Chinese confections and snacks compete for sweeter spot on e-commerce during Double 11

By Douglas Yu

- Last updated on GMT

White Rabbit recently redesigned its packaging to appeal Chinese millennials.  Photo: China Candy
White Rabbit recently redesigned its packaging to appeal Chinese millennials. Photo: China Candy
Alibaba, China's largest e-commerce platform, reached record sales of $15bn during Double 11 this year, prompting domestic confectionery and snack brands to step up their web strategies. 

Double 11 Shopping Carnival refers to November 11 and has become a popular online shopping festival since it started in 2009. Similar to Cyber Monday in the US, many companies sell discounted products through e-tailers, such as Tmall and JD, on this day.

Other major Chinese e-tailers include Taobao, Vip, Yhd and Suning.

ConfectioneryNews analyzed how Chinese sweets and snacks performed during the festival this year, based on limited amount of sources.

A Shanghai-based market researcher, who is familiar with Chinese e-commerce, told us that Three Squirrels is currently the largest snack brand China’s e-commerce, followed by Cherry (百草味)and Liang Pin Pu Zi (良品铺子).

Western confectioners ramp up shares in Chinese e-commerce

White Rabbit (大白兔), however, only makes up a small amount of the e-commerce share in China, even though it is one of the oldest candy brands in the country. The 57-year-old chewy candy company recently repackaged its products with a pencil box for Double 11, trying to help Chinese millennials recollect their childhood memories, according to the country’s confectionery trade body, China Candy.

Several western confectionery companies, including Mars, Mondelēz and Nestle, have eyed the booming Chinese e-commerce market this year, according to ConfectioneryNews’ observations. Mondelēz, in particular, is aiming to generate $1bn in revenues from global e-commerce by 2020.

Tmall Supermarket expected to generate more sales than Flagship stores

The market researcher mentioned that Alibaba-owned Tmall is currently in the process of transferring sales traffic from its Flagship stores to Supermarket, making several Chinese meat snack brands, such as Zhou Hei Ya (周黑鸭), and Jin Zai (劲仔), the next possible “shining stars”​ of the Chinese e-commerce landscape.

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