How to Tap into the Burgeoning Organic Market in China

The organic market in China not only exists, the demand for imported organic products is increasing daily. However, it has not been easy for foreign companies to take advantage of these market opportunities.

The primary obstacle is that China does not recognize any foreign organic certifications. You, as a foreign company, are required to get certified by any of 23 China certifying institutes prior to selling. Otherwise, you may not use the word “organic” anywhere on the product.

Obviously these regulations have stopped many motivated foreign suppliers from approaching China’s market, whose Chinese distributors have found creative ways around the regulations.

Let me share a few useful tips:

1. Modify label to read “No preservatives, No addictive, No chemicals used”.
Organic products with labels like these are often seen in the stores. Consumers seem to understand what it means and are willing to pay a higher price for these products.
It is quite common for organic fresh vegetables to be priced 4-5 times higher than conventional ones at the supermarkets.

2. Do not state organic in either Chinese or English, but leave organic logo on the package. Some Chinese consumers are able to recognize foreign organic certification logos from the US, Canada and UK. A Chengdu-based distributor, that delivers only organic groceries to 50, 000 families in the area, advised that they will point out the logo to their customers.

3. The distributor often brings a copy of foreign organic certificates with them when promoting organic products in person and shows it to buyers. Showing a copy of the certificate is working quite well since Chinese consumers have a lot of trust in foreign institutions and imported products.

These tips will help you enter China’s market quickly, but only offer a short-term solution. For your long-term success, you may want to work with your distributor to become certified in China. Best of Luck!