good”. The culture of pooling together family resources for their children’s educational development remains prevalent.

New wealth, but better invested

Chinese families prioritize spending in education ahead of any other area, even above real estate and retirement savings. The McKinsey Global Institute projects the country to spend 12.5% of its overall consumption growth on education for those under 30 over the next 15 years.

In addition, according to ICEF Monitor, 50% of the 20 years old’ per capita consumption is spent on education, while it represents only a quarter for American students. Take into account that this phenomenon is not going to stop, and will even continue to rise with the growth of the Chinese middle class.

A shift in terms of school standards and school expectations

With China being the most populous country in the world, the Chinese education system is much more competitive. A lot of experts are stating that children don’t have time to share moments with family or friends, do sports or activities. With the Chinese education system being questioned, many parents decide to send their children abroad in order to broaden their perspectives and have more opportunities.

The Chinese Education System: An Opportunity for Foreign Schools

As stated above, more and more Chinese parents prefer sending their children abroad to study. The Western education system is also very reputed in China, that’s why it is extremely attractive among Chinese parents. The Western education system is known to develop students’ creativity and allowing them to become independent thinkers whereas most Chinese students are considered to be hard-working, persistent, and deep thinkers but without creative spirits.

China: The Country with the Most Students Studying Abroad

Now if we look at the number of students heading overseas to pursue their studies, we can see that the world’s two most populous nations, China and India, lead the way. China is the first, far beyond the other countries. According to UNESCO, China sent 928,000 students abroad in 2017, while India sent out 332,000.

Even if this data is a little old, we can say for sure that it is still relevant and that Chinese students are still prioritizing going overseas to pursue their studies.

Why do Chinese students want to study abroad?

It is important for you to know that in China, the majority of the best universities are public ones, which means that they get most of their support from the Chinese government. Although the number of institutions for higher education and students enrolled in universities inside China has increased significantly in the last few years, the pathways to get admission from the best universities are still limited. For most people, the national exam “Gaokao” remains the only way to enter a good public university.

Therefore, there are a lot of students that decide to go study abroad in order to avoid the national exam (the Gaokao) and to study in a better-ranked university. For some study programs, overseas institutions are preferred thanks to their international academic environment. Chinese students who have been abroad to study are considered to have a global insight and better language skills, which makes them more competitive in China, compared to their peers who stayed in China.

According to a survey among Chinese overseas returnees, more than 80% of the respondents said that they chose to study abroad to experience foreign cultures and lifestyles. Around 1/3 of the respondents studied abroad to be more competitive in the job market in the future.

Chinese Parents Put Learning English as a top priority

Today, learning English is considered essential in the business world, and that’s why English classes are mandatory in all schools in China, which has also contributed to the increase of private English schools and classes.

For Chinese people, learning English has become the priority, and that’s why Chinese students chose to study in English-speaking countries in order to practice and improve their level of English.

Studying overseas will enhance their resume

Parents know that on the resume of their children, the overseas experience will enhance the resume. Even though English-speaking countries such as Australia, the U.S, and the U.K are still among the top destinations for Chinese students, other non-English-speaking countries such as France, Italy, Spain, and Germany are also among the most popular destinations.

Studying abroad leads to many good job opportunities

After graduating from a foreign country, Chinese students have more chances to be employed abroad. Abroad studies have created a lot of new job opportunities, allowing students to have a better lifestyle and making more money than if they decided to stay in China. However, in recent years, the trend tends to change, with an increasing number of Chinese students that want to return to China after their studies.

According to a survey among Chinese overseas returnees, 60% of them chose to go back to China in order to be with their family and friends, while 42% said it was because of the great economic development of China. In fact, following China’s rapid development, some Chinese companies are extremely attractive among Chinese students, offering various advantages and competitive salaries.

Education defines the social status

International educations, particularly European, American and Australian are considered to be more innovative and creative than their Chinese counterpart. It is also part of a general trend. Chinese people have become more open-minded in terms of culture, education, and beliefs.

The Chinese society is highly competitive and education has become a key to define one’s social status and level of achievement in a society obsessed with the notion of ‘face’. An international education reflects this status and is fundamentally associated with quality.

Where do Chinese students go to study abroad?

According to an educational survey conducted in 2020, the United Kingdom and the United States were the most preferred destinations for Chinese students and their parents. While the United States lost attraction in the last five years, students were more attracted by the United Kingdom and Canada, as well as several Asian countries like Japan or Singapore.

How do Chinese students finance their studies?

With developed countries still being the most popular destinations for Chinese students, it is clear that for some countries, Chinese students have already become an important funding source for local universities. For example, the United States has for a long time attracted the largest share of Chinese students, but in recent years more and more Chinese students are choosing to go to European countries for example, as tuition fees are much less expensive than U.S Universities’ fees.

While most students from China were self-funded, relying on their parent’s support, the number of students who stated scholarship recipients had been increasing over the years. Don’t forget that studying overseas is much more expensive than staying in China, both in terms of dormitory but also in terms of lifestyle habits.

