Comvita eyes China's fastidious consumers

Comvita, a New Zealand-based producer of Manuka honey, will ramp up efforts to tap into Chinese customers' rising preference for natural products, buoyed by the country's robust recovery in consumer spending, its top executive said.

"China's middle-income group is rising, as is their awareness of natural products for healthcare," said David Banfield, CEO of Comvita. "This will further spur the high-end consumption market and drive more multinational health and nutrition companies to continuously invest in China."

Banfield referred to the company's target female consumer group as "the ideal she", or those who normally lead busy lives, have limited time, but are willing to splurge on themselves.

"We help 'the ideal she' have that moment to herself, when she could do something for herself through our products. It is a growth space for us."

Global market research firm McKinsey & Co has estimated that by 2025, China's middle-income group will cover 500 million people.

According to the company, men are also turning into a growing consumption force.

Though some are shy to admit it, male users drink their collagen peptide honey drinks as well, and around 40 percent of consumers who purchase Comvita's night rejuvenating honey in the Chinese mainland are male, said Andy Chen, global deputy CEO and Asia-Pacific CEO of Comvita.

"Health and beauty products can attract male users in a very successful way. We plan to bring more products within an extended range to China. At this time next year, we will be sharing some exciting products at the China International Import Expo," Banfield said.

The company, among the 26 out of over 4,000 enterprises, and the only representative from Oceania, was invited to the opening ceremony of the sixth CIIE on Nov 5.

"The CIIE is an important window for us to better know about China. It also offered us great opportunities to connect with Chinese consumers and local partners. Through the expo, we hope to demonstrate our determination to deeply root in the Chinese market and continuously bring high-quality products from New Zealand to Chinese consumers," Banfield said.

"The CIIE is positive and progressive, enabling us to connect together. We never found closed doors in China, but always open conversations, on how we could go further together with China," he added.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, which New Zealand has been a part of.

In 2017, New Zealand and China signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen their BRI ties, jointly establishing an upgraded free trade area with more open trade and investment, to promote bilateral trade cooperation and economic globalization.

In 2022, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement and the upgraded FTA between the two countries came into effect. During the visit of New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins to China in late June, Comvita's representatives were among those who were part of the visiting delegation.

Data from the Statistics of New Zealand showed that in the first quarter, the country's total trade in goods and services surged 18 percent year-on-year to 51.2 billion New Zealand dollars ($30.7 billion), and China remained its largest trading partner, with nearly 9.4 billion NZD worth of trade value.

Currently, Comvita owns a regional product development center in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, and a branch in Hainan province, where it takes advantage of local preferential free-trade policies to accelerate the introduction of its medical-grade products to the Chinese market.