Douyin e-commerce GMV grew over 80% compared to last year, and Douyin Mall GMV surged by 277% year on year.  In the face of this "traffic is king" war, how do Three Squirrels implement the strategy of "product and sales integration" and "one product, one supply chain"? How to use sales to push back the supply chain optimization, and successfully create a number of single products with sales of tens of millions? And how did they work with thousands of live streamers to achieve a massive 500% growth in Douyin in just six months and become the No.1 in the snack category?

Frontline experience with customers all year round, powerful supply chain management, systematic innovation … those capabilities have allowed supermarket giants to develop sought-after products in close collaboration with their suppliers: Crispy Duck with Mashed Taro, Green Bean Milk, and Boneless Chicken Feet from Freshippo, with the last sold RMB 120 million in one year; Calamansi Juice, Chocolate Milk, and Cheese Cracker from Sam's Club; Coconut Ice Cream in coconut shells and Westacre yogurt from Aldi … What's the secret behind these private label pop-ups?

As of last October, the bulk-selling snacks industry has exceeded 22,000 stores, with leading enterprises embarking on a "race to ten thousand stores" mode. The overall market size soared from 6 billion yuan to 70-80 billion yuan between 2020 and 2023, achieving over tenfold growth in just three years. Many snack brands see opportunities in this expressway. Brands such as Yankershop, Three Squirrels, Gan Yuan Food, Cha Cha, and Weilong have followed suit, accelerating deployment in bulk-selling snacks stores, engaging in deep cooperation with Hao Xiang Lai, Busy For You (Ling Shi Hen Mang), Daiyonghong and Yummy Snack. How should food brands tap into this blue ocean? How should channel players adjust their direction to explore scientific development models while maintaining stability and seizing opportunities in the changing market structure?

Facing the intricate offline shopping landscape, how did Hsu Fu Chi deepen market presence, collaborate with distributors, prioritize consumers, and establish a deep distribution network spanning over 1 million terminal outlets from urban to rural areas? Amid channel transformations, how does it focus on core products, reconstruct growth, and navigate through the Market Cycle?

Freshippo, Bravo, Hotmaxx, and Xiaohongshu have put forward and stressed the "buyer concept" and "product selection thinking" one after another in a recent couple of years. The underlying logic is to build attractive products and an integrated supply model emphasizing user value at retail and e-commerce rather than manufacturer value. In this connection, how does BaiXiang Food develop differentiated products based on consumer trend insights from different platforms? How does it combine with KOLs and buyers to strengthen the interaction between products and users and realize brand renewal?

During the Internet dividend period, food and beverage consumer product innovation often adopts the approach of "focusing on online explosion, creating brand symbols, and then expanding sales channels". But as young brands' growth in the new retail landscape slows down, how will they go back and learn from traditional offline channel strategies to find a new growth curve in product sales? How do dealers think about change and find cost-effective products that sell well among the many new brands? Join FBIF to see how young brands and experienced dealers can work together for a win-win partnership!

The catering channel, the third largest channel for soft drinks after the traditional and the modern channel, is estimated to exceed RMB 197 billion sales in 2024. Catering accounts for 30% - 60% sales for many alcoholic drink companies. This is the marketplace where giants cannot afford missing out and startups make their initial success. SHUHAI SUPPLY CHAIN SOLUTIONS, as a food ingredient supply chain solution provider, has served over 2000 restaurant chain brands, providing product procurement and customization for thousands of stores. It is well-versed in the needs of stores for alcoholic beverages and beverage products, as well as how to help manufacturers and brands enter the catering channel.

In 2023, "Mountains Moved Prices", discount stores, bulk-selling snacks stores, and price reductions became the main themes of physical retail in China. Faced with increasingly rational consumer behavior and a stronger pursuit of "excellent quality and reasonable price", should offline retailers universally opt for discount strategies? How can they navigate through this wave of discounts and find a way to survive?

With the instant retail market projected to reach 2,508.265 billion yuan by 2026, "instant" no longer simply implies “urgency” but is becoming a new, highly predictable lifestyle. As a pioneer in this field, Meituan Instashopping is gradually advancing "digital and retail integration" from a supply-demand perspective. Identifying more productive stores based on LBS demand to increase supply and optimize merchandise structure, thereby facilitating efficient distribution for brands. With the new trend of "In 30 minutes, everything at your doorstep", two key questions emerge:

-How do brands identify their target consumers?

-How can they efficiently appear where consumers need them?