Particularities of China’s Education Market

Chinese kids start learning at a young age

The phenomenon of the « little emperor » is worth mentioning. As a result of the «one-child policy» two sets of grandparents and parents, all focused their attention on a single baby. As a result, you have a whole generation growing up with more funds invested in their education. This has helped the education market grow with whole families investing collectively into their children’s future, from an early age. From the time they start to talk, parents will take them to pre-classes in order to learn the number, listen to stories, learn foreign languages, play instruments, dance, etc in order for their child to become a prodigy.

The Reputation of your School is Key to attract chinese students

If you want to attract Chinese students, your school has to be popular and well know. When they start looking for a school, Chinese parents will spend a lot of time doing research on Baidu to find the best schools. In China more than in any country, online information is crucial. All your information has to be clear, easy to find, and visible. If your school is not really famous, you need to make sure to have a perfect e-reputation because trust is important for Chinese consumers and among the key criteria.

Some countries are more popular studying destinations than others

Some destinations are more appreciated by Chinese students. This is the case of the United States, one of the most popular destinations in the world. Why? Because, if you look at rankings, American schools are the higher-ranked in the world.

Your school has to be in a safe country. Parents will reject sending their children to a dangerous country. That’s also why they prefer countries where they have family members as they will be more reassured.

The advantages of countries having a Chinese community

After finding where your school is located, Chinese people will focus on your city. Some cities are more popular because they have lots of very good schools. But Chinese families also prefer cities where there’s a Chinese community, and with a ‘Chinatown’. Among the most popular cities with large Chinese communities, you will find San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Toronto, Vancouver, Paris, London, etc. However, on the other hand, some students will prefer to go to cities in which there’s no such a large Chinese community, in order to practice the foreign language even more.

The Shools Ranking Obsession in China

In China, ranking is one of the most important criteria. Your school has to appear among the first ranks if you want to attract Chinese students. Before starting any procedure, they will see on international rankings if your school is on the top.

School fees are not a “problem” for Chinese students

Many Chinese students study abroad because their families have more income than 10 or 20 years before.
Today, Chinese families are able to pay more for better studies. They want to invest their money in a good place. In fact, money is not really a problem for these families who can send their children abroad.
They will first look to find the best ranking school and after they will think about school fees. Besides, students are often able to apply for scholarships or financial aids.

How to Promote your Foreign School in China?

China has changed a lot over the years, and Chinese students’ perception as well. How can you capitalize on these changing attitudes? You need to develop a positive reputation and increase your visibility on the internet. Therefore, in order to be successful and generate student leads, you need to be active online and use the best Chinese platforms. Adaptation is the key.

Recruiting Chinese Students Through Online Platforms

The shift to predominantly online student recruitment models represents a tremendous opportunity for higher education institutions looking to reach Chinese students. China now boasts a 65% online penetration rate with some 900 million « netizens » online. The Chinese society has embraced digital tools with a fervor stronger than anywhere else in the world. Users are spending on average 3 hours per day browsing online and will surely do research about foreign and international schools online.

However, don’t forget that China’s « Great Firewall » had resulted in a completely unique online eco-system when it comes to student recruitment. Your promotional campaigns have to be tailored to Chinese-specific platforms.

Your School need a Chinese website

A quality mandarin version of your website is necessary. Have a mandarin website allows you to optimize your SEO for search engines. For a better SEO and optimized loading speed, your website also needs to be hosted on a local server in China (.cn).

Your website should be in Mandarin to optimize search results and also include a QR code for your social media account on top of having a contact form and if possible a live chat service.

All sites in China need to be optimized for mobile as the vast majority of online users browse on their smartphones, there are now 550 million smartphones in China. Mobile content can also be optimized for Wechat China’s largest social network (more on this later..)

Content on the site needs to be created in Mandarin because you’ll be targeting Chinese readers.

Ask yourself some key questions:

• How do you cater to the Chinese student?
• What sets you apart as an institution that involves and integrates international students?
• How will Chinese students boost their opportunities by studying in your school?

The Ranking of your School on Baidu is Essential to reach out Chinese Students

China’s « Google » is Baidu, a giant that represents over 75% of the search engine market. It is thus vital to increase the ranking of your school on this platform.

After doing some research, you’ll find that Search Engine Optimization (SEO) will help your website rank higher on Baidu and grow organic traffic to generate more student prospects. Parents are often the decision makers for students so they extensively browse through Baidu results based on keyword searches. The other 25% are mainly through Sogou & So.com. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is one of the best tools to recruit Chinese students.

You can also complete this approach with PPC (Pay Per Click) ads which are displayed at the top of the news feed. However, the most serious student prospects will contact you through the natural search results.

Doing SEO and being effective it’s not easy. It’s better to work with an agency specialized in SEO. SEO can be expensive and very long if you are not sure how to do it.

