according to conservative estimates, the annual output value of China's potato chip market has reached tens of billions of yuan. When the cake is big, there will naturally be more people competing. Take compound potato chips as an example, the current annual sales volume is about 1,-15, tons. Among them, the domestic production is about 5, tons, and the main brands include Kebik, Dabaobao, Yuanyuan, etc. The rest of the market share is divided by foreign brands such as Pinke, Leshi, Tebrittle Star and Baileshun, and the competition is fierce. At present, the annual per capita potato consumption in China is about 18kg, of which 9% is fresh, and the potato processing rate only accounts for about 4% of the total. According to the relevant statistics of the United Nations, the western European countries with the highest per capita potato consumption can reach an average of 9kg per year. In contrast, China's potato consumption is relatively low. In other words, China's potato chip market still has great potential.
It is precisely because we covet the broad development space of China's potato chips market that Pinke potato chips, which ranked first in the world for a long time, began to enter the China market and embarked on its uneven road to China as early as 1997. So far, it happens to be the tenth year. As the vanguard of foreign original food entering China market, we can read some intriguing contents from Pinke.
Opportunity on the other side of the ocean
Pinke Potato Chips is a brand owned by Procter & Gamble, a world-famous enterprise. From Pinke's birth in 197 to entering the China market, only two factories in the United States and Belgium were producing Pinke potato chips, with an annual output of about 5 million boxes. Advanced production technology endows Pinke potato chips with three unique brand advantages: curved chip packaging, unique canning and crispy taste.
According to an insider who once worked in Procter & Gamble, Pinke potato chips first entered the China market in a natural circulation of stragglers. Although there were few advertisements and promotions, Pinke gradually became a well-known brand among young consumers in China, especially white-collar workers, and won a group of loyal "fans" in some cities with high degree of opening to the outside world in China, due to its early entry into the China market, the crisp taste that ordinary potato chips could not be copied and surpassed by the hard-to-imitate technology and high-quality selected raw materials, and the unique packaging at that time.
In 1997, Procter & Gamble officially imported Pinke potato chips, which were mainly produced in Belgium, to the China market through the customs.
Price reduction for sale
Although there is some foundation before entering the market, Pinke's development in China market is not smooth, and it is faced with double pressure from the product itself and the market.
First of all, due to customs duties, transportation costs, and increased packaging costs to prevent potato chips from being broken, Pinke potato chips have been put on the shelves of major supermarkets, but the high price has made it the "emperor's daughter", so it is not easy to "marry" out. At that time, the average selling price of 18g paper-barreled Pinke potato chips was in 15 yuan, which was much higher than that of domestic potato chips with the same specifications from 1 to 3.5 yuan. Price has become the first high wall that prevents customers from opening up the China market. This problem is also a big test that many original imported foods must face after entering the China market.
Secondly, because most of the dealers in the more than 5 sales networks owned by Procter & Gamble at that time were engaged in daily chemical products, and a series of problems such as internal management, the enthusiasm of retailers to distribute Pinke products could not be improved.
how to close the gap with ordinary consumers in China? P&G has adopted the simplest method, that is, reducing the price. The price of 18 grams of potato chips in paper drums dropped from 15 yuan to 11.2 yuan, and then to 1.9 yuan. However, the series of measures to reduce the price for sale did not seem to improve the sales of Pinke in China. The reporter once conducted a field sampling survey in Chengdu Hongqi Shopping Mall. After comparing the prices of several kinds of potato chips on the shelves, the reporter found that the price of 18 grams of paper-barreled potato chips is 15.2 yuan, the price of 12 grams of paper-barreled potato chips produced by Shanghai Pepsi Company is 8.4 yuan, and the price of 11 grams of barreled potato chips produced by Fujian Dali Food is only 5.6 yuan. Compared with other brands, Pinke potato chips still have no advantage in price.
at the same time, with the rapid development of potato chip technology in recent years and the introduction of foreign technology, more and more brands have appeared in the potato chip market in China, which can compete with customers in terms of packaging and taste. And Pepsi's Leshi potato chips, the competitor of Pinke in the global market, seems to be playing a chess game on the issue of product price. In the United States, Leshi competes with the bottled products of Pinke with its bagged products. After entering the China market, Leshi used the successful experience of local products for reference, and adopted a round barrel with a smaller diameter than Pinke, which was more convenient for China consumers to eat. With bagged products and barreled products, Leshi has a dual force in the China market, competing with customers. In addition, the price of Leshi's classic bagged products is only 3.5 yuan, which is obviously superior to Pinke. Price and tactics don't work, and customers need to find a new way out.
localized production
At the beginning of p>22, PepsiCo, a strong competitor of Pinke, made a big acquisition in China, and acquired Beijing Xingyun Industrial Co., Ltd., which produces potato chips. It is reported that in 21, everyone's market share was even slightly higher than that of Pinke. PepsiCo has covered high-end and low-end products in the potato chip market with everyone's treasure, which has further improved the product line.
On the other hand, domestic food manufacturers are also eyeing the customers. They have occupied a certain low-end market share mainly by virtue of price advantage. For example, the bottled potato chips of Dali Food are about 1/3 less than those of Pinke, but the price is only half that of Pinke. Fujian Panpan and other enterprises have also launched the same type of products.
At present, the annual sales volume of Pinke potato chips in China is about 5,-8, tons, and these potato chips sold in China market were all imported before 26. In order to reduce the cost, fundamentally improve the competitiveness of products in China market, seek partners and implement localized OEM production, which has become a problem that customers must consider. After nearly three years of investigation and negotiation, Pinke finally reached a cooperative relationship with Fujian Qinqin Co., Ltd., and all the required factories and equipment were designated by P&G, with a total investment of about 1 million yuan. Since 26, Fujian Qinqin has officially produced bagged potato chips with original flavor and tomato flavor, and put them on the market for sale. Qinqin has thus become Pinke's third largest factory in the world. Industry analysts believe that by setting up a production base in China, Pinke not only reduces the production cost of potato chips, but also eliminates import tariffs and freight charges. At present, the retail price of 8 grams of potato chips produced by Qinqin is about 4.5 yuan, which is obviously more affinity than the earlier 1.9 yuan. At the same time, Pinke adopted the principle of walking on two legs. On the one hand, Pinke kept selling potato chips imported from Belgium, on the other hand, it also increased the promotion of locally produced potato chips.
next step: purity or being close to the people?
As the vanguard of imported food, Pinke has entered the China market for ten years, and has become one of the top brands in the potato chip market in China. The road it has taken is not smooth. With P&G's strong sales network in Shangchao, the distribution rate of customers is very high in imported food. The difficulties and problems encountered in its entry and development are also likely to be encountered by other imported foods. However, adhering to the "localization" route has become its core strategy to enter and take root in the China market. However, consumers' tastes are becoming more and more critical. The price of locally produced potato chips has come down, but the market reaction is that consumers think the taste is far from the previous barreled products. Careful consumers have carefully studied the trademark after buying it and tasting it at home, and more serious loyal fans have consulted relevant information on the Internet, and finally found the difference between the two.
It seems that how to balance the "purity" in taste and the "closeness to the people" in price is still a difficult problem to be solved urgently for imported food.