The Chinese market is creating a new fashion for the consumption of African products

Africa-China relations have grown exponentially in recent years

As Chinese imports from Africa increase rapidly, entrepreneurs are encouraging new consumption patterns in the country by pairing high-quality, value-added African products with diverse consumer demand.

Wu Kunyang, a woman in her 30s and a mother of two, presented cosmetics containing natural ingredients from African plants at the African Cocoa Exhibition Center.

It is one of the main exhibition centers for African products at the Gaoqiao Grand Market, a sub-venue of the second China-Africa economic and trade exhibition, which takes place from Sunday to Wednesday in Changsha, capital of the province. Chinese from Hunan (center).

Five years ago her skin was sensitive and flaking. At that time, although her salary was below average, she spent a third of her income on major brand skin care products.

“Spending a lot of money on popular brands hasn’t solved my problem,” she said. “I stumbled across the remedy when my husband’s African classmate sent us shea oil made by his mother’s hand.”

Fascinated by the effect of the unique African plant, Wu was determined to introduce Chinese consumers to cosmetic products containing natural African ingredients. In 2016, she co-founded the “Shea and Cacao” brand with her husband and built a supply chain of high quality natural ingredients from Africa with the support of partners.

Targeting Chinese consumer demand for safe and natural skin care products, the company has devoted around 70% of its revenue to research and development, cooperating with several universities.

Products sold online via social networks have garnered many “likes” from Chinese consumers. Some of them even opened physical stores in the cities of Shanghai, Xiamen and Yantai.

“Our brand sales soared to around 10 million yuan (about 1.55 million US dollars) in 2020 from 500,000 yuan in 2019, as consumer demand has improved and Chinese consumers have a strong desire to replace chemical cosmetics with natural and healthy products after the COVID-19 epidemic, ”said Wu, optimistic about the potential of the African natural cosmetics market.

It was not alone in promoting imports of high quality products from Africa. In the exhibition hall of the African Cocoa Marketing Center where its stand was located, various cocoa products ranging from chocolate gift boxes to cocoa ice cream, airy flower-shaped chocolate to blind boxes, were exposed.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has blocked traditional cocoa export channels, China’s huge consumer market offers new opportunities for African producers, said Zhong Linbo, director of the African Cocoa Marketing Center in China.

The center aims to set up an entire industrial chain covering production, processing, design, research and development and branding while encouraging innovations to satisfy the diverse tastes of consumers, he said. declared.

To better interact with consumers, entrepreneurs have also placed greater emphasis on customer experience and the added value of culture when promoting their products in China.

A café named “Own Master” opened on the market during the exhibition. Positioning itself as a museum of coffee culture, the store drives the promotion of African coffee and African culture on the Chinese market.

“Through the development of China-Africa business cooperation, we can directly purchase high-quality coffee from African plantations and have obtained the license to roast coffee on-site,” said Jing Jianhua, founder of the store.

“African coffee is of very high quality,” said Jing, who plans to constantly improve the customer experience by satisfying their demand with bespoke products and to open up to 500 coffee shops within three to three. five years.

To promote African products in China, a live e-commerce festival was held at the China-Africa e-commerce live broadcast incubator of Gaoqiao Market during the exhibition, with 62 special sales events held in 10 live broadcast rooms. He sold a variety of products including coffee, sesame, pepper, wine, crafts, and household supplies.

Kilimall, one of the leading Chinese e-commerce platforms operating in East Africa, has also created sales channels on WeChat and organized group buying activities to boost consumption of African products in China.

Currently, coffee, dried mango and wine are more popular among Chinese consumers, said Qin Wen, co-founder of the company. “In the future, we will strive to introduce more high-quality African products to Chinese consumers.