Increasing your academic reputation & communication on social media

Coverage on China’s top social media platforms is vital for attracting Chinese students. There are over 1.2 billion users on Wechat, the most popular app in China, and over 511 million monthly active use on Weibo (akin to Twitter).

Social Media in China are arguably essential in a country where people are spending 2 hours per day on social media

Your institution needs to be present on social media with an Official Account set up that can be linked to a « microsite ». Having an Official Account is essential in China. When you’ll create your Official Account on social media platforms, they will ask you for a lot of information. This information allows the social media platform to confirm that you are the original brand and no an impostor. With this official recognition, Chinese students will be more confident and will be more likely to share your post and subscribe to your account.

• Encourage Chinese students to get to know and discover your school through WeChat

Created by the Chinese company Tencent and released in 2011, WeChat was at the beginning only a mobile messaging app. And even though new features were introduced, this functionality remains the core of the app. The platform is marketed as Weixin in China, but was rebranded for international markets in 2012. In 2018, the number of users reached 1 billion which increased significantly from 2017’s numbers.

Wechat is the most used social media in China as of 2021 far beyond Weibo. Wechat is expected to grow even more in 2022. The platform is known for its communication services in which users can send messages, share images and videos, voice call and video call other users on a closed network. Having an account on WeChat enables you to promote your school easily. One of the most useful ways to promote your school is to create an H5 brochure to attract Chinese student’s and parents’ attention.

For example, on Wechat you can also add parents and students into group chats to answer academic or student life-related queries. Offering these kinds of services to Chinese students will set you apart. This communication line would typically be managed by a Chinese student liaison officer internally.

The key with social networks is to have daily interaction with prospective students and parents, share content and grow your following. Ad campaigns drive growth and quality content results in prospective students contacting you. The demographic of Wechat is generally older so more for your students’ parents (the Decision Makers) who are active here.

If you want to know more about WeChat H5 Brochures, you can read our full article.

• Increase your visibility through Weibo, the hot micro-blogging app

Launched in 2009 by the Chinese technology company Sina Corporation (新浪), Weibo is one of China’s biggest social media platforms. As its name indicates, it’s a micro-blogging service that is often compares to Twitter for its buzz potential and short caracteres posts.

The social microblogging network has also attracted more than 130,000 companies. It’s very important for schools and universities to create their own Weibo Official Account, and get their account verified. If your account is signed as verified, you will have more followers because it’s legitimate proof for Chinese users.

More than 56% of Weibo users follow at least one brand or institution on Weibo. In addition, on Weibo, you don’t need to be connected first to follow a brand. Thus, it can be extremely useful to have an official account on Weibo in order to share content, promote your school, as well as to communicate with your students.

If you want more information about Weibo, you can read our Guide to use Weibo for beginners.

Be presents on forums to attract Chinese students

Educational forums are popular in China, people will discuss research education options and talk with other students. Don’t forget that Chinese people still rely a lot on word-of-mouth. In addition, they have more trust when it comes to peers giving advice than schools.

The best online forums for education are: Baidu Tieba, Zhihu, Zhozhui, and QQ.

Another interesting point is that these forums are very visible in China, and will often appear before an official website on Baidu’s natural. While in western countries you might think that forums are outdated, in China, they are still very important for online research and decision-making.

Manage your e-reputation to gain Chinese parents’ trust

Reputation is an important criterion in China. Chinese students and parents will pay attention to your e-reputation. A good attitude is to promote positive comments and threads on social platforms and forums in order to manage the reputation of your school.

The institutions regarded as the best amongst Chinese students are the ones for which their friends, family, and other student are familiar with. Ensuring positive feedback amongst social circles will bolster and strengthen the reputation of your institution.

Influencers and you alumni network can help you

Usually, KOLs (called Key Opinion Leaders) in China, are people who have built up a significant reputation online and are highly influential among young users and students. Recruiting an influencer to represent your institution from a prestigious academic background in China is expensive but allows you to tap into a large base of followers. Key Opinion Leaders are more effective in China because users tend to rely more on word-of-mouth from people that were able to complete their studies abroad and be successful after that.

Another extremely useful way to attract and retain Chinese students is to use your alumni network. By talking with alumni ambassadors, for example, they’ll be able to ask questions, get to know your school from a student’s perspective, talk about their experience, etc. It’s also a way to reassure Chinese parents, which is fundamental if you want Chinese students to join your school.

Contact us to recruit Chinese students

Defining the right strategy for this market is therefore essential before entering the Chinese market. We are a specialized agency with a wealth of experience in terms of student recruitment. We have worked with a lot of foreign schools to help them develop their attractivity in China.

Our fields of expertise

• Website Creation, Development & Auditing
• Baidu Search Engine Optimization
• WeChat & Weibo Content Marketing
• Reputation Management & Alumni Community Development.
• Public Relations & Exposure in Chinese E-Media.
• Analytics, monthly reports & analysis from our team of experts.

We are a digital agency, working on Chinese social networks and websites. We are also a result-oriented agency. Our goal is to meet our objectives and push them to be better than the average.

