In 2023, Litao analysed all 6 active Latvian food and beverage brands in China, providing valuable insights for new entrants and identifying successful strategies and challenges when entering the market .
In 2022, the China food market was valued at €1.1 trillion. Beverage and snack brands from Latvia can leverage trends in premium sector.
Previous Latvian attempts to enter China faced challenges including importer selection, Covid-related disruptions, and political instability.
As of Aug 2023, a few active players remain, while a dozen others are still preparing to enter and require a strategic approach.
China overall has imported €148.6 billion of F&B, out of which €15.8 billion from Europe. China ranks as the third-largest destination for EU agri-food exports, and representing 7% of the EU ‘s total agri-food trade. Of this €15.8 billion, €9.8 billion corresponds to manufactured F&B products, making up 62.2% of the EU’s total agri-food exports to China.
“Snack” lead as the best-performing imported F&B category, followed by “drinks”, “fruit”, “cereal” and “functional food”, based on Tmall data (the largest e-commerce platform in China).
Overall, the “snack” category, valued at €190.6 billion in 2022, holds the largest share within China’s F&B market.
% Of Tmall Global users shopped categories, under F&B
Source, Growthbox analysis
In China, “Healthy/Functional Food” had the fastest growth, reaching €43.5 billion in 2022 (6.27% growth 2018-2022).
“Health supplement” dominated this category with €25.4 billion in 2022 (6.21% YoY growth).
Source, iiMedia Research
In 2022, food exports to China were €15.2 million, including €7.3 million in manufactured F&B products. This accounts for 7% of all Latvian exports to China, with a remarkable growth of 39% from 2018-2022.
48 Latvian producers received approval for exports to China.
Source, Cental Statistical Bureau of Latvia
Latvia in Chinese 拉脱维亚 (La Tuo Wei Ya). Only 0.1% Chinese have been to Latvia.
On XiaoHongShu (the lifestyle social media), Latvia in China is mainly known for:
Six brands entered the market; two remain as of Aug 2023 – RIGA Black for alcoholic beverages and TAKA Botanics for soft drinks. Interestingly, many brands do not emphasise their Latvian origin.
@Graci
@Rudolfs
@Pure Chocolate
@Riga black
@TAKA Botanics“ I’ve bought all the flavors. Tastes good, sour and sweet! “
-Ms Liang, post-90 young mother
‘It cured my throat pain’
-Mr Su, white collar working in Shanghai
Every brand aspiring to enter the market seeks to partner with Chinese importers. However, not all have succeeded in securing experienced importers and building lasting, reliable partnerships.
We want to invite you to spend one day talking about food!
Sigita Gailuma (ex Truksane) China Market Entry,
The China Challenge tells you exactly how good you are at exporting to China, with a resulting score and advice for how to improve.
China Challenge
@Cido