Shanghai CIIE salon spotlights China market potential

Oscar Felipe Rueda Plata, commercial counselor of the Embassy of Colombia in China, shared his observations on distinctive Chinese consumer behaviors.

He cited the popularity of "Labubu dolls", the Zibo barbecue trend, live-streaming commerce, and the Luckin Coffee and Guizhou Moutai collaboration, emphasizing that consumer behavior in China is "unpredictable, emotional, and collective."

As Colombia participated as a guest of honor country at the CIIE, Rueda Plata said, "This is the first time we have the honor to be the guest country in this exhibition. I always say that this is the 8th edition of the CIIE, and eight in Chinese culture is very important because it means good luck and prosperity. I do believe this is no coincidence, but it's actually the reflection of the real relationship between both our countries that is strengthening."

Ivan Kinsella, vice-president of Public Relations at Zespri Greater China, pointed to the increasing consumer focus on health and natural nutrition. "This year the trends for us have been more of a continuation of what we've seen before. The main one is healthy living and natural nutrition," Kinsella said.

Discussing the impact of the CIIE on Zespri's growth, Kinsella noted, "Since the start of CIIE eight years ago, we have more than doubled our sales to China, and we are up to 160,000 tons now."