We are SEO Experts

We are among the first results you’ll find on Google when looking for entering the Chinese market. However, w have never paid for Google advertising. The sponsored links (SEM) are the links you can find on the top of the research or on the right side. We don’t need to pay because we know how to tame Google’s algorithm. We can help you to find natural solutions without spending all your money on SEO.

We are Professionals in Lead Generation

We are the only agency in Shanghai that doesn’t need to prospect. We don’t call clients and try to convince them to work with us. Clients call us.
Because they find a lot of information about our services and know that we have a lot of solutions to offer. We worked with a lot of schools and colleges, we have a lot of case studies that demonstrate our expertise.

We know what Chinese students are looking for

After more than 10 years dedicated to helping foreign companies and institutions to tap into the Chinese market, we know exactly what Chinese students are looking for, the kind of platforms they use and why. For the education market, we have worked for many schools, to help them promote their reputation in China.

A Dynamique and Native Team

We are a young, vibrant, and creative team with both Chinese natives and foreigners. We are effective because we understand Chinese students and their families. China is indeed full of opportunities for motivated institutions, but it is still complex and difficult to stand among other well-known universities.

Case Study

Accademia Del Lusso

The Accademia Del Lusso is a school of Fashion & Design located in Monte Napoleone, Milan. It’s courses range from fashion to design and luxury style for high-school graduates as well as career professionals. The institute was awarded the Lifetime Achievement award and Prestigious Fashion Profession Award in 2007 by the city of Milan.

The school in Milan called on our agency to attract Chinese students because they wanted to expand internationally into China, the most interesting student market in the world.

Goal

Accademia Del Lusso was set to open its first branch in China and sought to grow its reputation both as a new fashion school in the country and as an overseas option for international students.

Their passion is to find and nurture top talent in Fashion and Design through exporting their rigorous academic style and high standards to their new China branch. Their goal was to apply the fashion-conscious focus of their Milan base to this new location in the orient.

They needed a local partner in China who understood the student lead generation market. That’s why they started a business relationship with Gentlemen because of our years of experience and successful projects in attracting Chinese students.

Results

We generated 50 leads per month of interested students requesting more information about the school’s new branch in China as well as courses at their Milan flagship location. This is a significant result considering the school was largely invisible in this market before they began this digital marketing campaign.

Accademia Del Lusso also became a top search result on Baidu with 10 000 visitors per month driven to their website. This was highly qualified traffic and led to a large ‘buzz’ about the opening of their China branch, establishing the school as the leading Italian Fashion & Design institution in China.

The growth of the middle and upper classes, and urbanization, remain strong and are also expected to improve jewelry market conditions in the next few years. However, complications advance in a constantly changing market and with a culture and use of communication channels completely different from ours. Therefore, a thorough analysis of the opportunities, and an understanding of the Chinese world, especially the increasingly growing Chinese digital world, is necessary before going to invest in this market.

New Chinese jewelry consumers: from Millennials to Children

With demand in the first-tier cities reaching maturity, second and third-tier cities become a more important driver of growth and contribute more to the Chinese jewelry market.

Read: China Jewelry Market Guide

Anyway, the market in the first-tier cities is obviously not shrinking, so companies should continue to improve their positioning and branding to satisfy sophisticated customers in these cities.

Currently, the Chinese jewelry market has a wider target market which includes:

• Women
• Millennials
• Men
• Children

Women are more likely to buy jewelry for themselves

Consumption of the Chinese jewelry market is dominated by women. 63% of jewelry products are purchased by women. Looking at the opportunities for companies, brands should know that this is a highly competitive market.

However, a new trend is spreading: while many Chinese still wish to receive diamonds as a symbol of a future marriage, many others are more likely to buy diamonds for themselves. This is due to the growing number of working women (25% of women in China are already earning more than their spouses).

• For Chinese women who wish to receive diamonds as a symbol of future marriage, emotional drivers that let people buy jewelry are particularly powerful. Therefore, creating an emotional marketing campaign, especially during some Chinese festivals (520 Day, the Chinese Valentine’s Day) is a good option to sell jewelry to women.

• For women who buy diamonds for themselves, brands should adapt their product line, keeping away from the promotion based on love and showing images of women and not just couples.

Millennials a strong consumer group

The growing attention to consumption and personal decoration as self-expression in millennials is exerting an increasing influence on the demand for jewelry.

Millennials increasingly appreciate the jewels to wear every day, they also value the experience of things. For example, Pandora is very popular in China because, by launching new products on various holidays, its Moment series bracelets offer different options for Chinese customers.

Men are a flourishing target market for Jewelry brands in China

The men’s market products in China include rings, tie clips, cufflinks, and belt buckles. In addition, among Chinese males in the 30-44 age group, 67% wish to own diamonds.

The male jewelry market is still in the early stage of its development, therefore, opportunities for brands are many. Furthermore, their demand is not well satisfied as, for example, brand’s male products lack of innovation about design and most of them are gold rings or bracelets and not diamonds.

