In late May, Arla Foods launched "Naifu
Cheese' onto the Chinese market. However, the company did not widely promote
this product: very little information was provided, with no showcase on its
official website and no sales on its Tmall flagship store. As a result it
entered the market very quietly.
Source: Internet
Patterned on Chinese tofu and targeted at the Chinese
According to Arla Kitchen, a web page (www.arlakitchen.com/web_pc/) created by
the company especially for Naifu Cheese, the product's key features are:
-
Appearance: similar to tofu - white with a
certain glossiness
-
Texture: firm, fine and smooth
-
Smell: real milk smell, no fishy smell
-
Taste: like eating egg white - smooth and
elastic
-
Flavour: light milk smell, no conflicts
with salty taste
The product's ingredients are given as cow milk, whey protein, edible salt and
nisin: "1 piece of this cheese is equal to 1 L milk, no need to be afraid of
getting fat,' the text stresses.
In addition, the Arla Kitchen page offers a
range of recipes to display its usage - Healthy Chinese Meal, Healthy Hot Pot,
Healthy Western Meal and Light Meal etc. Food enthusiasts, fashion bloggers and
star chefs are featured, making positive comments and recommendations. It is
evident that the product is aimed at the Chinese generation born post-80s/90s
who are looking for healthy lifestyles.
Currently, Naifu Cheese is mainly targeted at the Beijing market: the 340g pack
is to retail here at RMB24, and for RMB19.5 on Taobao.com, according to the
page. Restaurants and recipes that use Naifu Cheese are highlighted to enable
consumers to sample the product.
A bright market prospect in China
According to statistics from Euromonitor,
in 2005-2015, the consumption of cheese rose in China:
Over the period 2008-2015, China's imports of cheese increased from 13,900
tonnes to 75,600 tonnes, a CAGR of 27.4%. The corresponding value went up from
USD74 million to USD348 million, a CAGR of 24.8%.
Trade sources highlight 2 key factors pushing up cheese consumption:
Foodservice growth: this channel is
estimated to make up about 60% of the market, with western fast food and bakery
chains key. In 2010-2015, Pizza Hut expanded from 510 to 1,400 outlets, McDonalds
from 1,287 to nearly 2,300. Meanwhile, bakery industry sales had reached over
USD13.7 billion (RMB89.9 billion) in 2015
Retail making up about 40% of demand,
driven by individuals who could be termed "middle class", influenced
by western lifestyle and seeking healthy and nutritional food options
Overall cheese consumption in China is estimated at about 100,000 tonnes, about
0.07 kg per capita on average (vs. 2.26 kg in Japan and 2.57 kg in South
Korea). The split is approximately 70% processed cheese vs. 30% natural cheese:
the brand leader in retail is Milkana, the processed cheese from Savencia: its
market share is given at 20.7% with the market's top 10 including the key dairy
players Bright Dairy, Yili, Mengniu and Beijing Sanyuan.
The development of cheese consumption in China reflects local consumers'
preference for bland flavours and avoidance of strong tastes, hence the importance
of processed cheese: this product is designed specifically to fit in with this
market background, as an innovative combination of traditional Chinese tofu and
western cheese.
Yet to date only 2 stores on Taobao.com are selling this
cheese, and the company's flagship store on Tmall.com has yet to market it.
Whether such a low profile market entry strategy will work remains to be seen.
This article comes from Dairy Products China News 1606, CCM
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Tag: Cheese milk