French food company eyes bigger slice of Chinese market

Savencia Group, the French food manufacturer, plans to import more dairy and pastry products, and expand its footprint in China during the country's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, said a senior executive.

Instead of partnering with other French companies to showcase their goods in a large-size exhibition area as it did over the past two China International Import Expos held in Shanghai, the company made its debut appearance at its own booth at the ongoing third CIIE.

"We come to CIIE with the expectation of further figuring out what our consumers really need, so that we can do better in offering selected brands and products around the world to Chinese consumers." said Denis Vergneau, general manager of Sinodis, the imported food distributor and a business unit of Viroflay, France-headquartered Savencia.

"We hope that the CIIE will create a spillover effect, helping deliver our products to more Chinese households and develop healthy eating habit," he said adding food consumption is a reflection of economic success. Food consumption is rising. The types of foods people eat are diversifying.

"Foods are becoming more sophisticated and they need to be more convenient, so the whole business has dramatically transformed in China," he said.

Butter, cheese and cream are expected to see an uptick following their integration into restaurant business and home cooking in China, he said. The company is also looking forward to introducing more suitable products for Chinese consumers, especially the younger generation, he said.

In addition to importing and distributing brands and products under Savencia in food service sector, Vergneau said its plant in Tianjin has done studies and gradually created products that satisfy the tastes of Chinese consumers. They have specially developed lollipops for Chinese children aged between 3 and 9. It also established a new company in Tianjin earlier this year to provide cheese solutions for quick service restaurants.

Ding Lixin, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Beijing, said it is a combination of growth and demand that is linked to income and urbanization. Those two factors came together to create the sheer size of the market. So it has attracted heavy attention from global players in both food manufacturing and agricultural sectors in recent years.

As an international, family-based and independent food group, Savencia has more than 23,100 employees across the world, and sells products in 120 countries and regions with a net sales revenue of 5.5 billion euros ($6.53 billion) in its 2019 fiscal year.