Jewelry for children as a way of wishing them a happy life

In accordance with Chinese traditions, people give bracelets and necklaces to children as goodwill tokes and as a way of wishing them a healthy and happy life.

In response to this demand, many companies have introduced a variety of kids’ products. For example, Chow Tai Fook, the Hong Kong company, also cooperated with Disney, Line, and Marvel, attracting parents to buy for their children.

In response to changing marketing conditions, jewelry players are increasingly targeting younger consumers and trying to build a presence in second and third-tier cities mainly because the Internet penetration rate in these cities is taller than before and people are more easily influenced by KOLs when making a purchase decision.

The first-tier cities are changing the shape of consumerism in China

In the jewelry industry in China, gold products have always been the most popular category and accounted for more than half of the industry’s revenue, followed by diamonds, jade, and silver.

In recent years, gold jewelry has faced stiff competition from gems or other jewelry products in top-tier cities. However, this competition is not present in lower-tier cities, where consumers flock to buy high-caliber gold jewelry for wealth conservation purposes.

What are the opportunities for foreign brands in China’s jewelry market?

The jewelry market in China is still dominated by foreign brands. Chinese consumers greatly appreciate the personalization of the products, the history of the brands and are involved in the design of the jewelry.

In China, the products of foreign brands such as Cartier, Bulgari, Tiffany, and Swarovski are priced higher than national brands for their long history. While most Chinese jewelry brands have no more than one hundred years of history and the price is of course cheaper. Therefore, the products of foreigners and locals are positioned on two different levels which lead to a specific selection of consumers.

In 2018 Chow Tai Fook Jewelry Group maintained the lead in jewelry in China. Chow Tai Fook Group implemented a multi-brand strategy, building a high-end jewelry brand image. The company provides a prominent example of a jewelry player who has tried to follow new trends by developing both offline and online.

The most important trend in China’s jewelry market is the digitization

The rapid increase in e-commerce in China has forced traditional retailers to focus on the unique qualities of shopping, leading to the development of integrated multi-channel sales strategies, in which online stores and platforms complement each other.

Online shopping has actually become the best national pastime in China with around 77% of respondents choosing it as their favorite recreational activity. 80% of consumers look for and learn about jewelry products and 60% of them buy on the Internet.

Almost all the main players in the jewelry industry in China have their own store on Tmall or/and JD.com. I addition, Pinduoduo could be another good option to sell your products on the internet.

If you want to know how to open a store on Tmall/JD and how to manage it, contact GMA, we offer services like:

• Shop Design (We make your shop attractive to Chinese buyers, putting your products on the best possible light)
• In-platform Advertising (Tmall is a more than a store. It is a product Search Engine. We use Tmall promotion tools and Ads to help you Sell)
• Off-platform Marketing (KOL, e-reputation, Banner ads, we have experts for each of these promotional strategies)
• Reporting & Analysis (We monitor your shops & ads results, optimize them to get you the best ROI. Then we provide you with easy-to-digest reports).

However, both for big and small companies, with or without a presence in the Chinese market, what is necessary for China is BRANDING. Before opening an online store on this platform, brands should focus on branding and e-reputation as it is essential in China to sell products.

Brands can use Wechat, Weibo, Xiaohongshu, and Douyin to:

• reach Chinese consumers,
• create branding,
• increase brand awareness,
• increase e-reputation,
• promote jewelry products,
• sell products.

The importance of Branding for jewelry brands

The rising of millennials, a highly branded demographic as a key consumer group for jewelry in China, has greatly strengthened the brand’s role in jewelry.

While some high-end jewelry brands attract customers by telling brand stories, such as Cartier, other young brands without such a long history should strengthen their visibility and promotion on Chinese digital channels such as Baidu, social media, forums, etc.

How to communicate with Chinese consumers and create branding?

Creating a Chinese website on Baidu to strengthen your Jewelry brand visibility

Create a Chinese website to be visible among Chinese consumers is essential for branding in China. Of course, it should be created on Baidu, the Chinese Search engine.

In addition, to be visible, your Mandarin website should be hosted in China because Baidu knows only Mandarin and gives priorities to websites hosted in China, so they are extremely important for your SEO ranking.

Opening accounts on social media to promote jewelry products

WeChat: an efficient channel to communicate with Chinese consumers

WeChat is the most used Chinese social media, with its 1.165 billion monthly active users.

It allows companies a complete CRM through:

• The ability to create Wechat official accounts (Subscription, Service)
• Interact with followers and keep them updated on brand news
• Use mini-programs, small apps inside the WeChat system that cover various functions, such as e-commerce, games and much more.
• Use wechat pay
• Use wechat advertising (Wechat moment ads, wechat account promotion, wechat mini program ads, wechat article banner ads).

Cartier was the first luxury jewelry brand to use WeChat moments ads. Thanks to its effort on marketing campaign on this platform, Cartier’s WeChat account gain a huge following. Cartier marketing resulted in raised brand awareness and increased desire from consumers.

