Although it has long been known that the Chinese do not like sweets too much, recently the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire have been deeply addicted to Russian sweets. Some types of sweets, ice cream and honey have been overwhelmingly successful, which are dispersed in a matter of hours, without having time to lie on supermarket shelves. They do not last long in the warehouses of online stores that send sweets across the country. As it turned out, the reason for the increased demand lies not only in the quality and price of products, but in something completely different.
Among all imported sweets, ice cream, honey, flour confectionery and other delicacies on the Chinese market, it is Russian products that are in great demand. This craze for all Russians is connected with several reasons at once.
1. Lower price
The main reason for the popularity of Russian confectionery products is considered to be the rather low price, which attracts the Chinese. By the way, until recently, most of the goods entered the country semi-legally, without any agreements, through shuttle traders who brought in small quantities and sold them in the markets of the border town of Heihe. And only then Russian sweets were distributed throughout China, mainly through online sales.
In recent years, a tendency has emerged in the PRC to expand the supply market, but at a completely different level. Nowadays, the official import of Russian food products, which can be seen even on the shelves of large supermarkets, is developing quite actively. This development is fueled by the strong demand of the Chinese population. It turned out that the price of Russian food, including alcohol, is lower than that of local producers. This does not prevent some enterprising and overly keen businessmen from releasing counterfeit goods under Russian brands, because the demand for these products is really colossal.
Interesting fact: Representatives of United Confectioners LLC (China), after thorough checks, determined that 90% of Alenushka chocolates on the shelves of stores in Harbin alone are pure Chinese counterfeits.
2. Why did Russian manufacturers have to change the composition and recipe of all confectionery
In order to stay on the Chinese market, all Russian confectionery manufacturers without exception I had to completely adapt the taste of the products to the preferences of the Chinese, because they are not at all sweet tooth.
For example, here is how the director of the 33 Penguins ice cream brand describes the process of entering the Chinese market for their products: “I had to change the composition and recipe: we removed sugar, replaced milk with lactose-free substitutes, changed flavor combinations. New product samples were tested at local exhibitions, and feedback from tasters was collected there. After a lot of experimentation, we still managed to find a flavor palette that satisfied local buyers ". But the active promotion and stunning success of ice cream TM "33 Penguins" contributed not only the fact that it is very tasty and healthy, but just a fantastic event, which we will talk about a little later.
Similar transformations and recipe changes have affected all products that contain sugar, right down to chewing gum. Although the sweets are still pretty sweet (just change the recipe), the Chinese are fond of Russian products for that the reason that their confectionery consists of solid soybeans, and it (as many remember since the 90s) is in no way comparable to natural chocolate.
3. Russian products are of higher quality and more environmentally friendly
Considering that the criteria for growing agricultural products, GOST standards and requirements for food production in Russia is higher than in China, the inhabitants of the Middle Kingdom believe that Russian products are very environmentally friendly and more natural.
It is this understanding that has become the main reason that products coming from Russia are incredibly popular among the middle class, which is simply fixated on proper nutrition. Honey, which is practically not used in its pure form (remember that the Chinese do not use sweet foods), but in the preparation of healthy food or in various medicinal preparations, it is the main ingredient.
Russian ice cream is also ranked among natural products that the Chinese are buying up in an instant. It is believed that our cream is much more natural, tastier and conducive to a healthy lifestyle, despite the fact that it is high in calories. The belief in naturalness also applies to dairy products, flour confectionery and even ordinary flour.
According to the editors of Novate. Ru, recently the Chinese have taken a great interest in the brown yogurt "Varenets" (a new type of fermented milk products on the market), the caramel aroma and color of which just drives them crazy. And what is most interesting, this is the case when the product introduced a new fashion - now Chinese women of fashion prefer exclusively brown!
Interesting fact: Ice cream of the 33 Penguins trademark, made according to the “Chinese” recipe, is positioned in Russia as a product for adherents of a healthy lifestyle.
4. The main reason for the incredible popularity of Russian confectionery
It is a well-known fact that the main reason for the popularity of most goods, including sweets, directly depends on the accidentally dropped word or active advertising of famous and respected persons. It is in this plane that the unprecedented popularity of some types of Russian ice cream, sweets, honey and even jam lies. This was facilitated by himself... Vladimir Putin, who in 2016 gave the President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping a whole box of Russian ice cream (the brand could not be seen!).
It seems to be nothing strange or promising for the producers and importers of Russian ice cream, but the words spoken by the Chinese leader became the main impetus for the craze for this delicious product: “Thank you very much for the gift, for the delicious ice cream. Every time I go to Russia, I ask that they buy me Russian ice cream. You have better cream, so it tastes especially good. ".
After this event, the Chinese rushed not just to buy up Russian ice cream, which at that time very small lots entered the country (mainly these were products of the aforementioned trade brands). And ice cream traders began to place the image of the President of the Russian Federation on refrigerators and trucks delivering him, and even on the packaging of the product itself.
Thanks to such incidents, Russian products are being promoted in China, especially Russian roasted candies with Krokant almonds. It is they who are now at the peak of popularity, despite the fact that their recipe cannot change much due to the peculiarity of the technology for combining caramel and fried nut kernels. Nevertheless, it is very difficult to see Crocant on supermarket shelves - they are scattered with lightning speed, because in the case of these sweets, all of the above factors work. This success was promoted by famous athletes, artists and bloggers who talk about delicious and healthy sweets everywhere. On this wave, many Chinese learned that they also have a sweet tooth, and now do not even try to claim that our sweets are too sweet.
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5. Weight matters
Although there is one more nuance that is mandatory for food suppliers (including imported ones). In different regions of China, packaged products have their own priorities - the format and weight of the package. As it turned out, in some provinces, residents prefer to buy food in large quantities - for the whole week. Quite capacious packages of at least 1 kg are delivered to these supermarkets, if they are sweets, and if they are vegetables and fruits, then from 3 kg. It is here that you can observe the picture when the Chinese are carrying huge packages of Russian sweets or flour products.
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In other regions, they try to buy only the amount that is needed for one meal, therefore, products are delivered to these regions in small packages.
6. Any whim
If in the old days sweets and other goodies were almost smuggled, and they could only be found in the border shops or markets, but now in the most remote mountainous region of China, you can enjoy Crocant or flour confectionery at any time.
Thanks to Internet platforms, the general availability of Russian products has become comprehensive, for example, on the well-known Chinese e-commerce platform Taobao, Crocant has become a hit for a long time and has beaten all records. In small online stores that provide home delivery services, you can even order your favorite ice cream or trendy “brown” yogurt.
For those who decided to promote their goods to the Chinese markets or just want to go to the Middle Kingdom, it is worth knowing about the most unexpected customs and oddities that reign in this country.
A source: https://novate.ru/blogs/270420/54141/