The major international food and beverage exhibition SIAL Shanghai, that opened on May 18, offered an opportunity to European food exporters to expand on the Chinese market.
Mario Garcia, a cheese supplier from Spain, said some visitors to the Expo surprised him with their knowledge about cheese from his country. “As many Chinese have made trips to Spain, they have a better understanding of my country’s cuisine, including our cheese,” he says. Garcia’s company specializes in producing cheese of different ages and flavors, and has been doing business in China for about seven years. He says, participation in events like SIAL can help him better reach potential customers and help them understand different cheeses and ways of enjoying them – especially those with strong flavors unusual in Chinese cuisine. “Our importers here have been hosting cheese tastings and offering recipes for our Chinese customers to learn how to use cheese, not just with bread and wine, but also how to use it in cooking,” he said. Over the years, Garcia has found that Chinese customers have developed a fondness for European products, which benefits his business. “Once they find a new or strong flavor, they will learn about it and appreciate it,” he says, adding that he is optimistic about the future of his business in China.
At the event, the Swedish Trade and Invest Council also displayed the country’s distinctive products, ranging from ice cream to plant-based drinks, wine and fruit jams. “China is a fast-changing market. People are paying more attention to health products, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic,” says Liu Xiaoxia, Project Manager of the Council’s China operations. “This fits in well with the food market in Sweden; so many products from Sweden have become very popular in the Chinese market.” The Swedish council joined SIAL in 2016. Since then, various Swedish companies have shown great enthusiasm in presenting their products to China through events like SIAL, Liu says. “Swedish enterprises are optimistic about the Chinese market as a whole, because it has developed quickly, and the consumption base is big,” Liu added.
The organizations Garcia and Liu work for are among more than 4,500 food and beverage exhibitors from over 60 countries and regions, who have brought in about 300,000 products with local characteristics to the three-day event, which was jointly hosted by France-based Comexposium Group and the China General Chamber of Commerce.
The event received more than 170,000 visitors. More such events will be organized in other Chinese cities, such as SIAL Shenzhen in August. “With the consumption recovery this year, imported food products that emphasize nutrition, health and quality will experience a renewed surge of vitality,” Comexposium’s Xie Shuyi said, as reported by the China Daily.