Besides WeChat, Weibo and Douyin are also witness a joining of jewelry brands. Domestic jewelry brand I DO has 38 thousand fans on Douyin and is one of the most popular jewelry brands on it. Recently, Chanel cooperated with Douyin, posting videos about its watch, gaining up to 73 thousand views.

RED Xiaohongshu: The social-eCommerce platform to promote and sell jewelry in China

Xiaohongshu is an incredible platform to sell jewelry products in China because thanks to its characteristic of being social e-commerce, consumers can both receive advice from KOL and trusted people and at the same time, they can directly purchase products on this platform.

In addition, live streaming on this platform is very important because, in the online market, the biggest challenge for jewelry companies is to inspire trust in customers. Through these videos and thanks to the collaboration with the KOLs, companies can obtain reliability from consumers who see in real-time what they are buying.

In addition, recent regulations on improving the reliability of these platforms will increase the possibility of selling your products very easily on the platform.

Use Q&A platforms like Zhihu to interact with your community

Recommendations in China are fundamental for people in their pre-purchase decision, the Q&A platform Zhihu is an amazing option where consumers gain recommendations from other consumers that already tried products.

In addition, companies should build a positive brand image on Zhihu through:

• Opening a professional official account which allows you to interact and communicate with users or even act as an industry representative to provide useful answers to questions on the platform.
• Managing the Zhihu community asking questions or posting answers. This helps improve credibility and provide a professional brand image by providing high-quality content.
• Producing learning materials through live streaming
• Leveraging KOLs. Whether you are interested in boosting awareness or generating leads, a KOL can do wonders for reaching your ideal audience.

For jewelry brands looking to expand or strengthen their presence in this vast market, it is crucial to address specific business-related questions to tailor strategies effectively. Here are five pertinent business questions that jewelry brands should consider:

1. What consumer trends are currently shaping the jewelry market in China?
   • Understanding the latest trends in consumer preferences, such as the growing interest in sustainable and ethically sourced materials or the popularity of certain styles (e.g., minimalist jewelry, traditional designs, or luxury statement pieces), is crucial.
2. How does the cultural significance of jewelry vary within different regions of China?
   • Jewelry often holds significant cultural and symbolic meanings in Chinese culture, such as in wedding traditions or gift-giving.
3. What is the competitive landscape for jewelry in China, and how can a brand differentiate itself?
   • Identifying key competitors and their market positioning is essential in China!
   • What unique selling propositions do these competitors have, and what gaps are there in the market that your brand could potentially fill?
   • How can your brand differentiate itself through product offerings, customer service, or marketing strategies? an agency can guide you .
4. How can a jewelry brand leverage digital marketing and e-commerce platforms effectively in China?
   • With China’s digital ecosystem being unique and dynamic, which platforms are most effective for jewelry marketing? Consider the role of platforms like WeChat, Tmall, and JD.com in e-commerce sales, or Weibo and Douyin for marketing. What digital strategies can be employed to maximize visibility and sales online?
5. What are the logistical considerations for distributing jewelry in China?
   • Logistics in China is not challenging, especially for luxury goods that require reliable handling. What are the best practices for inventory management, shipping, and handling?

GMA can help you to open and manage accounts on Chinese social platforms, Contact us for additional information!

In order to promote your brand and if you have any questions related to how to enter the Chinese Jewelry market, contact GMA now!

Read also:

• CHINESE INFLUENCERS (KOL) CAN MAKE A LOT OF MONEY !
• WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BAIDU SEO AND SEM?
• PINDUODUO ECOMMERCE: AN OPPORTUNITY FOR SMALL BRANDS IN CHINA

Branding is the key to success in China

In China, a strong Brand will always win against an unknown brand. Chinese consumers tend not to trust brands they don’t know and therefore not to buy their products. In addition, without a strong brand, you can’t expect to find resellers, distributors, to land a spot on Tmall or JD, or people to buy your products/ services.

A well-known brand is a synonym for safe to buy in China. It means the brand is reliable and credible therefore consumers are not scared to pay for it. Therefore, brands should put their efforts into building a strong brand value and image while also maintaining brand consistency.

Starting a Brand business in China in 2024 requires a deep understanding of digital trends, consumer behavior, and the regulatory environment. By embracing e-commerce capabilities on platforms like Douyin, engaging with consumers on Xiaohongshu, and collaborating with KOLs, businesses can effectively tap into the vast Chinese market. Additionally, focusing on sustainability and technological advancements will align with consumer values and technological trends, setting a strong foundation for business success in China’s dynamic market.

The importance of brand consistency in China: a Coca-Cola case study

Coca-Cola’s Content and Creative Excellence Director in China, Richard Cotton, revealed that consistency is key to success for the Coca-cola company in China, where a complicated retail landscape and a highly competitive category offer challenges to brands.

