US companies finding niche markets

Ocean Spray didn't realize that dried cranberries would be so popular with young women when it moved into the Chinese market two years ago.

The US-based food and beverage company was one of a wide array of small and medium-sized enterprises, or SMEs, at the Gateway '17 summit that was encouraged to sell its goods to China's expanding middle class.

Other businesses at the two-day gathering, including baby and maternity, beauty and skin care, agriculture, apparel and seafood, were represented on Wednesday, the final day.

A highlight of the event was a stirring speech by Jack Ma, executive chairman and co-founder of Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd, whose company is a driving force for US firms selling products in China online.

Ocean Spray, headquartered in Lakeville-Middleboro, Massachusetts, started its sale of cranberry drinks, juices and dried fruit to Chinese consumers about two years ago.

"Products have been so well received in China that it (has) accounted for almost 7 percent of our total yearly sales," said Cheryl Sullivan, Ocean Spray e-commerce director. "We enjoyed double-digit growth each year in China."

Mandy Xi, in charge of day-to-day operations for Ocean Spray's Tmall store, pointed out that data analysis from the store site, which is part of the Alibaba Group, enabled the company to shift marketing strategy more effectively.

"We now know who visited our site, what items are checked often, and how many visitors converted to buyers," she said, adding that the most popular product is the 48-ounce pack of dried cranberries now priced at 75 yuan ($11).

"Office women around the age of 30 tend to eat dried cranberries between 11 am and lunchtime - many of them we would consider healthy eaters," Xi added.

US SMEs, which have taken advantage of the platform and data-driver intelligence provided by e-commerce giant Alibaba, pledged to deepen their operations in the world's second biggest economy.

Gerber, the Michigan-based baby food brand with more than 90 years of history, decided to open an Alibaba Tmall flagship store in November 2015 to directly sell to Chinese families and parents.

"We chose to team up with Alibaba, a trusted partner in China (to promote product lines)," said Bill Partyka, president and chief executive officer of Gerber.

Contact the writers at junechang@chinadailyusa.com