China

With a total population of 1.3 billion people, of which approximately 250 million are urbanized consumers, China boasts a market enjoying a growing discretionary income as well as a taste for international goods and services. China is changing rapidly and so are its tastes. As a consumer society emerges, so new products are appearing with increasing regularity. But, tastes have changed. The arrival of the fast-food chains, western-style supermarkets, and greater awareness concerning the health benefits of dairy products and the emergence of a generation both willing and able to try new products and the market for dairy products has made great strides in China. The growing purchasing power in China's market, resulting from the country's zooming economic development, promises an amazing host of business opportunities for the ice cream market in small and medium-sized cities. Given China's huge market potential, a growing number of foreign firms are trying to make inroads in the country's ice cream sector. The war within the ice cream sector is marked by the free market and the fierce competition between firms, both domestic and overseas. Same is with the coffee trend in china which is improving day by day. Coffee marketers are working on transforming China вЂ" the homeland of tea вЂ" to a coffee drinking nation. Coffee remains a statement of fashion although consumption is growing rapidly. Coffee is a Western concept to most Chinese consumers, who associate it with Western lifestyles. Unsurprisingly, coffee consumption in China is highly concentrated in large cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Coffee appeals to adventurous, open-minded, young, affluent, urban consumers. These consumers are more exposed to Western influences and tend to look up to Western lifestyles. Manufacturers have targeted Westernized young professionals as the main target market for coffee. The key issue is how to convince these consumers that coffee is a beverage to be drunk regularly rather than just a passing fad.

Key points on Chinese consumers

• Growing tastes for international goods and services.

• 39% of annual living expenditure allocated to food purchases.

• Strong variations between urban and rural consumption patterns.

• Chinese view Canadian products as high quality.

• Strong variations in younger generation consumption compared to older generation consumption.

• Chinese consumers appreciate and are willing to pay for quality, but react positively to a good bargain which caters to their innate desire to save

Major Cities/Regions and Corresponding food taste preferences:

Food tastes vary by region with the eastern cities preferring sweet tastes, the north and northeast cities preferring salty, the central areas preferring hot and spicy and the south preferring delicate tastes.

• Shanghai (east) 13.3 million

• Beijing (north) 7.2 million, Tianjin (north) 3.9 million, Shenyang (northeast) 3 million, Harbin (northeast) 3 million

• Wuhan (central) 4.1 million, Xian (central) 3 million

• Guangzhou (south) 3 million

CONSUMER DETAILS

Strong variations in younger generation consumption compared to older generation consumption.

• Senior age groups consume more rice,