He explained that building brand awareness starts with getting the basics right, including price, distribution, and brand message. For example, Coca-Cola clearly shows its consistency of being a drink that makes you happy and is shared with others, while at the same time adapting to the tastes of the Chinese market:

• the Chinese name of Coca-Cola可口可乐 “kekoukele” which means “tasty fun”,
• Coca-cola marketing campaigns in China on Wechat, show groups of friends and family having fun together.

Brand consistency is the key to earning customer trust and elevating your ROI. Branding is the key to every sector, but it is much more than colors, nice fonts, and a fancy logo localized to the Chinese market and culture.

Brand consistency is the trick for your public image, and for your reputation. An identity with which people can relate, share ideas, and find solutions to their problems.

Managed well, branding can meet:

• customers’ expectations
• new customers
• leads

Did you know that the average revenue increase attributed to always presenting the brand consistently is 33%?

Brands should put efforts into maintaining brand consistency, why?

A big reason for maintaining brand consistency is that it can help to prevent consumer confusion. When a brand changes its look or feel too dramatically, it can be hard for consumers to keep track of what the brand represents, and this can lead to them being less likely to trust or buy from the brand in the future.

Another reason for keeping branding consistent is that it can help to create a sense of stability and reliability for customers. If they know that a certain brand always looks and feels the same, they’ll be more likely to turn to that brand when they need something, because they’ll know that it will consistently meet their expectations.

Customers are very demanding when it comes to buying beauty products. They are very cautious in their choice and spend a lot of time online looking for information on companies and their products.

Brand consistency ensures visibility and recognition within target groups, so you can stay on top of the choice when they need your product. An example is Starbucks when someone needs coffee in China.

A brand is what people will remember most about your company, so if you want to make an impression among Chinese consumers, it should be:

• representative,
• strong,
• consistent,
• others.

If you want to be their go-to company, Chinese customers should feel as though they could recommend you to friends and family. If you achieve this, your success in the Chinese market is almost certain. Why? Because the Chinese, in their pre-purchase phase, rely on relatives and friends for the choice of brands and products to use.

A good e-reputation is crucial success with E-commerce in China

In China more than everywhere else the reputation of a brand is what will make the difference. Chinese consumers do trust new brands and are not risk-takers, resulting in a very low conversion rate.

For an unknown brand with no E-reputation, the cost of getting visitors will be the same as for a famous brand, the difference is that they will get 100 sales for 1000 visits while the unknown one will get 1.

E-reputation should be the base of your marketing strategy when doing e-commerce in China, whatever platform you choose.

Brands should find a balance between brand localization and consistency

Localization is essential to entering the Chinese market because, in China, you cannot simply translate your message and expect the same level of interest from an audience with a different background.

However, it can create issues in brand consistency which is also important to be successful in this market.

• Localize too much, and you may lose your brand’s authenticity
• Fail to localize enough, and the product may not be to Chinese tastes.

Therefore, how do find the right way to localize and maintain brand consistency?

No matter the aspect (taste adaptation, product adaptation, or product promotion ideas) having a dedicated development process for products intended for the Chinese market is a key aspect to successfully entering the Chinese market. The idea is not to turn your back on your brand identity or culture, but rather to leverage the elements that make your product popular in the Chinese market and study what to leave intact and what to adapt to Chinese culture.

For example, Coca-cola managed to find this balance, adapting its advertising campaigns to the Chinese market (this is the marketing campaign for the Chinese Valentine’s Day 520), but maintaining its consistent and recognizable brand.

How to maintain brand consistency in China?

Companies should consistently apply branding guidelines

Every business should set and consistently apply branding guidelines which include details about:

• Brand’s tone of voice,
• preferred professional terms,
• general code of conduct.

Not applying them is a waste of time and above all your staff and customers might not understand your brand’s value and image. The creation of marketing materials and the representation of your company would suffer from it.

Educate all staff members about the brand’s value and image

As soon as you have created the branding guidelines, you will need all staff members to be aware of them. You can do this by having a meeting with them about the brand, describing in detail everything they need to know about the company’s history, fundamental values ​​, and tone of voice.

In addition, you should keep the brand guidelines to allow staff to review this document if they are unsure of how to represent their brand.

Thanks to this you will no longer have online and offline marketing messages that confuse potential customers and you will be able to maintain the consistency of your brand.

Companies should provide staff with branding resources

How can staff maintain consistency if they need to create things for external use?

A company should provide them with branding resources like:

• Logo variations
• Graphics
• Color palettes
• others

Whether it’s social media graphics or white papers, branding resources can maintain consistency and avoid confusing potential customers.

Brand consistency: From your website to social media and e-commerce platforms

Many companies believe that a logo and a website are sufficient to express the value and image of the brand and to offer an excellent customer experience. But this is absolutely wrong because every phase of the customer experience must be marked to maintain consistency. Therefore, from your website to social media and to the e-commerce platform it should be branded.

If your brand is inconsistent, a purchase is unlikely to occur as Chinese customers buy from brands they can trust, leading to questions asked and money spent elsewhere.