The market size of vending machine is predicted to reach RMB 43.6 billion in 2023, up by 26.8% from 2021. This is the channel closest to consumers, and it can be a "spotlight". In addition to sales, vending machines perform "frontline scouting and new arrival discovering" for CHI FOREST as strategic enablers. Based on data analytics and consumer incentives, Da Mo Wang, a new energy drink from CHI FOREST, soared to the TOP1 of energy drinks by PSD.

Whole Foods Market unveiled their 9th anticipated food trends in the past October. As a leader in gastronomic culture, Whole Foods Market puts caffeine with extra benefits, plant-based foods, and spicy foods on its radar. What kinds of products will brace bigger opportunities in 2024?

Edeka has grown from numerous independent small retailers to the largest food retail in Germany through voluntary chain and regular chain , marking Euro 66.2 billion, or RMB 468.7 billion, sales in 2022. It has branched out a variety of business models, premium supermark chain Edeka, discount chain Netto, bakeries, restaurants, and ecommerce. In contrast, food retail in China is very young, and there are a lot to learn from the mature German market.

It takes a global brand to compete against a global brand. Going overseas is an inevitable path, compounded by domestic market slowdown, overseas ecommerce acceleration, new opportunities brought along by ecommerce platforms like TikTok、Temu.

—What are the springboards businesses must not miss? How to deploy globally, mature market in Europe and North America, emerging markets in Southeast Asia, or niche markets in the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa?

—What skill set is required to approach overseas market? What are the challenges?

According to statistics, Lawson became the fastest growing Japanese convenience store brand in China in 2022. It was the largest foreign-owned convenience store brand in China for three consecutive years. In Japan, the scale effect of the convenience store industry far exceeds that of supermarkets and hypermarkets, forming a stable oligopoly. How does Lawson, beloved by many Chinese consumers, accurately understand consumer preferences, vertically integrate the supply chain, and create differentiated products? Its subsidiary, Lawson Store 100, firmly captures consumers' minds with high-quality products priced at only 100 yen. What is the secret behind this operational strategy?

For Chinese brands, Japan represents a uniquely mature market compared to other overseas markets. As Japan's largest domestic e-commerce platform, Rakuten covers approximately 87% of the Japanese population, with its food business accounting for 38.3%. For Chinese sellers entering the Japanese market, how should they adapt to the changing local environment, innovate based on local consumer characteristics, and cultivate the market? Join us at FBIF to hear from the CEO of Rakuten Shenzhen Office as he decodes the differences between the Chinese and Japanese consumer markets and discusses how brands can implement a long-term approach to successful international expansion!

Have you noticed that Mixue Ice Cream & Tea has ascended to the largest beverage chain in Indonesia with 2,300 stores, 3 times the size of the second-place brand.

As one of the fastest growing regions in the world, Southeast Asia saw middle-class population reach 200 million in 2020, account for 1/3 of the total population. The region is often the first stop of Chinese businesses seeking overseas development thanks to its proximity in geography and consumption culture with China, fast growth of TikTok, Shopee, Lazada, and supportive e-commerce service, as well as the stable trade environment under RECP.

Having highly localized overseas brands like YoyiC and Aice, Mengniu registered RMB 4.59 billion overseas revenues in 2022. YoyiC, the best-selling probiotics brand at 7-Eleven, is forcefully promoted with KOLs and TikTok live streaming and certified for Superbrand in Singapore. Aice is one of the five most loved brands in Indonesia, with annual sales exceeding 2 billion.

What is the learning from brands that have achieved ovserseas excellence in both financial performance and brand impact?

Between 2023 and 2030, plant-based beverages are projected to reach a global market size of $71.62 billion, growing at a CAGR of 12.7%. As early as 1904, Chinese herbal tea appeared on the streets of America, introducing the world to this "Eastern mysterious beverage" over the past century. WALOVI, a well-known Chinese herbal tea brand, has been the global top-selling natural plant-based beverage for three consecutive years, successfully entering mainstream channels in North America from the Chinese market. Join us at the FBIF to hear this 200-year-old time-honored brand discuss how Chinese brands strengthen awareness among overseas consumers and gradually penetrate mainstream markets and channels in North America.

A Chinese chili sauce brand that was founded in 2018 by a girl from Chengdu took the U.S. market like a whirlwind. This is Fly By Jing. Fly comes from "fly restaurants" or hole-in-the-wall restaurants in Chengdu, and Jing is the given name of the founder Jing Gao.

Sold at USD 17 per jar, Fly By Jing quickly takes off in the mainstream U.S. market under selling points like "100% natural & additive free" and "chili for royal families in the old times". Contextual digital marketing, DTC website, and physical retail through Whole Foods, Target, and Sprouts have pushed the sales of FBJ to USD 10-million scale, covering over 4,000 physical stores and bagging USD 12 million Series B funding this year.