With its growing economy and increase in goods consumption, China is an attractive market for a good portion of the produce industry. But to succeed and develop business, companies must understand what Chinese consumers are looking for, and what segment of the population offers the best prospects. 

Jerry Clode is the founder of The Solution Consultancy and has been studying Chinese consumer trends for 25 years, now his company is helping brands succeed in China, Asia, and emerging markets. 

Recognized as one of the leading experts on China's digital and consumer culture, Clode was one of the guest speakers at the Global Grape Convention 2024 held in Chile, where he shared with attendees on the panel "The Potential of the Chinese Consumer."

Clode, originally from New Zealand, has had a lot of hands-on experience with Chinese consumers, including living on a family's couch for two weeks analyzing everything they consumed, and driving a fruit delivery truck for an entire day. 

"It was an excellent way to understand how Chinese consumers are using digital," he said. 

The expert focused his presentation on emphasizing how Chilean and Peruvian industries can present themselves in a more nuanced way in China. 

He emphasized the importance of various cultural, social, sustainability, and family structure factors for brands to understand how they have to market their product in the Asian country. 

"I say that I create exemplar brands, taking them to the number one position in China because they are not competing against anyone," Clode said. "These are brands that are defined so clearly that nobody can compete with them, and they do not take pricing from the market, they create their own."

Chinese economy

Clode addressed some of the concerns he's heard about the Chinese economy collapsing. Regarding this, he said, "The collapse in China is not going to happen because what I see when I go is that the Chinese middle class has a high quality of life, which is integral to the Chinese project, so don't worry, China is there and it's a fixed part of your future."

He also emphasized the country's overall consumption potential, with 160 cities with a population of over a million people, which suggests it will be a continually expanding market, along with its middle class. 

"The key challenge for table grapes is to get on the list of products that make you middle class in China," Clode assured adding that "at the moment, Zespri is there, but there are going to be four or five more products on that list."

The main target audience: 'Supermoms'

Clode noted that almost all the focus should be on what he calls "supermoms," those mothers in China who "rule everything, know exactly what's going on and are the ones introducing new products to their families."

According to Clode, young mothers are defining the middle class in China. This group is very concerned about the environmental aspect of what they eat and they pass this on to their children, especially when they go to the supermarket, where Clode has observed that it can take up to an hour and a half for them to make their way through the store.

"Parents do through the isles telling their children where each fruit is from and how its grown so that they have a greater connection to nature," Clode explained. 

He also observed that Chinese homes are adorned with packaging of international products, because it creates an international environment inside the house, showing how important the packaging can be. 

"This is probably the only market in the world where people talk about soil because there is the idea that the quality of each fruit comes from the ecosystem and the quality of the solid where its grown. One of the reasons for this is that soil pollution is shown a lot on social media, another reason why they are buying international fruit," Clode said. 

Why do the Chinese talk about soil?

The reason behind this practice is traditional Chinese medicine, which is all about getting the best and purest ingredients, the same market they use when selecting fruit. 

There has also been a transition, especially from people in their twenties, from supplements to natural foods in the last five years. 

"The amount they are spending in supplements is being rediverted to fruits," Clode told the audience. 

Healthy products like grapes have a big opportunity when considering the growing importance of healthy nutrition in the Chinese diet. 

Positioning grapes

Clode said it is very important to get the starting point right for table grapes in China. He explained that Chinese consumers think of grapes almost as luxury items, not food, so they are looking at it from a cultural perspective. 

"Diets in young families are fundamentally different than before, and the surge in grape consumption shows that change," Clode said. 

He added that social media in China show grapes as a product of a higher, premium level. They are associated with great moments, almost magical and romantic. 

Since younger generations are interacting with this content, it puts a higher responsibility on brands to market the fruit appropriately. 

"The new Chinese generations are discovering new products on their terms that their parents don't even know, so they need brands as a guide to this," he said. "Brands also give people status, because they can show a sophisticated product."

Push for branding grapes

On the retail side, the specialist said that Chinese supermarkets still lack a clear sense of brands in their fresh produce section, especially in the case of grapes.

Clode also said that something that is affecting the industry is the marketing of the varieties is preventing the creation of brands because they are not exclusive to one particular brand or origin. 

He suggested a more sophisticated branding technique that connects the customer with the product. 

Overall, products from the United States are perceived as having a greater level than competitors, particularly in agriculture. This poses a challenge to other origins like South America to position their brands. 

"Australia, for example, has an advantage because they are associated with natural products because a lot of the top-selling supplements in China are of Australian origin. Japan is interesting because there is not a high volume of Japanese grapes in China, but they always command a higher price as they invest heavily into packaging, being considered the premium benchmark in the market," said Clode.

He warned that even though South Africa is not well known in the market yet, it may start to increase volumes. Brazil is another country to keep an eye on, as both presidents have a good relationship, which could increase the volume to China. 

Looking at Chile and Peru, he said consumers know their grapes, but they don't know anything about each country. Therefore, "there is the challenge they face, they must create specific perceptions and understandings and engagement with these countries."

He believes those two countries have the potential to lead the category of table grapes in China. 

Clode suggested marketers should focus on geographic and cultural advantage, exposing who they are and how they create, doing it in a way that can not be compared to competitors in other countries. 

He closed by asking members of the industry to please create a Chinese name for their brands because if they don't no one can talk about their product or search them on social media. 

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