How to work on branding and e-reputation in China?

China has a history of scandals and a culture of scams. Everyone has been scammed once in their life or has been taught since childhood to be aware of scams. Therefore, any Chinese consumers or businessmen will do research before converting with you.

If they can’t find anything online about you, you’ll probably be considered spam. Letting them find you when typing related keywords on Baidu and then doing some research about your company will help the conversion process.

The other important point is that mailing does not work in China. Peoples use Wechat to communicate. Chinese businessmen expect you to be on Wechat and to have an e-brochure to share with them.

Building your online image

The construction of your image passes first of all by creating a loyal community of followers. This can be done through WeChat as well as on other Chinese social media such as Weibo, Douyin but also blogs, and forums in your sector.

Social media in China are the best place to work on Branding

Social media in China are the best place to work on your branding and storytelling. Choosing the right social media to reach your goal is the most important step of your journey, however, there are so many, therefore it can be tricky.

GMA help you with that and run campaigns according to your need:

• KOLs,
• buzz,
• content,
• storytelling,
• sales
• etc.

PR is a good way to build your e-reputation

It is one of the most cost-effective solutions there is out there. It is a basic of marketing where the right people talk about you. Our job? connect you to the right people and use their credibility to help you grow in China.

In China, E-reputation is key to success and PR is a good way to build credibility. Not only you are getting experts talking about you, but it also means backlinks from authority websites which means: Visibility.

Having contact with the specialized press is essential for an effective branding campaign. Our PR campaigns with the press are organized around several elements:

• An extensive network of contacts (We are connected with over 2000 journalists)
• A regular relationship (We will provide you with a detailed report on our PR campaigns every month)
• High-quality content (We don’t just simply create content for you, we create the right content for your target type)
• A team of experts (Our communication with online customers is very effective because we employ a team of native speakers).

Forums and KOLs to strengthen your credibility

Complete your PR efforts and strengthen your credibility with UGC using forums and KOLs to talk about you. KOLs and communities are powerful and widely listen to on the Chinese internet. Their opinion matters the most. Let us create a community around your brand and connect you to the right KOLs.

Loyalty in China , the ultimate goal for brands

Maintaining brand consistency is crucial for success in any market, especially in China, where consumer expectations and competitive landscapes are rapidly evolving.

For businesses aiming to leverage brand consistency as a strategic advantage, here are five critical questions to consider:

How does brand consistency affect customer perception and loyalty in China?

This question explores the impact of a consistent brand identity (including logos, messaging, and customer experience) across all channels on building trust and recognition among Chinese consumers. A consistent brand is often seen as more reliable, which can enhance customer loyalty and facilitate repeat business.

What role does brand consistency play in differentiating products in a crowded market?

In China’s highly competitive market, standing out is key. Understanding how consistent branding can make your products or services easily recognizable and memorable compared to competitors is vital. Consistent branding helps ensure that all marketing materials and product lines reflect the core values and quality the brand promises, reinforcing the brand’s position in the market.

How can maintaining brand consistency across all platforms increase engagement and conversion rates among Chinese consumers?

With the prevalence of digital platforms like WeChat, Douyin, and Weibo in China, ensuring your brand is consistently represented can lead to better engagement. Analyzing how unified messaging and visual identity across these platforms can lead to higher conversion rates can help in optimizing marketing strategies.

What are the best practices for integrating brand consistency into new market segments or product lines specifically for the Chinese market?

This question addresses how to maintain brand consistency when expanding into new market segments or introducing new products. It’s crucial to understand how to adapt and integrate the core brand elements into new offerings without diluting the brand identity, ensuring that the brand’s promise and quality are clear.

How does cultural adaptation affect brand consistency and revenue growth in China?

This involves investigating how brands can adapt to local tastes and preferences without compromising their global brand identity. It’s essential to explore strategies for balancing localization needs with maintaining a consistent brand image, such as through localized marketing campaigns that reflect cultural nuances but still adhere to the brand’s global standards.

Answering these questions can provide valuable insights into how strong, consistent branding can serve as a powerful lever for increasing revenue. This is especially true in China, where brand perception can significantly influence purchasing decisions and consumer loyalty.

To sum up the Importance of Being Consistent With the Brand in China

After implementing these steps in your branding efforts, you will soon see a wave of results. Stop changing your message repeatedly and lose the interest of your customers. Do you want or don’t want others to remember your brand?

Do you want to know more about the power of brand consistency and the impact it has on your brand reputation in China and more?

Contact GMA, a digital marketing agency, that specializes in the Chinese digital market.

We offer branding and communication services like:

• Choice of channels (Branding in China passes through several channels, and these are usually fewer than those used in the West)
• Our Savoir-Faire (We have experience in many sectors, whatever the market in which you operate, we are able to help you).
• A complete strategy (For rapid and effective development social networks are not enough, but we have the right advice to help you)
• Analysis of results (Every month we will provide you with an analysis of the results of your campaigns and discuss them together to develop an even more effective strategy).